Giving Buyers Space to Imagine

Most people enjoy surrounding themselves with bright colors. Blues, purples, reds, and greens add personality to your home and bring you joy. They may set off your furniture or your favorite art. When you decorate your own home, you tend towards colors and styles that make you happy. However, as you've probably noticed even in your own family, different colors have different means for each person. While you might love that salmon pink wall, your potential buyer might not be able to get past the cat-food reference.

In addition to simple preference, an estimated ten percent or more of the population suffers from some form of color blindness, and most of them don't even realize it. Two main kinds of color blindness exist: you've probably heard of the more common red/green color blindness, but a blue/yellow color blindness exists as well that confuses blue and yellow with violet. That means the gorgeous pale yellow you chose might look like a bright violet to them. If a buyer knows about their color blindness, they plan for it, but most sufferers have no idea, they've just always seen colors this way.

You don’t want to turn off a promising buyer because you chose colors that were too bright, or didn’t account for variations in color blindness. A lot of buyers may not actually be color blind, but instead, become blinded by your palette. If buyers can't visualize the room with their belongings and their family, they won't want to purchase the home.

The Solution: Go Neutral

In the past, real estate and staging professionals used to solve this problem by asking clients to paint their entire home white. While white will still work, you can also benefit from using one of the other modern neutral tones. These off-white and gray sophisticated palettes can compliment your existing furniture and architectural features. Paint manufacturers and interior designers are always trying new neutral tones by adding warm or cool undertones to whites and grays. Check out the latest palettes for your season and use them to keep some color, dimension, and depth to your walls without overpowering your potential buyers' ability to picture the home the way they want it.

One long-lasting trend is to use some darker neutral on the walls balanced by bright white trim. This combination has a brightening effect around window and doors and evokes a warm response in many buyers. Make sure to check the trends in your area, since some regions will prefer one set of neutrals over another. In some areas, soft blues and greens work well for neutral tones.

Talk to your local real estate professional about the best painting choices for your property before investing in ten gallons of white.