Hi ladies. It's been awhile. I hope everyone had a wonderful Holiday and Happy New Year! Well, we just signed a contract to build a new house and I'm really nervous about putting our house on the market. Alot of work needs to be done on it. I've been getting very different opinions from the RE professionals on the paint color. Some tell me to keep everything white or off-white to make the space look larger and to present a blank canvas to potential buyers so they can imagine their own handiwork, while others say I MUST paint the walls with colors to give it a "model" home look and for interest. So I thought I would ask you ladies from a buyer's perspective. This will be my 2nd home and the 1st was also a new home so it was all white when we bought it so I can draw on experience. Thanks.

By Karen~moderator on Wednesday, January 11, 2006 - 04:08 pm:

Well, all of the new homes in my area have taupe or light tan, or a light mossy green on the walls, with a soft white or cream trim. Flooring colors are also neutral. The taupes/light tans are *the* thing in neutral wall color right now.

By Reds9298 on Wednesday, January 11, 2006 - 05:05 pm:

You can't go wrong with neutral, but could put someone off with a lot of color. Having said that, we will likely be putting our house up for sale soon as well. 2/3 bedrooms are a light blue and light green, and my K is apple green and yellow. The rest of the house is a neutral cream color. I'm not sure I will paint the colored rooms for selling the house unless it's really necessary. As long as someone doesn't have to repaint the entire house a netural color, it's probably okay IMO.

The big thing for us when we bought this home 6 years ago was wallpaper! We looked at a house we really liked that was wall-to-wall everywhere wallpaper and turned it down because it was just too much work to take it all down. Border is one thing, but all that wallpaper is another IMO. 3 gallons of paint is a cheap fix versus all the wallpaper removal and possible wall repair underneath plus fresh paint.

Good luck!

By Conni on Wednesday, January 11, 2006 - 05:14 pm:

First of all CONGRATS on building a new home!! Have fun!! Have you already picked out your houseplans? Be sure and post pics!!

We are talking about putting our house on the market in the next yr (possibly as early as this Spring). I have white trim and will be having that all touched up, walls are light taupe right now. My walls will be painted a darker shade of taupe than they are right now. I just removed wallpaper border in my kitchen- I will have to retexture that portion of the wall and just have paint in the kitchen and no more wallpaper. We are also replacing carpet in living room and mst bdrm.

Texture, paint walls, paint trim, new carpet... uhhh that's just 4 things on a list of about 1000 things we have to do to this place before we can sell it. I feel a little overwhelmed when I think about it. lol I have been cleaning tubs of baby boy clothes out of the attic for a week now and am starting to auction them on Ebay. LOL We have SOOOO much stuff we are storing and will never use again. I do not want to have to move it to another home!!! Cleaned out 2 dressers this week and 2 closets and went thru all my Christmas decor and got rid of a bunch of stuff. Are you already decluttered or do you still have to do that too? yuk! Oh well, it has to be done.

You could go look at some model homes in your area or some *open houses* and see what the trend seems to be.

By Unschoolmom on Wednesday, January 11, 2006 - 05:24 pm:

I love colour. I've heard all the stuff about beige and white but some colours are almost neutrals and can really bring a room to life. Some light colours like Sage aren't overpowering at all but give a room personality.

But there are some beiges that are great. When you're looking at samples hold other samples in bright colours up to them. Some have a yellow or green base (instead of grey) that make colours pop and come alive in contrast to them. So it's an inoffensive colour but one that doesn't look lifeless.

But the truth probably is that you'll get both kinds of people and less important then paint will be clearing out clutter and setting it up so that buyer's get a look at the house instead of your life in it. Here's a link to the website of a neat show where they go in and do some touching up and 'staging' of houses to get them to sell...http://www.aetv.com/tv/shows/sell_this_house/ They have some great tips and ideas.

By Vicki on Wednesday, January 11, 2006 - 05:40 pm:

I really don't think the color is as important as it being clean and clutter free. I think most people expect to have to paint the walls of a new home. Everyone has such different tastes on color. Now, if it is a very "out there" color or if they are in bad need of a fresh coat of paint, that is another story! Clean, fresh and clutter free to me would be more important than what color the walls are.

By Tklinreston on Wednesday, January 11, 2006 - 05:41 pm:

Thanks, Conni! This is our DREAM house and one that I will live in the rest of my life or at least until we're ready to downsize after all of my grandkids are married off. The best feature of the house and what drew us to this model is a 4 car garage. We'll use 2 for our cars and the other 2 for kids stuff... all their bikes, sports gear, ride on toys etc. It seems that most of you thus far think the house will need alittle color. Right now the entire house is WHITE. I will definitely stick with tans, sage etc. I am told to update the kitchen and bathroom.. so I'll probably replace all of the appliances & install a backsplash. My counters are formica -- not the expensive stuff but it still looks practically brand new so I'll probably leave that. Perhaps retile the bathroom and new vanities? I haven't done anything yet though since we won't list until end of summer. Thanks everyone for your advice. Dawn - I will definitely look up that site. Thanks again!!

By Colette on Wednesday, January 11, 2006 - 05:49 pm:

Try benjaminmoore.com they have different views of rooms that you can paint their colors to see how they flow. One view shows 3 rooms, so you see the room you are in and then the next to rooms so that all of the colors go well together.
They also sell samples so you can paint a little bit and decide if you like it or not. Sometimes you can find the samples on freecycle.

By Pamt on Wednesday, January 11, 2006 - 05:55 pm:

We're in big trouble when we sell our house (maybe in 1.5-2 years). We LOVE color and every room is a different color. They do blend and flow, but LOTS of different colors. On top of that, our oldest son has one wall painted in a contemporary art pattern (think of the Partridge family bus) and our youngest son's room has one wall that is decoupaged with pages from Spiderman comic books. They look cool and fit their personalities, but I think we'll be painting them when it's time to sell .

By Robin on Wednesday, January 11, 2006 - 05:58 pm:

I love color too but must admit there are some really pretty neutrals out there. One in particular that I like is a coffee aulait. I am not sure of its real name, but it is a creamy tan/brown. I think this is really nice with white trim.

I too look at space versus paint. People can always repaint.

By Bea on Wednesday, January 11, 2006 - 06:01 pm:

As someone who has bought and sold LOTS of houses through the years, I'd recommend... pale neutrals. Dark and vivid colors present a bigger job to cover, if the potential buyer doesn't share your taste. Pop the room with window treatments, small rugs, and throw pillows. They allow you to make the place visually interesting without turning off any potential buyers. Polish all shining surfaces.....chrome, mirrors, stoves, sinks, tubs windows. Have lots of light sources, but keep it low...no glare. It will highlight every imperfection. Put a pie pan in the oven on low.... filled with some apple juice, cinnamon and a dash of clove.

By Groovepickle on Wednesday, January 11, 2006 - 07:52 pm:

I'd say go with the neutrals and use some bright happy or elegant bedding/curtins/throws etc... Then you get the best of both worlds.