As Realtors, you know you can't simply pick any color when you're painting a house to prepare it for sale.  But the hard part is what color to use that will show the house to its best advantage and appeal to the majority of buyers.

I was recently asked about what my favorite staging paint colors were for an article that appeared in the May 7, 2009 Washington Post.  But there's more to painting and picking a color than what is in the article.

If the paint is old, dated, or dirty, peeling or showing signs of damage, or is very "style specific" (a very personal color to the current owner), I will recommend painting.  Painting is the least expensive way to update your house, and the return on your investment will certainly be over 100%, most likely more.  Painting not only updates a room, but freshens it up, can considerably lighten and brighten a room, and make the room look and feel bigger - all the attributes you should strive for when preparing your house for sale.

Certain rooms get more wear and tear than others, and therefore are more of a priority when it comes to painting.  The formal living room will most likely not need of a fresh coat of paint compared to the family room, kitchen, or bathrooms.  If one room or area is to be painted, I choose a color that is very neutral and will compliment the rooms that are not going to be painted, so there will be a cohesive look to the house.

I take into consideration a lot of other factors when choosing colors for a house, such as the demographics of the house (surburban or urban?), the size of the house (condo? single family?), the size of the room (big or small?), how much light the room gets (north or south facing?), who the potential buyer might be (single? married with young children? older with grown children?), and the style of the house (colonial or contemporary?).

I usually don't recommend that the same color be painted throughout the entire house.  Each room has its own purpose, and I feel should have its own color.  Also, all the same color makes a house boring, and the one thing you don't want is a boring house.  You want your house to show well and have some "life" to it, albeit a neutral life, so to speak.

Sometimes, if rooms are joined, like a living and dining room, then obviously they would both be painted the same color.  But you can also use color to make a room seem bigger.  Color receeds, so if you can see through the living room to the dining room, and then the family room beyond, then the family room can be a darker color, thereby making it seem farther away, and in turn making the rooms seem bigger (because that family room seems so far away).

Bathrooms, since they are private rooms and often have the door closed, can have more whimiscal colors, like pumpkin, or a deeper green, or a silver gray - colors I would never suggest for a public room like the living room or dining room.  But in a bathroom, a pop of color can make that little room really stand out and have some personality.

The other thing I've come to realize is that most people are afraid of color, and so stick with the very basic and neutral colors of white, off white, and taupe.  And that's OK.  But there are so many other colors out there that are considered neutral - a whole veritable rainbow of browns, yellows, greens and off-whites - that will work for virtually every room, every style, and every taste. 

Note I didn't mention blue.  Although blue is America's favorite color, it's not our favorite to paint with.  So unless it's an absolute perfect color for a room, I generally don't recommend blue.

With that said, I really don't have any specific "go to" colors, as each house is unique and has its own special requirements.  However, there are a few colors that I find have worked well in many houses.

For trim, I prefer Snowfall by Behr (W-F-400).  It's a clean white, and not shockingly bright.

Other Behr colors I like:

Whites/neutrals: - both are pale off-whites that add a tint of color, very neutral

Cottage White (1813)

Navajo White (1822)

Greens:

Ground Ginger (380-F-4) - a pale green/yellow that isn't overwhelming

Browns/yellows: - all are lighter/paler browns with yellow tones, and mix and match well

Rivera Sand (320-E-3)

Calm Air (300-E-2)

Classic Taupe (290-E-3)

Clair de Lune (300-E-3)

Benjamin Moore colors I like:

Yellow Bisque (220) - a rich but pale yellow

Monarch Gold (1109) - a very nice golden brown

Gingerbread Man (1111) - a lovely brown with gold tones

Wilmington Tan (HC34) - a beautiful neutral with depth

All the best,

Monica