Home Staging Tip ~ So there’s No Complaint About the Paint, Please Use Restraint

As professional home stagers, we’ve heard for years that when you’re selling your home, your wall colors should be current colors, and preferably neutral ones.  Nothing says “dated” more than walking into a home whose walls sport colors from ten or twenty years ago.  But painting your home to prepare it for selling is one of the best returns on your investment! The cost of paint is reasonable (look for sales) and labor is cheap if you do it yourself, but usually very worthwhile having it done by a professional.

What we’ve found is that buyers will walk into a home that needs painting and imagine that the cost of painting is much higher than it actually is.  This results in thinking that the house “needs work” and if they decide to make an offer, they’re going to deduct a much higher amount for this “work” than it may actually cost.  They may also just decide to keep looking … going on to the next house that looks more “move-in ready.”

We often work with Oregon homeowners to help them select paint colors for selling.  Here are some Before & After photos from 3 lovely homes we worked on recently that illustrate how neutral paint colors show buyers that “this home is ready for you!”

The living & dining rooms had a very bold color that buyers couldn’t relate to 

Painting the walls a color that complements the oak floors & wood trim, and exposing the windows makes this home more appealing to the 40-something Target Buyer

This living room had a wall color that looked great with their rug, but the rug didn’t stay with the house

A neutral wall color enhanced the woodwork in this lovely home (staging helped too)

This master bathroom is GORGEOUS, but the dark color really dated it

Using a color that complemented the tiles, marble and woodwork made the room much brighter!

If you’re planning to sell your home, or it’s on the market but buyer feedback is that it “needs work” i.e. painting,  consult with your local professional home stager for advice on paint colors that help sell homes!

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Don’t take chances with your investment ~ contact the 2012 Professional Stager of the Year for the Western U.S., Room Solutions Staging.  We’re a Portland Oregon home staging company helping homeowners, Realtors, investors, builders and banks reduce market time for their properties.  In 2011 our average Days On Market was just 29 days, compared to the Portland-area average of 140+ days!  For a free estimate call us @ 503-246-1800.