A great and inexpensive way to refresh your home prior to listing is to update the paint on your walls. However, make sure your colour choices are being made with your potential buyers in mind. Psychologically, certain colours can be off-putting while others up-lifting. When selling the home, sellers should stick to neutral and pale colours so that the buyer is not distracted by the colour but focussed on envisioning themselves in the space.
When looking at Benjamin Moore's most popular colours, it's no surprise the list includes many greys and off-whites. These colours reflect light, make the space feel larger, and accentuate architectural details such as crown moulding or trim. The best shades for selling your home include Coventry Gray, Revere Pewter, Balboa Mist, and Gray Owl. A personal favourite of mine is Gray Owl which has a subtle warmth to it. Here are Benjamin Moore's list of most popular neutrals.
Recommended colours for selling your home from Sherwin-Williams include Repose Gray, Dorian Gray, Agreeable Gray, and Passive.
Another shade of gray that makes a lot of "top" lists is from the Behr line at Home Depot. Seagull Gray is light and beautiful. Keep in mind the colours will look different when looked at online, on a swatch, or on the wall and can change based on artificial vs. natural light. A best practice is to view a paint swatch on different walls and at different times in the day to see how it changes in the light. Purchasing a small paint sample is a great idea as you can see more of it as a larger area on the wall.
Should your entire home be one colour? This can be an option as buying paint in bulk can be cheaper and making a single decision, quicker. It's important to remember that this colour will not look the same in every room: varying light will bring out the colour's undertones. Picking the shades surrounding your preferred choice can be a great way to have different colours that all speak to each other within your home.
Many American studies suggest that a fresh coat of paint could result in higher selling prices so if you are wondering if it's worth your weekend, I'd say yes it is!
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