FAQs: Why are White Walls "The Kiss of Death"?

Time for anther installment of FAQs, the series that features snappy answers to your Home Staging, and Decorating questions.

Whether you're trying to sell your Westchester County property, or looking to snazz it up for the holidays, you need to believe me when I say White Walls are the Kiss of Death. And the Decorator off-whites are not much better.

There are three principles to remember here: First, the eye is immediately, intrinsically drawn to color, and light. There is no conscious thought, it just happens. Second, walls are the largest surface area in any room. No matter what, they just are. Third, most rooms are bottom-heavy. Color and pattern on furniture or carpet; bulk-thanks to gravity, the furniture itself-rests on the floor.

If there is little or no color on the walls, we 'see' the stuff. Our eyes are drawn down first, then to the stuff itself. In an average to large room it's chunky and unwelcoming at best. In a small room it's sad, but without anything else to catch your eye, it focuses on the stuff>>>the more stuff, the more the eye re-focuses, and the room becomes smaller and smaller.

The Refreshed Home knows that color on the wall is the singular most important change you can make to a room. It adds balance and warmth, and (counter-intuitively) it expands smaller rooms by having the furniture visually recede because there is not such stark contrast. 

In listing photos. it engages the viewer, encourages them to take longer look. When there is color on the wall-as opposed to a big vanilla space- moulding and other trim details show up better-you see the 6 panel doors, the crown moulding.

That it can be done quickly, and for so little money makes it the best ROI by far.

There are some very pleasing neutral colors out there that will make a world of difference, and could probably work really well with much of what you own. No more white walls...trust the Decorator-you'll be glad you did!