If you have decided to sell your home, then you need to make sure you’re choosing the right interior paint colors. Why? Well, they might affect potential buyers’ interest in buying your home more than you’d think. Paint is supposed to be a relatively affordable and easy change, and still, it has an outsized impact on a buyer’s perception of the home.
The best paint colors will definitely put money in your pocket. However, the wrong ones might cost you, if not leave you waiting for someone to see potential in your own property. So in order to avoid that, we made a list of things and colors that you should prioritize if you plan on selling your home at some point.
The best interior paint colors for every room
If you didn’t know this, well, now you will: all white walls are out. Nowadays, buyers have decided to say goodbye to bland, popular paint colors. Instead, they prefer paying more for a home painted in dark, moody colors.
I guess it’s fair to say we are living in edgier times, so it only makes sense to see it reflected in your own home, right? Dark gray is associated with higher offer prices than white in every room of the house, whether it’s the kitchen, living room, bathroom, or even the bedroom. So after a quick survey, here’s a list of colors that many buyers prefer:
Kitchen: charcoal gray
Charcoal gray is definitely a huge hit when it comes to kitchens. Even if it doesn’t seem like an intuitive choice, the proof relies in the price. Homes that have a charcoal gray kitchen can sell for an estimated $2,512 more than similar homes.
The classic white kitchen isn’t nearly as popular as it used to be. It has definitely fallen out of favor with today’s buyers, who would reportedly pay $612 less for a home with one. As Mehnaz Khan, a color psychology specialist, and interior designer in Albany, New York, explained, “When a potential home buyer looks at a picture or a house that has charcoal gray kitchen, in their mind, even if it’s at a subconscious level, there’s a feeling that the home is current.
Living room: dark gray
The living room is the ideal place in your house where you can finally unwind and feel cozy. Even if you might be tempted to gravitate towards a neutral color, dark gray can actually be a crowd-pleaser. As it turns out, a dark gray living room can bring in offers of $1,755 or even more.
Buyers have been exposed for a prolonged time to dark gray spaces, whether through home improvement TV shows or simply through their social media feeds. Turns out they are likely drawn to charcoal on a psychological level.
It just sticks to them, if you catch my drift. Buyers dream of a home where they can feel they can hide, metaphorically speaking. They want to withdraw and escape from the cruel uncertainty of the outside world. Rooms enveloped in dark gray can easily create that feeling of security.
Bedroom: dark gray
When it comes to bedrooms, go gray. Absolutely sure of this. Even if whites might seem like the easy and intuitive choice here, it’s not. You want to reach their deepest desires (I mean, it’s the bedroom, after all!), not what you think they’d like.
Just like with living rooms, dark gray in the bedroom seems to outperform pale neutrals, with the potential to bring in offers of $1,859 more. “Gray is seen as the color of retreat,” as Khan explained.
He also added that ever since we came out of the pandemic and returned to our extremely hectic lives, we want to make our homes a safe haven. Rooms enveloped in dark gray help you think, detach, and unwind.
They can create a much-desired feeling of security. It’s very important to create a sleep-inducing environment in your bedroom. The whole purpose of color psychology is to improve your well-being.
Terracotta brown bathrooms
Believe it or not, brown is quite big in bathrooms. I know, I know, the jokes could never end. But in all fairness, earth-tone colors have repeatedly proven to be quite trendy in the past two years. Earth-tone paint colors are often associated with higher offer prices when they are used in bathrooms. Bathrooms that are painted in terracotta brown, which is the color of the year (last year).
What colors you should definitely avoid
As Khan explained, there’s really no right or wrong color. But, but, there’s a big but here. There’s is definitely a right way and a wrong way to pick your colors. For example, not all grays turn to gold when it’s time to sell your house.
As a matter of fact, using a midtone gray can definitely hurt your home’s sale price, especially when it’s used on the house’s front door. The most recent and prospective buyers would definitely offer an estimated of $3,365 less for a home that has its front door painted in cement gray.
On the other hand, buyers prefer black front doors to those that are painted in gray, and would even offer $300 more for a home with a mid tone rosy brown front door. When you pick the best paint colors for selling a house, you need to think five steps ahead.
A potential buyer needs to be able to imagine their furniture in your house. You have to make room for their imagination. If your home is painted in highly personal hues, like a foyer that’s a bright orange or even a bathroom that’s sunrise yellow, it will definitely be more challenging for them to imagine anything.
The house will instantly feel like it belongs to you, not them. It’s also true that bright and eccentric colors are more fun, but having them appear in your listing photos could also deter some buyers and potentially narrow the pool of interested parties in your home.
Finish matters just as much as color
As soon as you’ve decided on the right paint hues, make sure you pay attention to the paint finish you choose, as well. For example, matte or flat finish paint can do an excellent job when it comes to hiding imperfections in the walls: the dings, scuffs, and waves that are normal in any house that’s not exactly, well, new.
Walls painted in a matte finish will definitely look smoother and newer. As for ceilings, you can use flat white paint to hide imperfections and reflect light, making the room look bigger and brighter.
Should you paint your house before selling it?
We would advise you to, yes. New paint is one of the fastest and most affordable ways to make your home look newer, cleaner, and better maintained. Dirty or even scuffed paint on the walls or trim could potentially hurt your home’s resale value.
However, it’s not just the condition of the paint on your walls that affects your overall home value. A fresh coat of paint in the right hue will definitely make your home more appealing to buyers. If you’ve repainted not long ago and your painted surfaces are still in top-notch condition, but you regret your color choices, we would still advise you to repaint.
Sorry, but you will be happy when you’ll sell the home at the highest price, so sorry but not sorry.
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