Paint color is one of the most important decisions to make when updating your home as your choice can be a deal breaker for potential buyers. Nowadays buyers are picky as in this buyers’ market they have many houses to choose from.
Contrary to popular belief, painting your walls plain white before selling a home is not a good idea. We do not want the house to look sterile! Some people assume that buyers prefer to complete the space on their own, but buyers tend to feel the opposite way. They want to do the least amount of work possible, and spend the least amount of money, once they have purchased a new home. Having to worry about paint color is a turn-off for many. Not only will the right paint color help sell your house faster, but it will give you a significant return on investment. According to HomeGain’s Prepare to Sell 2012 national survey painting the interior on average yields a 107% return on investment.
Choosing the right wall colors is important as color creates emotional reactions.
Neutrals are dominating the color scene, and their versatility is appealing to potential buyers. But neutral does not mean that there should be no color involved. Buyers need to be able to envision themselves with all of their belongings in their new space. Think of the house as a blank-canvas for buyers to envision their own style. Your own personal style and tastes need to be put aside when selling your home.
Color trends and tastes change over time and it is important to use colors that are current but yet refrain from personal taste.
Great current colors for preparing a house for sale are grays, beiges, sage greens, and subtle colors off whites.
Yellows, pinks and reds are currently not found much in wall color trends when preparing a house for sale.
Bedroom:
When deciding on a color for your bedroom, simple and soft tones should be used such as beiges and bluish grays. The main goal is to give the room a relaxing feel, and therefore dark colors should be avoided. Sticking with a simple color will make the room appeal to both genders.
Living Room:
Living rooms should be painted with warmer tones that make the room feel welcoming, such as creamy whites, and taupes.
Kitchen:
Kitchen paint colors choice need to be coordinated with the cabinets, counter top, flooring and back splash. There is no one color fits all, but the great color choices will create some contrast between the cabinets and the paint color. Two cabinet color trends are prevailing – either dark wood stained cabinets or white/off white cabinets. Wall color family choices that we often suggest for kitchen are grays, slightly colored off-whites and subtle greens. The kitchen is one of the most important rooms in a house for buyers, and good lighting is vital for using the kitchen to cook.
Bathroom:
Lastly, bathroom colors should be very light neutrals such as warm whites or picking up some color from the tiles. Dark, bold wall colors will make a typically small space feel even smaller. Feel free to add pops of color using bathroom accessories to give the room some excitement.
Adjacent Rooms:
Keep in mind that a room’s color should flow naturally into the next room. You don’t have to use the same color, but they should work well together. Lay color samples of the different rooms out and see how they work together to create a nice flow from one room to the next.
Does your space feel cramped? Paint color can be used to make a small room appear larger, which is very appealing to buyers.
Consider these 5 tips:
1. Light colors make a space feel larger, while darker colors can make it seem smaller.
2. Consider architectural features in the room such as chair rails, crown molding, a fireplace. With the right color choice accentuate these value added features of your house. Contrasting colors will help make these features stand out instead of hiding them.
3. Too much of a contrast between the wall color and ceiling color chops up the space. Instead, choose a color on the ceiling that has a less noticeable contrast to give the room a nice flow. For standard or low ceilings choose a lighter tint of color from the same color family of the walls. Darker colors on the ceiling will bring the ceiling visually closer and give the room a more intimate feeling. Thus they should be used only for tall ceilings.
4. If there are windows in the room, try matching the wall color to a dominant color in the view. For example for a house located at the sea, bring some of the blue tones into the house.
5. A long and narrow room can appear wider if the end walls are painted a significantly darker color than the side walls.
One last tip: Since color looks different depending on the lighting and/or orientation of the room, we recommend to always test paint in a small area of the room before buying all the paint and painting the entire room. First be sure that you have the right color choice. This can safe you a costly mistake.
If you feel unsure about what specific color to use, feel free to contact us at 203.807.4040 or info@birgitanich.com for your personal in-house Color Consultation in Fairfield county, CT.
