COLOR: TOO MUCH OR TOO LITTLE?

In my job as a Home Stager, I am often asked the question during a staging consultation, “Should I paint this room?”  Then the next question always follows, “What color?”  I find that most people are afraid of color, “play it safe”, and paint their walls white.  If all of the walls in a home are a stark white color, a house can feel very cold and uninviting.

 On the other end of the spectrum, I have seen homes that have bright colors painted in each room.  When you enter a house that has too many bright colors, it can feel as if you are viewing a house through the lens of a kaleidoscope!

 When you live in your home, you have the opportunity to paint your rooms any colors you desire.  However, when you are preparing your house for the real estate market, you need to think about what will be appealing to the general public.

For example, most prospective buyers will not be attracted to a master bedroom that has been painted a bright Halloween orange color.  I recently viewed a home with a master bedroom that was painted this orange color.  In addition to not being appealing to most buyers, the orange color made the bedroom appear very dark and small in size.  It may not have been the intention of the homeowners but the four orange walls overpowered the room.

If prospective buyers are not attracted to the colors in a house that they are viewing, they are often thinking about the time and expense to repaint the rooms.  Then they will leave the house very quickly and dismiss it because they do not want the work or expense involved with repainting.

As a realtor advising your clients or as a homeowner, you may be wondering what colors to choose if you are considering repainting as preparation for selling a house.  To begin, the interior walls (such as hallways) can be painted with creamy white or ivory colors. 

The main living areas such as the living room, family room, and kitchen can be painted using warm tans, soft beiges, rich honeys, or taupes since these are all great neutral choices.  Benjamin Moore’s Shelburne Buff is one of my favorite tans that I often recommend to clients.  Pastel yellows or light greens are additional options for neutrals (they look especially nice in bedrooms and bathrooms too).  It is best to paint all ceilings white.

Curb appeal is especially very important when you are selling your house.  People may drive by your house and not bother to come inside if they do not like what they see on the outside.  Therefore, you want to choose a rich color for your front door that is welcoming.  This is the only exception to the neutral colors rule.  Some suggestions for painting your front door are: red, brick red, charcoal, black, pine green, or chocolate brown.

You do not need to be afraid to use color!  Just remember to be careful about choosing soft colors that will be appealing to a broad range of prospective buyers if you are choosing new paint colors in preparation for the real estate market.