April 2020
What is the single most important upgrade to make to a house when selling? As a Realtor® and Accredited Staging Professional®, I am asked this question often. In most cases the answer is very simple…fresh paint! Not just any paint, the right paint color. Something as simple as paint can bring a room to life and lift your spirits. Conversely, the wrong paint color may make a room feel smaller or give a washed out and flat impression. Paint colors affect our mood and we want potential buyers to feel positive and cheerful as they tour the house. Making a buyer fall in love with a house may be as simple as changing the color of the walls.
You may be asking yourself “But, how do I pick the perfect paint color?”
That’s where we come in. Our goal when preparing a house to sell is to appeal to the broadest market of buyers. We know there is one universal truth about buyers – they love a home with a lot of natural light. You may have noticed the color of walls seem to change at different times of the day or the same paint color may appear different from room to room. Therefore, selecting the right paint color to enhance the natural or direct light in the house is of paramount importance.
During our initial walk through of the house, we not only assess the natural light coming through the windows, but also the direct light coming from light fixtures and overhead lights. The amount of natural and direct light varies significantly from house to house, townhouse to townhouse and condo to condo. That is why we never recommend the same paint color for each listing. We have our favorites and tend to stick to a soft neutral gray palette.
Now, I’m going to let you in on our secret to choosing the perfect paint color….
We consider the Light Reflective Value (LRV) of a paint. LRV measures the percentage of visible light that reflects from or absorbs into your painted walls on a scale of 0 (black) to 100 (white). The higher the LRV number, the lighter the color (white being lightest). The lower the LRV number, the darker the color (darkest being black). Technically, you aren’t seeing the paint color that’s on the walls, you’re seeing the color of the light that’s REFLECTED off the walls!
For homes with less natural and direct light, we recommend Classic Gray (Benjamin Moore, LRV 74.78), a mix of gray with warm beige undertones that reflects a considerable amount of light, brightening each room. For a house with medium sized windows and good direct lighting, we may recommend Agreeable Gray (Sherwin-Williams, LRV 60). It is one of the purest combinations of gray and beige, commonly called “greige”. For a house with large windows where natural light pours through, we may recommend Revere Pewter (Benjamin Moore, LRV 55.51); a warm gray with more saturation and drama than the lighter grays so it won’t get washed out when the light hits it.
Are you considering selling your house? Contact me for more tips on how to select paint colors and shades that are just right for your home. I’d love to help!
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