Sellers: Are Your Color Choices Keeping Your Home from Selling?

Are you thinking about selling your home? Or maybe your home is already on the market, but is not getting shown as much as you would like. It may be time to take a look at the color on your walls and in your home decor and make changes if necessary. Did you know that color can have an emotional and psychological impact on a potential buyer? Which is why it's important that you learn which colors create certain feelings in a person and carefully choose the colors in your home. In turn it can lead to a faster home sale...which is the goal, right?!

Photo by Tanakawho

Tips and Suggestions for helping your home sell:

*Off-White and Beige Walls: Most people will advise that having off-white or beige walls is great because it gives the potential homeowner the opportunity to envision how their furniture and decorations will look in the home. Having a "blank canvas" is great, but may not bring on any of the positive feelings that a well-chosen wall color can elicit. To solve this dilemma, you might want to paint an accent wall or use certain colors in your accessories. We'll talk about which colors work best in certain rooms a little later.

*People's Moods are Affected by Color: People's moods are influenced by color, so if you want to create a sense of coziness, excitement or energy choose colors such as red, yellow or orange. If you are trying to calm someone down or relax them, the cooler shades of blue work. Green was found to be the number one color to lift people's spirits--but be wary when choosing the shade, stay away from lime-green tones as those often had the effect of making people feel sick. Medium green shades such as sage is a better choice. I once had a listing where the hallway was painted lime-green, from the minute I walked through the home I advised the homeowner to re-paint it a lighter neutral shade of tan. Not only was the lime-green color not pleasant to look at, but the rich, dark shade made the hallway feel much narrower than it really was--a neutral tone would make the hallway feel more open. (By the way, they did not re-paint and the listing expired before it sold.)

*Make Sure the Colors Flow from Room to Room: A home will not flow as well or transition as smoothly throughout the home if every room is a different contrasting color. Instead, choose variations of the same color for a seamless design that promotes a sense of balance. An easy way to do this is to find a paint card at the store that has four or five shades of the same color. If you need a hallway color use the lightest shade and then move two or three shades up on the paint card and use that color for the family room or kitchen. This also works well for bathrooms attached to bedrooms.

Photo by BobJudge

Effects of Colors and Which Rooms they Work Best in:

*RED: stimulates the appetite, increases energy and heart rate, enhances excitment.

Best in: Dining Rooms

*ORANGE: when used in moderation it can create feelings of comfort, warmth and cheerfulness.

Best in: Family and Living Rooms

*YELLOW: enhances positive thinking, encourages happy and welcoming feelings.

Best in: dimly lit or dark hallways and entry ways; buttery tones are good for Living Rooms

*GREEN: most peaceful color; diminishes nervous system activity and muscular tension; helps to calm and relax.

Best in: lighter shades in Living Rooms and medium shades in Kitchens and Dining Rooms

*BLUE: encourages feelings of cleanliness, calmness, tranquility; cools down a room; suppresses appetite; lowers blood pressure.

Best in: Bedrooms

*PURPLE: enhances creativity and imagination; many adults don't like purple walls though.

Best in: Play Areas and Children's Bedrooms

I hope this has given you more insight into which colors to choose when painting your home or getting it ready to put it on the market. Color is a personal preference and the colors that you really enjoy may not be what a potential buyer would put on the walls. I always advise my clients who are purchasing a home to keep in mind that paint is not permanent and is pretty cheap! Not liking the color on the walls should generally not be a reason as to not buy a home; however, if you're trying to sell your home, you want to make it as attractive as possible--so if changing the paint color will help it sell faster, why wouldn't you do it?

Thanks for Reading!

If you are in the market to buy or sell your home in the Bethlehem or Dacula area, I would be happy to assist you! My passion is helping people find their dream home and stepping them through this exciting journey. I serve the Walton, Barrow and Gwinnett county areas. Call or text me today!