Paint Colors That Will Sell Your Home

In your home, your color choices are the only ones that matter... until it's time to sell it.

You can paint your dining room red for a morning energy boost. You can redo your bathroom with a white-on-white color scheme for a spa-like feel. As a homeowner, you can decorate with colors that match your personal style. But when it comes to selling your home, the wrong color can affect how much a buyer is willing to pay for your home.

Your red walls, for example, could be a big turn-off for potential home buyers. Buyers don't like colorless white bathrooms either. It's a difficult balancing act because color has the power to increase or decrease your home's sale price.

Color matters, so we made the perfect guide for choosing colors when selling your home.

• White
  White is the perfect color choice when you want a home exterior with universal appeal. Shades of white offer a pure, neutral backdrop that lets your home's architecture grab a buyer's attention. A white exterior can make a home appear larger, cleaner, brighter, and more attractive.
  
  Be cautious when choosing white for indoor spaces. White bathrooms can be a negative variable in residential sale outcomes. Also, eggshell, off-white, and other white wall tones are the color of choice for apartment interiors. They may remind potential buyers of the renter's lifestyle they're trying to leave behind.
  
  
• Blue
  Blue is primary and basic. As a child, whether you had the eight-crayon pack or the 64, blue was a favorite. Everyone has a long history with the color blue. Perhaps that's why blue in its various shades is relaxing and soothing. When you're selling your home, blue in any room — except the living room — encourages buyers to pay more. 
  
  Bathroom: Blue bathrooms ranging from light powder blue to periwinkle increase home sale prices.
  Bedrooms: Soothing blues, from light cerulean to cadet, are perfect for bedrooms where peace and relaxation is a must.
  Dining Room: Blue is also a favorite in the dining room. Shades of slate blue, pale gray-blue, navy blue, and others are a safe choice.
  Kitchen: Light blue and soft blue-gray increase average kitchen prices.
  Front Door: Buyers find blue front doors especially inviting.
  
  
• Greige
  So you've never heard of greige? That's what you get when you blend shades of gray and beige. Greige makes a lasting impression on home buyers. Home exteriors painted in this hybrid color can stand out against similar homes with brown-dominant shades, such as medium brown or stucco.
  
  
• Brown
  Shades of brown are earthy and warm. They will always be popular with some buyers, but be careful where you use them. Brown can be a turn-off when used in the wrong place.
  
  Living Rooms: Brown-toned colors like light beige, pale taupe, and oatmeal are great choices.
  Exteriors: Home exteriors painted medium brown, taupe, or stucco tend to turn away buyers.

Color Uh-Ohs 
Even if you use these colors only sparingly, they can cause problems. 

• Yellow: Straw yellow to marigold in kitchens can be an eye sore.
• Pink: Light pinks to antique rose, customarily in children's rooms, are rare and tend to confuse buyers.

The last thing you want are paint colors that are going to scare away potential buyers. Too much color in the wrong places can be just as bad as a basic gray that makes your home look boring. Using this guide, you can make sure buyers will fall in love with your home.

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