Using color throughout a home can be expressive, creative and hold cultural significance. But what happens to that level of personalization when it’s time to sell?
Homeowners preparing a property to sell need to look past their own emotional connection to color and focus on what changes – like a fresh coat of paint – can elevate their home’s overall aesthetic, appeal to buyers, and potentially increase ROI.
We share what sellers should – and should not – change up when it comes to their home’s interior paint colors, and what shades serve best as a visual template for prospective buyers.
Reconsidering bright colors
Colors are used to express oneself and can oftentimes be a reflection of their personality, mindset and values. Working with clients from all around the world, we regularly sees the tie between home color and culture.
Many home stagers agree that while color is a great way to be expressive while living in a space, it’s often best to eliminate brighter shades when preparing a home to sell in order to appeal to more buyers.
When it’s time to sell, you should aim to remove yourself from the house and make it a blank slate – almost like an art gallery. Galleries usually have white walls because it allows the art to shine without making an impression on it. We alway tell our clients to approach their own homes in the same way – one needs to set their house up as the neutral gallery for the buyer to see as their next piece of art.”
Aligning with trends
While neutral paint colors are typically timeless, there can be a place for brighter colors to stay up or be added in when preparing a home to sell. If the seller’s goal is to match their home with current design trends, like today’s buzz around mid-century modern style, for example, then in-theme colors may be embraced by prospective buyers.
Color doesn’t necessarily always have to go. But if we’re seeing those dark brown or rich red hues from the early 2000s, it may do a disservice to the overall aesthetic of your home. In these cases, we definitely recommend changing it to a color that’s more neutral.
Homes vary in size, have unique layouts and receive different quantities of natural light, thus requiring different shades and undertones of paint even within one color family. That said, we often find ourself suggesting the colors Swiss Coffee, a neutral-toned white, and Pure White, a creamier tone, to our clients as safe bets for creating a gallery-like effect.
Consumer preferences also have a longstanding history of mirroring societal trends. While cooler grays were preferred for a period of time, warmer neutrals are rising in popularity.
Because of the change in lifestyle due to COVID-19 in the last couple of years, people are actually starting to favor warmer tones for their mood-boosting and comforting effects. It’s all about psychology. People are so uncertain about what’s happening in the world, they want to come home to a place that makes them feel safe.
Creating a synchronized space
Wall color surely sets a backdrop. But the rest of the elements within a home’s interior have to align to create a space that buyers can envision themselves and their families living in.
Your furniture and décor pieces have to be cohesive with the wall color. If you have really modern furniture but dated wall colors, the interior can feel disconnected. It’s much harder for buyers to picture how they would personalise, furnish and decorate the home when it doesn’t feel natural.
We understands that for many, it’s not in budget to make big changes to a home before hitting the market. In addition to decluttering the space, we share a few other tricks for staging just with existing items within the home.
Lighting and window treatments are a relatively easy way to elevate a space. It can even be as simple as moving your curtains all the way up to the ceiling to visually elongate the walls and make the ceiling seem higher. Bringing in as much natural light as you can. In smaller spaces, consider swapping out heavier curtains for ones that are sheer to really optimise sunlight.
A qualified seller’s agent will have insight on the local housing market, have seen comparable properties, and can provide further suggestions to help prep a home to sell.
When it’s time to sell, just keep in mind that you’re trying to appeal to others’ taste, not your own. Getting rid of personalisation and loud wall colours can help the process move along much smoother and attract more buyers along the way.
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