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Color vs. Clutter: which fix first?

To de-color or de-clutter: That is the question.  As a professional Home Stager, many times I recommend color neutralization for homes that are dated due to wall color choices.  However, there are those times when a homeowner, due to financial restrictions, can only afford to have their property Staged or painted, not both.  In good concience, I must recommend color changes before Staging as a priority. 

But what about those homes that are full of today's updated colors?  I'm talking pumpkin spice, olive or celery greens warm red tones, blue suedes. 

 I'd love to hear from the AR community on this one.  Are we moving away from the "Realtor beige" of yesterday and embracing our more colorful selves?  Is today's average buyer ready for a more colorful world?

Your friend in Staging,

Jodi

 

 

Comments (17)

Kimberly Wester
Valparaiso, IN
Jodi-  I would go with the staging as opposed to color if the choice had to be made.  Paint is a cheap and easy fix, but trying to invision a home under all that clutter is a difficult task for 90% of the population.  People are much more opent o colr, especially if the home looks good.  Staging can make a house look good no matter what color it is.
Mar 03, 2007 12:37 AM
Judy Heinrich
Judy Heinrich Home Staging - San Diego, CA
I would have to agree with Kimberly, I'd vote for staging if a choice had to be made.
Mar 03, 2007 01:04 AM
Sheron Cardin
California Moods Inc - Selma, CA
ARTIST - A Home Stager/Sellers Best Friend!

Kimberly has my vote as well. The sellers can paint themselves or at least tone down the noise.

Stage it forward! 

Mar 03, 2007 01:45 AM
InSite Virtual Tours
InSite Virtual Tours - Eugene, OR

I take photos and create virtual tours and I think that de-cluttering should come first... An uncluttered space allows you to focus on the finer things.

Mar 03, 2007 02:22 AM
Refreshed and Refined Property Presentation Specialists
Columbus, OH

Thanks for the positive affirmation! 

Your friend in Staging,

Jodi

Mar 03, 2007 02:57 AM
Anne Vigneri
CASA VERO Staging & Redesign - Albuquerque, CA
Serving the Mariposa California

Well this question is very timely for me. I staged a vacant home about three months ago. It went on the market at $680,000 and had been for sale for three months before I was hired. The home is typical "southwest" in style and about 4 years old. Sandy beige ceramic tile floors in the public spaces. Open floor plan on two levels. Soaring ceilings in the LR. Now we come to color scheme.. Keep in mind that the LR, DR, kitchen and study/office are all within view of one another.

LR= two walls are beige, and two walls are very dark burgundy ( and shiny !)

DR= deep olive green and too shiny

kitchen= yellow with some rust "faux" ragging

Study/office= dark blue ( a cave ! )

In addition , one of the bedrooms is yellow,, and the office/alcove in the master is also a bad shade of green.. 

Since the homeowners had spent a fortune getting all of this done, I was only able to convince them to repaint the study.

The home is still unsold, and both the listing agent and myself truly think that the color scheme is part of the problem. My contract expired last week , so it's vacant again, and the price has been reduced to $600,000. ...Hmmmm...   Sure would have been a lot cheaper to repaint the whole place and perhaps have it sold months ago..  And now that it's vacant, all you see are those COLORS !..  Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that the whole place should be BEIGE.. BUT, the "big" color thing needs to be done very very thoughtfully.

Anne Vigneri www.casavero.com Placitas NM

Mar 03, 2007 04:25 AM
Leigh Brown
Leigh Brown & Associates, RE/MAX Executive - Charlotte, NC
CEO, Dream Maker - Charlotte, NC
I'd say clutter first but color pretty quick behind it.  In regard to your question about whether 'realtor beige' is out, I think so-provided the alternatives are warm neutrals.  Showed a vacant home yesterday that was immaculate-but BORING with all the off white on white.  Bet you it would have sold long ago with some taupes and sages.
Mar 03, 2007 04:32 AM
Penny Province
Province Staged Properties - Denver, CO
Province Staged Properties
I've been pretty lucky getting home sellers to do the painting themselves, but if it is a choice between changing color and losing the clutter, I would have to vote for losing the clutter.
Mar 03, 2007 06:10 AM
Craig Schiller
Trempealeau, WI

In order to paint it you got to first clean it up.  CLUTTER first.

Me

Mar 03, 2007 07:49 AM
Maureen Graziano
Third Eye Home Staging - West Islip, NY

I agree totally with Craig.  You can't begin to paint properly until you clean first.  With that said, paint is the cheapest fix to what ails most houses.  I am amazed when people are resistant to paint a home they plan on selling anyway.  At that point, their color scheme shouldn't matter, what should is what would make the home appealing to most people.  I don't think beige is the answer.  There are many soft colors that look great such as yellows, sages and sand tones. 

Maureen Graziano

Mar 03, 2007 10:45 AM
Jeannene Edwards
Home Staging by Interiors Defined, Inc. - Orlando, FL

I agree that decluttering definitely needs to come first - second - and probably third!  But once that has been taken care of, the furniture placement, lighting and wall color selections are key in giving a home personality,updating the look and giving the home a flow of continuity.  Bumping out an accent  wall with color can give life to an otherwise "unmemorable" room!

Jeannene Edwards  

Mar 04, 2007 12:20 PM
Teri B. Clark
http://www.teribclark.com - Sanford, NC

Decluttering is VERY important and can be done with no money - just elbow grease. Colors really are important and, in my opinion, would be next. I'm not sure that bland neutral is the way to go, but neither is pumpkin spice. Too many people have colors that just wouldn't go and no one wants to think of painting just as soon as they get into a home. 

I think light yellow is a good color. Light blue for the bedroom. In my mind, I see muted colors as opposed to bland ones.

Just my thoughts! 

Mar 05, 2007 06:13 AM
Loreena and Michael Yeo
3:16 team REALTY ~ Locally-owned Prosper TX Real Estate Co. - Prosper, TX
Real Estate Agents
When spaces become decluttered, I can begin to think better. I would use accent colors to accentuate a feature of the house to an otherwise "realtor beige" space.
Mar 05, 2007 08:28 AM
Joni Van Deventer
RoomByRoomRedesign - Midland, TX
RoomByRoomRedesign

Yes, tackle the clutter first.  Painting can be one of the wisest investments for your client, however, some people have never painted on their own, so it overwhelms them.  For clients that are DIY it is easier.  You make the call.  Tomorrow I will be helping a client/friend paint not exactly my favorite thing but you cannot beat the results for the money (as far as return on a sell).  If you are a good painter suggest that you will help them select and paint and you can charge accordingly.  That's just my suggestion but you should definitely address the color issue buyers are sometimes very turned of by color and they cannot see around it.  It's your client and you know their needs and budget best, good luck.

 

Mar 05, 2007 09:59 AM
Rita Brumley
Keller Williams-Consultants Realty - Powell, OH

Great Blog.  It is very useful to know that clutter seem to win out over color.  In today's market, if you can get the owner to realize the longer he is on the market, the more he will spend.  Then, both needs to be done to optimize profit for the seller. 

Buyer's I have worked with in the past 12 months repeat over and over, I don't want to do the work.  We are in a get it now society. 

It was so refreshing to her a potential buyer say, I don't mind doing the work. A little paint, some flooring, and it will be good as new.  It was music to my ears.

 Rita Brumley, Columbus Ohio

Mar 21, 2007 02:46 PM
Lori Kim Polk
Premiere Home Staging : Home Staging Services - Roseville, CA
Home Stager - Roseville, Sacramento

I agree! Declutter so that you can see what you have then go for the color scheme.  You can still work with those colors, really you can.  Depending on the room........... the new chocolates, cremes and blues could work.  Add some black and you have striking.  Get the wall color in a vase or deco piece and you can pull it together.  Sometimes homeowners just won't paint that "purple" room.  Work with it, add black/white, or yellow/lime green... experiement with a same accent color pulled through the whole house like a ribbon on a package.

Lori Kim Polk

Artful Journey Designs and Staging

Mar 21, 2007 05:21 PM
Joe Peffer
Delicious Real Estate - Columbus, OH
Columbus Homes Blog
I think buyers are very open to color on the walls, just not LOTS of BOLD color.  More and more I hear buyers say that they like the colors that are up and could move right in.  Having loud colors, especially in smaller spaces, is a turn off to buyers.  Rita is right, buyers don't want to do the work.  As a Realtor, my perspective on the clutter vs color dilemma is that a cluttered home will take much longer to sell than a crisp, clean home--even if it has too much color.
Apr 06, 2007 03:37 AM