Before you pick up that paint brush and start painting "real estate beige" on all your walls, you might want to consult a real estate stager. When selling your home, painting is usually the cheapest thing you can do with the greatest return on your investment, but it is not always necessary to paint. Sometimes you can tone down a color and make it work to your advantage by just changing out the bedding in a room or adding some accessories that complement the color. Sometimes a little color will make room "pop" online.
Below are a few examples of homes where we used the existing color to give the room some interest and pull it all together without ever picking up a paint brush.
The sage green in this bedroom was a little bold when the room was vacant. When the realtor called us to stage it with furniture, we decided to keep the sage but add a lot of white to softer the color. It worked. This beautiful master suite became an inviting and relaxing place that home buyers would want to come home to. It went under contract in just over 30 days after staging. 
This great room had been painted a warm gold and without furniture, it appeared a little too yellow. Once again I elected to soften the color with a white sofa but add some bright pops of color. It worked and the color became an asset instead of a problem.
This home was dated by it's bright orange counter tops throughout. The owners did not want to invest in changing out the counter tops. We took what was a negative and made it a positive. We used modern art throughout with lots of orange and brown. I also used orange linens and dishes and suddenly the orange counter tops and orange accents made this dark cabin come alive with color. It had been on the market over a year before staging and sold in less than 60 days after staging.
The blue in the bedroom below was a little too bright with no furniture. We were called in to give a price quote for painting. After some consideration, we decided it would cost less to stage this space with a bed and some artwork. Once again we would use lots of white to make the blue work. The master suite became a soothing get-away that now appears as inviting in person as it does online.
Sometimes there is no alternative. You just have to paint. "Real Estate Beige" is still my favorite.
So before you pick up a paint brush or start ripping out counter tops to sell your home, call a professional real estate stager ...you might find that there is an easier, more cost saving way to get your home ready to sell. Statistics prove that homes that are staged sell for more money in less time than unstaged homes.
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