DO you know that other than decluttering and cleaning, paint is the least expensive way to increase the value to your home? Because the walls are the largest surface in your home they have a big impact on how your home is perceived. Freshly painted rooms add to the financial value of your home because a well-maintained home is worth more in the buyer’s eyes than one with scuffed and dinged walls. It will also add emotional value as the buyer walks through your home. You want the buyer to LOVE your home and imagine themselves living there. When buyers make that all important emotional connection they WANT TO BUY!
Not just any color will do…
If you want your home to look fresh, appealing, and up-to-date then you need to have current on-trend paint colors. If you moved into your home many years ago you may have painted your walls a warm color (back in the late 90’s the first floor of my home was painted peach—and I loved it!!) because for 20 years the trend was for warm colors—remember the great Tuscan style that was everywhere!
Decorating styles have changed! We are right in the middle of the “cooler gray +white woodwork” trend, so a home that has just been painted in a warm color (shades of red/orange/yellow or beige with those undertones ) will NOT look fresh and up-to-date even though it was newly painted.
The colors that are appealing to today’s buyers are light and bright, and are cooler, but not cold. Another advantage is that these cooler colors make a home look more spacious.
What IS the best color to paint a home for sale?
The best color to paint your home is one that is on-trend, BUT also takes into consideration the fixed colors in your home. What do I mean by the ‘fixed colors’ in your home? The fixed colors are the colors of the things that are permanent (like a fireplace, tile, or counters and back-splash in the kitchen). If everything is brown and beige you can’t pick a cool gray to paint your walls…you need a warm gray or greige (a grayed beige) like Edgecomb Gray that will harmonize with your fixed colors.
This list of my favorite paint colors will work in 90% of homes being listed for sale.
All the paint colors are from Benjamin Moore. Don’t want to use Benjamin Moore paint …these same BM colors can be mixed in other paint brands, because all the major paint retailers have the formulas of the other paint brands. I personally like to paint with Sherwin Williams paint – to me it seems to go on easier than Benjamin Moore paint (and it is more affordable).
WHITES
Simply White
GRAYS
White Dove
Paper White
Gray Owl
GREIGE
Revere Pewter
Hazy Sky
Edgecomb Gray
Soft Chamois
BLUE
Gray Cashmere
Whispering Spring
These warm calm colors are not just for staging. Painting your home (even if you aren’t moving) is the easiest way to make your home look fresh and current! Instead of peach, the first floor of my home is now painted Gray Cashmere…and I love it!