Dear Donna: What colors should I choose for my home if I'm moving soon?

What colors should I choose for my home if I'm moving soon?

Oh I get asked this question all the time and the answer is all about compromise. You have to choose colors that you like while you're living in the home yet also think about colors that the future home buyer will like as well. That's a large range of colors.

So how does one go about this? Carefully.

You have to keep in mind that YOU will be living in the home for X amount of years so you really need to be looking and enjoying colors that you like. 

However, you can't personalize your colors too much because what if the next potential owners don't like the color you chose and now they have to repaint the entire home. You may lose a sale because painting a 4,000 square foot home can be quite costly.

Here's what you can do.

1. You can go with the blue and gray color palette that most people have in their home at this point be cause it's still a very likable color palette and it really goes with so many decors. To me, that sounds like a “follow” and a snore to me unless you happen to be part of the percentage of people who love the blue-gray trend.

Another option is to totally neutralize your home with shades of gray (no movie or book reference here). Gray is safe and will also go with most decors BUT only if your flooring isn't too yellow. Cool grays look horrible with yellow tile, wood floor or carpeting that has a yellow undertone.

Go beige? No, that's never  a good idea. I recently was in a clients home that was ALL the same color beige and it was, well just not good.

Not only did the house look undefined painted all the same color but the beige they chose was a dirtily looking beige now the house looks “unclean”. Not a good look to live in or when selling your home.

So this brings me to a color palette that you'll love while you in the home and have a high probability that the next home owner will like as well. What do you think?

Let's break it down. Here you have the ever so popular gray in the foyer which is a great neutral to have as the core of your home. Not beige and warm enough to complement any flooring, even flooring with a yellow undertone.

The trim is a soft white which is fairly stranded and you can also take that color up on your ceiling just in case you still have that awful builders “ceiling white” there which isn't really white at all. Sometimes it looks peachy and throws off the entire color palette. A small detail but an important one. 

The kitchen as we know has very little wall space to I suggest a light color that will play off the gray foyer color. Hopefully you have a beautiful gray and white granite (not the dated brown-gold combo that every model home has. This color will lighten and brighten your kitchen space which is a really smart thing to do.

Next I chose a warm yellow, not a beige, for the family-living room. Have brown leather furniture? This will look great! The yellow also plays off the gray foyer, gray and yellow are a very classic duo, and so far all these colors look great with the off white trim.

Last but not least, the most color you should have in the home is in the dining room. Dining rooms usually have substantial color compared to the rest of the house so you're ok here. This “new” green, do not use sage or mint green, is perfect for those family dinners. Oh and don't even think about red in the dining room. Just no.

And there you have your blue which goes in the master bedroom where both Mr. and Mrs. will agree on liking this color. It's beachy, clean and again look great with the soft white trim.

See? That was fairly easy to do. Here you have a color palette where everyone will be happy both present and future homeowners.

Want to know what these colors are? Send me an email and we can set up an virtual color consultation and you're home will be set for sale.