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Staging with colour, does it work in your area?

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Home Stager with Toronto GTA, Alliston, Newmarket 416.928.2999

We have found staging in Vaughan and the Toronto GTA area we are using more colour than neutral colours in our staging work for the last year.

There is a trend for "maximilism" in our area and buyers see it every day in design magazines as well as on TV shows like The Marilyn Denis Show and Cityline. 

With our exceptionally grey winters we are finding buyers are quite receiptive to a more colourful look as long as it is curated well and not overwhelming the room. 

We still advise neutral wall colours like OC 27 Balboa Mist so buyers can move right in. But we find it is the use of colour that gets them excited to consider there and putting in an offer.

Below are two examples- one home staged with colour and one with a neutral palette.  They are a good comparison as these new builds were sitting side by side. Only the use of colour is changed in the living rooms. 

There are buyers attracted to both looks. Which look is the winner in your area?

colourful living room

neutral living room

When you have a property to be marketed to attract your ideal buyers call the Go To Girl around town.

Michelle Finnamore Interiors Ltd.

416.928.2999

michelle@finnamoreinteriors.com

 

 

 

 

Comments(18)

Shawn and Angela Miller
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Amabassador Real Estate - Lincoln, NE
Lincoln and Omaha, NE REALTORS®

I like to have neutral colors on the wall, but decorate with colors, like with your photos.  Adding a green plant or colorful artwork.  It's a lot easier to change the look of the room by not having to paint again.

Mar 04, 2018 08:11 AM
Lesley Wilson-VanGoethem
Innovative Realty Solutions Group - Winter Springs, FL
Residential Real Estate Broker Associate

love seeing color come back in style.. tired of just tans and greys!

Mar 04, 2018 08:15 AM
Michelle Finnamore
Toronto GTA, Alliston, Newmarket - Vaughan, ON
Preparing your property for sale

We always recommend the walls remain neutral so buyers can move right in. Definitely seeing more colour especially in sofas.

Mar 04, 2018 08:45 AM
1~Judi Barrett
Integrity Real Estate Services 116 SE AVE N, Idabel, OK 74745 - Idabel, OK
BS Ed, Integrity Real Estate Services -IDABEL OK

Even the colors in our area are "neutrals" browns, tans, dark greys,  to complement the lighter neutrals of the walls.  I love the photo decorated with colors.

Mar 04, 2018 03:58 PM
Michelle Finnamore

Thank you for stopping in to see this stage with colour Judi, I love both looks. They each have their own demographic of buyer that is attracted to either the neutral or colourful look. 

Mar 05, 2018 04:59 AM
Sharon Tara
Sharon Tara Transformations - Portsmouth, NH
Retired New Hampshire Home Stager

Awesome...beautiful as always Michelle!

Mar 04, 2018 04:33 PM
Michelle Finnamore
Toronto GTA, Alliston, Newmarket - Vaughan, ON
Preparing your property for sale

Thank you Sharon, it was an interesting staging to be able to do as the houses were sitting side by side and were the exact layouts. 

Mar 05, 2018 04:57 AM
Kathy Streib
Cypress, TX
Home Stager/Redesign

Michelle- both are beautiful and your very special touch make them even more so. I love a neutral shade on the walls with color added via accessories!  

Mar 10, 2018 12:17 PM
Michelle Finnamore

Thank you for the feature Kathy, this is going to be a great way to see how our market repsonds to exactly the same floor plan, on the same street, sitting right beside each other. Will keep the results posted here. The only difference with the home with the colour is that they do have a large tree in the centre of the back yard which needs to be removed as it is not well.

Mar 11, 2018 07:26 AM

                                                                 

                    Thank you Michelle!

                           

Comments
Dorie Dillard Austin TX
Coldwell Banker Realty ~ 512.750.6899 - Austin, TX
NW Austin ~ Canyon Creek and Spicewood/Balcones

Good morning Michelle Finnamore,

I'm so glad that Kathy Streib featured your post in her "Ah-Ha" moments for the week! Wonderful post..we are seeing pops of color that bring things to life! I see I hadn't subscribed to your post so I took care of that!

Mar 11, 2018 05:15 AM
Michelle Finnamore

Thank you for stopping in to check out this post Dorie. We are defintintely receiving good feedback from the homes we are using colour in. I think a lot of buyers are tired of every home looking exactly the same, grey and more grey. Grey is a fabulous colour but it can benefit from pops fo colour. 

Mar 11, 2018 07:27 AM
Sheila Anderson
Referral Group Incorporated - East Brunswick, NJ
The Real Estate Whisperer Who Listens 732-715-1133

Good morning Michelle. I like your style and this post but must say that no color is screaming at me here.

Mar 11, 2018 06:26 AM
Michelle Finnamore

We definitely have more buyers responding well to the no colour look. When we stage in a neutral way we use very light coloured accent cushions and artwork to add just a touch of colour and life to a room. Very elegant is the usual feedback. Buyers are buying aspirationally and if elegant is their ideal lifestyle look, we create the perfect rooms for them to see themselves living in.  We only staged one room with colour, all the other rooms were done in the elegant neutral look.

Mar 11, 2018 07:29 AM
Debb Janes
Nature As Neighbors - Camas, WA
Put My Love of Nature At Work for You

Love it Michelle, glad I found you through Kathy's Ah Ha Sunday post.  Personally, I like both. Although, the neutrals still reign in our area - with accents of colors that can be changed with the seasons. I have it in my own home and love it. 

Mar 11, 2018 07:29 AM
Michelle Finnamore

Neutrals are definitely the largest number of homes we stage in our area as well Debb. It does do well in the luxury homes we tend to work in. 

Mar 11, 2018 12:57 PM
Jeff Dowler, CRS
eXp Realty of California, Inc. - Carlsbad, CA
The Southern California Relocation Dude

Hi Michelle

I like the combination of neutrals with colors, especially with art work, and we tend to see more use of color here than not, including in the builder's model homes. Perhaps that's because we have color all year round outside?

Jeff

Mar 11, 2018 08:29 AM
Michelle Finnamore

HI Jeff, colour usage definitely is reflective of the area. We tend to use mostly neutral colours as our area is quite grey and bleak for the winter months. 


 

Mar 11, 2018 12:56 PM
Fred Griffin Florida Real Estate
Fred Griffin Real Estate - Tallahassee, FL
Licensed Florida Real Estate Broker

   Agree with keeping the walls neutral ("safe"), but using some color in the furniture and decor to add life. 

Mar 11, 2018 12:11 PM
Michelle Finnamore

Definitley keeping the walls netural is a good idea. We use Balboa Mist OC 27 by Ben Moore most often. If it is a white we use Chantilly Lace OC 17.  

Mar 11, 2018 12:55 PM
Dorte Engel
RE/MAX Leading Edge - Bowie, MD
ABC - Annapolis, Bowie, Crofton & rest of Maryland

Dear Michelle,

Picking a few colors (colours) to repeat around the house always looks more intentional than a mishmash of everything.

Mar 12, 2018 07:18 PM
Michelle Finnamore

Agreed Dorte, we definitely use colour repeated throughtout a home for continuity. We don't want to change colour every room you enter. We used the blue from this colourful room throughtout the home along with neutrals. This was the only room we used this much colour in.

Mar 19, 2018 05:23 AM
Ellen Caruso
Daniel Gale Sotheby's International Realty - Glen Head, NY

If your going to live in the space, I’d say let’s go color! Who wants to and how practical are white sofas!

Mar 12, 2018 07:45 PM
Michelle Finnamore

so right Ellen, I don't think I could make it through one day with white sofas! Life is for living and when you have dogs and kids colour is the way to go.  

Mar 13, 2018 04:46 AM
Debbie Gartner
The Flooring Girl - White Plains, NY
The Flooring Girl & Blog Stylist -Dynamo Marketers

Excellent photos.  Here, gray walls are most popular and dark hardwoods (often SM Silverpoint, gray screen or BM gray owl or greige Revere Pewter.  But, people will definitely add some color accents.  Cool colors are much more popular, so often those accents are with subtle blues or navy.

Mar 13, 2018 12:25 PM
Michelle Finnamore

HI Debbie, we also use OC27 Balboa Mist along with the paint colours you have mentioned. It goes extremely well with the wood flooring that is prevalent in our area. In fact, it really brings out the beauty of the wood and makes it look fresh and new again. 

Mar 19, 2018 05:25 AM
Charles Stallions Real Estate Services
Charles Stallions Real Estate Services Inc - Gulf Breeze, FL
Buyers Agent 800-309-3414 Pace and Gulf Breeze,Fl.

I may be wrong but I tell folks neutral on the paint and color in the furniture here 

Mar 17, 2018 10:14 PM
Michelle Finnamore
Toronto GTA, Alliston, Newmarket - Vaughan, ON
Preparing your property for sale

HI Charles, neutral colours are still the norm in our area as well. We are seeing a shift in using colour on our popular tv programs and home owners typically respond well to it. 

Mar 19, 2018 05:21 AM