Painting for Re-sale

Hi:
I am trying to choose a color for my dining room. I am absolutely stuck with a round 90" golden oak dining table and buffet (table only - no upward cabinetry). I am getting my house ready to sell and the combo of the furniture and deep red wall color looks very dated. The room is very square with crown moldings (white) and white from a chair rail down to the ground. I don't want to paint the furniture - just the wall.
What color would you suggest? I am considering mocha or chocolate brown. What do you think?
Thanks so much,
Cathy
Hi Cathy,

First of all I want to say that the advice I am going to give you is for re-sale- if you were sticking around- my advice would be different. But- with that said....

1. Keep your paint light. Do not go dark brown or dark anything. It makes the room appear smaller, (cozy- yes- but smaller)- and some prospective buyer might look at it and fret over how many coats of paint it would take to cover it. Keep it light- but maintain a good contrast with your crown moulding. I am not suggesting you go white.
2. I can't really tell you what color to paint it when I don't know what other colors are in your home. Don't have too many different shades of paint. Start by looking around your other rooms and see if duplicating a nearby color would work well in this room. You also want to make sure there is a good flow- and all of the different paint colors blend well together.
3. Keep it neutral. If you go yellow- go with a very neutral shade- not a pure bright sunshine yellow- but more of a blond hair yellow. If you go green- don't go with a pure green- but rather a more neutral khaki green.
4. If your table is unattractive- consider a floor length table cloth. A nice fabric can be a great way to change the room at a minimal cost- that you very well might like in your next home as well. (check out the photo at the top of the post.)

So- there you go- keep it light, neutral, and blending with the colors in your home. Good luck selling your home. I have a couple other posts for people selling their homes here.

photos from elle decor

Set up for Selling Success

Martha Stewart: Brown Gray

Hi Christine,
My husband and I currently have two places...our homes before we met. He has a great 2000 square foot town home that we want to do a few projects on to help it stand out from other town homes in the same neighborhood, before putting it up for sale.
The first is losing the carpeted stairs and replacing with wooden risers (going for the modern family phials house stairs) for the dark wood and white look.
The second area I'd like to discuss is the window from the kitchen/bar into the great room. Right now it is basically the big hole that has barstools... From the great room...it is a focal point. I am looking for ideas on how to make it go from a boring hole in the wall to gorgeous and interesting? Please help!
If you write back, I'll send photos :)
Cindy

Hi Cindy-

2 words: trim and paint.

When you are getting a piece of property ready for selling, it is a very different thought process. But to stand out from your neighbors, I would start with ramping up the trim. See the photo at the top of the post? This is not a fabulous photo- but showed exactly what I had in mind. I would add a piece of half trim above your baseboards- and then paint the whole area. This is a great way to inexpensively change your baseboards from being 4 inches to 7 or 8 inches. It is work- but not terribly expensive. Even if you just did it in the main living areas- it would be so much richer.

Keep the wood saw out and trim out the opening, and add beadboard on the entire wall below the opening. Keep all of the woodwork a crisp white. Check out the beadboard in this post.

The gold paint is absolutely the wrong color with the carpet.

1. Select a paint color that will make your carpet look great.


2. Select a light colored paint- but not white.


3. Select a neutral colored paint.

Look at the paint color in the Martha Stewart photo at the top of the post. A soft Brown Gray like this will go great with your carpet- keep it light and neutral- and yet is dark enough to give you a great contrast with your white woodwork. It will look great with your stairs also.

Your light fixture is OK. But- if you want to stand out a little more- you can get a more updated drum shade like the one below from Uttermost. A fixture like yours will go unnoticed- which is not necessarily bad- but a really fabulous light will get the right kind of notice from perspective buyers. The one below is a little too warm in color- but check out this one.

Good luck selling your place. If you choose to not stage it with furniture- still add some really beautiful plants and uplights.

Also- you can check out this post on staging bedrooms.

Thanks for writing in-

Christine

ABC Wednesday S is for Staging

In addition to regular Interior Design work, I also stage homes that are going on the market to be sold.

A client that I worked with last week had a bedroom that needed some new bedding as part of the staging.

How do you know what to buy?

• Is the room large or small?


• Is the bed in the room a good proportion to the room, or is it too large or too small for the room?

1. Large patterns and dark colors take up more "visual space." If you have a large master bedroom, for example, using a dark color, or large pattern is a good direction to go. Keep your patterns and color current and simple. When potential buyers walk into the room, you don't want them thinking, "what a bright duvet" you want them thinking, "what a fabulous room." Keep in mind that patterns are also very subjective. What you like, someone else may dislike- keep them simple.


2. On the flip side, if your room is small, go with light colors, white perhaps, with minimal pattern. Also think about purchasing or "renting" a more appropriately sized bed. A small room with a large bed that encompasses too much of the room draws attention to the size of the room in a negative way. Consider a full sized bed instead of a queen, or a queen instead of a king. Is the bedroom in question not a "master bedroom?" Just put a twin sized bed in it. This also allows you to arrange your furniture in a nicer way, instead of pushing the "too large" bed into a corner to make room for it. Ideally, the bed should be against the wall only on the headboard.
3. Make it look like the catalog! Buy all of the pillows (budget permitting) that you need to make it look finished. Use two duvets (one as filler under your more decorative one) to give the look of opulence and softness. (This is what the pros do!) Make sure your pillows are the right size. Do you have a king sized bed? You should have king sized pillows. Iron your sheets and start sleeping on the floor. (OK- so maybe I am exaggerating a little)- But I would go through the effort for an open house for sure. Again- make it look like the catalog- fold the sheets back. (Did I mention that you should purchase nice new sheets too?) The price range of your home will justify spending a certain amount- so take as much advice as makes sense in your situation.

All of my bedding photos came from Garnet Hill one of my favorite sources.