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ADVICE FOR HOME SELLERS: Paint Color to Sell Your Home - It isn't White!! Portland Home Stager Shares Paint Color Tips

Reblogger
Real Estate Agent with O'Brien Realty

ADVICE FOR HOME SELLERSPaint Color to Sell Your Home - It Isn't White! 

For decades, the conventional wisdom when getting ready to sell your house was to paint all the walls back to white. But that is SO yesterday!  White .... the color of snow & ice ... does absolutely nothing to warm up a house. It doesn't highlight architectural features and it doesn't enhance the colors of your wood, granite or other finishes. To sell your property today, you need to use soft warm decorator colors that are current. That way they not only look beautiful in the home, but will go with the existing furnishings of your prospective buyers and remind them of the beautiful new furnishings and colors they have been eyeing at the stores in anticipation of their new home.

devine olive devine mocha devine reflection devine cocoa devine birch

A professional paint color consultation by an Accredited Staging Professional will help you paint out the colors that turn buyers off and select ones that appeal to them.

Accent Walls:    Do you know which walls should be accented? Where should the accent color start and stop? An accent wall can create or enhance a focal point or it can highlight architectural interest. It might be the wall with the fireplace, built in shelving, or the wall that soars up two stories. Selecting the wrong wall for your accent can pull focus away from important features of your house or even make a room feel unbalanced, which most people sense as a vague feeling of discomfort in the room, even if they can't put their finger on why it feels that way.

Red Walls:    I'm afraid that the news here is you need to paint those out! Although many people like to paint dining rooms red, and I see them all the time, red walls stop most buyers in their tracks. Any broker will tell you ... well, they'll tell you if they aren't afraid of losing your listing by offending you ... that they get negative feedback when showing properties that have bold red walls of any shade. Red is a tough sell. Why leave something in your home that has the potential to turn off so many people? A good stager can mitigate some of that impact through the use of art and accessories ... but doing both the painting and the staging will give you the most attractive results.
    The same goes for any bright, bold or "too deep" colors. If the color names "sunny yellow" "hunter green" "peach" "federal blue" "maroon" or "burgundy" can be used to describe any of your rooms, then a paint color consultation is in your future.
    Don't take it personally, and don't fool yourself, into thinking the colors can stay because guests in your home over the years "always say they love my: bright yellow kitchen, red dining room, hunter green family room, _________________ "(fill in the blank with your personal boldly colored room). The problem here is that when guests come over they aren't thinking of living in your house! And I too, would have to paint out my own accent walls if I put my house on the market. It has nothing to do with having good or bad taste. It's all about wide appeal.

The "Right" Colors: 
   If I could tell you here the exact colors to use, I would do it ... but it isn't that simple. When I choose paint colors for a property going on the market, I look at the wood tones in floors, doors & moldings, and also consider any finishes such as granite colors, fireplace stones, carpeting, tiles, amount of light and exterior house colors as well. The colors of the house should flow from the outside to the inside and the colors in all rooms should work well enough together (not change radically) so that as you walk through the property, you always feel you are in the same house.
    Colors that are soft and a little "smoky" or "creamy" work better than very pure colors. Think of colors like toast - caramel - taupe - sage & muted water colors.

Finishes:     The right finish - satin - eggshell - flat - will make a difference too. In general flat, or matte finishes are very forgiving if your walls are not in perfect condition. They also look the most "true" to color because they don't reflect a lot of light. Satin or eggshell finish paints have a little more of a sheen to them. They show imperfections in the walls so you need to prep your walls more carefully. They are very good for kitchen & baths where the walls may need to be cleaned more often. Use semi-gloss for moldings. High Gloss paint is generally best for painting cabinetry.

Sustainable:        Remember to select paints that are "Green" --- no I don't mean the color! There's just no excuse not to use paints with zero or low VOC's. They are readily available and only run about $5 mor per gallon than the ones with the nasty chemicals. Your prospective buyers will be happy that they don't smell your new paint, and most of them will consider it a positive point about your property. Devine Color and Yolo Colorhouse are two locally produced, eco-friendly paint lines and I recommend them both! The paint color samples at the top of this post are from Devine Color. Both brands are sold at Powell Paint Center in Portland.

If you are in the Portland area and are getting ready to sell, call for your professional paint color consultation! Or, if you just want to freshen up your home, then a paint color consultation can help you select the right colors for your personal taste and style.

Call today at 503.816.4394

View our portfolio at Pangaea Interior Design.

Pangaea Interior Design is a full service design firm offering:

  • Paint Color Selection
  • Home Staging
  • Space Planning
  • Window Treatments
  • Re-Design
  • Durable Finishes Selection
  • Custom Furniture Design

 

Comments (5)

Joseph Scarpa
Green Paradigm Realty LLC - Pennsville, NJ

Sustainability ...  less than 50 ppm VOCs for flat paint ... less than 150 ppm VOCs for enamels.

Sherwin Williams has low-VOC paints on a shelf display unto themselves ... only about $3.00 more per gallon.

More on Volatile Organic Compounds and painting at http://www.greenseal.org/ (often referenced by U.S. Green Building Council for LEED Credits).

Dec 21, 2009 09:25 PM
Nancy Maurer
Whitehall Interiors & Home Staging LLC - Sparta, NJ
Home Stager - Serving No. NJ

Rita,  Excellent post -- I've bookmarked it!!  I really love these Divine paints; unfortunately they're fairly hard to come by where I live.

Dec 23, 2009 12:39 AM
Kate Talarico
Kates Home Staging and Interior Design - Goshen, NY
RESA, Top Orange County Home Decorator & Stager

The colors are really nice and could be used in many homes.  The green could be used in staging very easily.  Thanks for the re-blog, I missed this post before.  Kate

Dec 23, 2009 08:38 AM
Liz Gallagher
LG Home Harmony - Home Stagers & Organizers - Montreal, QC
Montreal Quebec RESA member

Great advise. I am visiting a client this afternoon ....She was told by her Realtor to "paint everything white".

Can you imagine what her 6 bedroom home looks like? A HOSPITAL!

We are going into to suggest adding some warmth with colour. As you suggest Taupe's and Cremes to add some personality and remove the stark cold empty looking spaces.

Didn't know about Devine Colour. Thanks for sharing.

Dec 27, 2009 11:26 PM
Roy Giordano - Top Real Estate Expert
RE/MAX Central, Marlboro, Manalapan, Freehold, Old Bridge NJ - Marlboro, NJ
Top Agent Marlboro NJ, Marlboro/Manalapan Homes

Hi Rita, nice blog post. I'll use some of these suggestions in my own home.

Thanks for posting

Roy

Jan 10, 2010 02:30 PM