Sellers- What's Missing in this picture? Your house needs more than just a coat of white paint!

Sellers, if you are planning on selling your house you may have been told that all you need is a good cleaning and a fresh coat of white paint. .  To be sure,  a new coat of paint does wonders for giving a house a fresh, clean feeling.   But painting  (or leaving) your walls all white can take something very important away from your rooms. . .  PERSONALITY.  NOT yours, but that of the house. . 

                                                                                          

   
 
All white walls can zap all the personality from a home.  Now that doesn't mean that white paint doesn't have a place in a home.  White can make a small space seem larger.  White trim can make a darker wall "pop".  .  White can accent an architectural detail that might otherwise go unnoticed.One of my favorite kitchens was the one Diane Keaton had in "Something's Gotta Give".  All white with Black counter tops.  Perfect for the house.   However, white walls in every room, with very little color elsewhere can be boring.  

To Sell Your House in this competitive market, it has to stand out in the crowd..  

Consider this:                                
   Stagers are more often than not faced with trying to convince our sellers to begin the packing/decluttering  process so we can stage their house.  Personal photos have to be removed and bookshelves and other flat surfaces decluttered.  Unless staging an unoccupied vacant home, I have rarely had to ask my seller to add accessories (and color) to an occupied home.   However, one of my clients I had lived by the "Less is More" rule.  Every wall in this 4000+Square foot house was white.  Accessories were minimal and many times not in scale with the size of the rooms and ceiling height.  Despite being in a well-regarded gated community on a prime lot with a golf course view, this home was underwhelming. Her friends even offered to go shopping for her for new colorful towels and bed linens. Yet, as she was moving on to a new house several states away, she did not want to "invest" any more money in this house.  It's understandable but not if you want to sell your house in a very competitive housing market.                                                         
  Your house needs to be able to "speak" to a buyer.  White walls and no color say very little. .

 

 As you look at it, this room is unoffensive.  Not much in the way of clutter.  But at the same time, not much that invites you into the room.  By adding some color on the walls, the room becomes more inviting. . . . . . . . .          

                                             

  Using Sherwin Williams Enhanced Color Visualizer to "paint" this room (as the one below)
 you can see how it begins to invite you into the room.  Just think of the pizazz this room would have had with a furniture rearrangement and color for pop!  

       This is a beautiful office with French doors and lots of light  
        Investing in paint is a start to adding warmth to the room  Decluttering the desk; adding a photo
        behind the desk and a tall green plant could complete the picture for very little investment. 

  
                            
                                                                                                                                                 




                                    

All of these pictures were enhanced with the Color Visualizer.  No other "staging" was done.  We would like to have changed the seller's mind about adding any color and accessories, but in the absence of that, look at what a can of paint can do for a house.                                         

If you're thinking of placing your home on the market, first grab your dust cloth, mop and bucket.  Then, when you grab the brush and paint can, think of what colors will best enhance your spaces.  When in doubt, contact your area Professional Home Stager.