Best Paint Colors for Selling Your Home

When selling your home, you definitely want the best return on your investment.  This is why homeowners scramble to update their home as quickly as they can to make it attractive to potential buyers.  If you do a quick search online for affordable ways to increase curb appeal, you’ll see painting at the top of nearly all those lists.  Painting can make a huge impact on both the exterior and interior of your home by transforming a space and making things appear fresh and clean.  But which paint colors are best for selling your home?  We’re spilling all of our secrets so you can have colors that are fresh, updated, and appeal to the most potential buyers.

 

Which Paint Colors Should You Use When Selling Your Home?

Let’s start on the outside and work our way in.  The exterior of your home is often the first thing a potential buyer will see and you need to think about what kind of feeling you want them to have when they first see your house.  Most home buyers want to see something that is warm and inviting, updated, well maintained, and complementary to the style of the home.  This gives us a lot to think about when it comes to choosing an exterior paint color for resale.  

As a general rule, we like to recommend neutrals or colors that are toned down with gray because these will be the most appealing to a large audience.  If you love bright colors but they don’t suit the style of your home or the neighborhood then now is the time to turn your attention to colors that create more of a blank canvas.  This allows the new homeowners to really imagine themselves living there as opposed to being distracted by someone else’s vibrant taste. 

 

Best Exterior Paint Colors for Selling Your Home

As we’ve already mentioned, neutral colors can be a great option for the exterior of your home.  When choosing your color scheme, you’ll often want to make sure that the body and the trim of your home have a nice amount of contrast but that doesn’t have to mean there’s a stark or jarring difference between the two.  A great hack for choosing colors that pair well together is to use a color fan or color deck to select your colors.  Color decks are generally organized so that each strip of colors has the same main color and undertone.  Using this technique you might look for combinations such as Agreeable Gray SW 7029 and Keystone Gray SW 7504, Kilim Beige SW 6106 and Double Latte SW 9108, Grassland SW 6163 and Connected Gray SW 6165.  All of these combinations are within that neutral color family because they are earth tones and aren’t too vibrant.

 

 

If you believe your home would be better suited with a bit more color there are some great color schemes that incorporate brighter tones.  To balance the color and create sharp clean lines, it’s nice to pair these paint colors with a white trim like Pure White SW 7005 or Alabaster SW 7008.  Some of our favorite exterior body colors for selling your home are Song Thrush SW 9112, Elephant Ear SW 9168, Naval SW 6244, and Foggy Day SW 6235.  These paint options have a lot more pigment and variety but they’re balanced by the simplicity of the white trim.  This style doesn’t work on all homes so be sure to test some colors out before fully committing. If you find that the white trim creates too much contrast, try mellowing it by going with something that has a bit more gray or yellow in it.

 

Which Interior Paint Colors Are Best for Resale Value?

Similar to exteriors, it’s a good idea to stick with neutrals when it comes to the resale value on the interior of your home.  The inside of your house is where the new homeowner should really be able to imagine themselves.  Paint colors can always be changed so it’s important to create a blank canvas for potential buyers.  You may love a lot of different colors throughout your home but a lot of other people may not.  To maximize your return on investment, we want to really pay attention to optimizing the space inside your home.  Before you begin selecting colors, take a walk through each room and make note of the size and lighting.  Warm colors tend to make the walls appear as if they are moving in towards you which can make a space feel small and cozy while cool colors make a space appear more open and airy.  To keep things neutral and open to a lot of different visions for the home, we recommend choosing a single color and using different tints and shades to create variation.  This will help the space feel cohesive and connected but won’t appear flat or sterile.

 

 

Some of the colors we are constantly recommending for increasing resale value are Worldly Gray SW 7043, Steamed Milk SW 7554, Repose Gray SW 7015, Gossamer Veil SW 9165, Kilim Beige SW 6106, and Natural Linen SW 9109.  You’ll notice all of these colors are very neutral, light, and airy.  This is done intentionally to help keep things open to different ideas and visions as people view your home.  If these are not the kind of colors you love, try to avoid focusing too much on your own style.  We want to make sure your home appeals to as many people as possible and these colors will help us achieve that goal.  If you are desperate for variation, choose some colors that are a couple shades darker to add an accent wall or for adjacent rooms.  This can help create interest, showcase a focal point, and keep the space from feeling too one dimensional. 

 

Best Colors for Increasing Curb Appeal

You’re never going to be able to please everyone and there are buyers who might love a lot of color but if you want to appeal to as many people as possible and get the best return on your home, we strongly recommend following these guidelines.  Focus on neutral colors that keep the space light and open, pay attention to the permanent features like flooring and appliances, consider what kind of feeling you want each space to evoke, and don’t let your own preferences get in the way.  If you follow these guidelines we’re confident you’ll appeal to the widest range of potential buyers and increase your curb appeal quickly and affordably.