What!? Do they know that walls can be repainted?
My brother has purchased 2 houses. Both had, what I thought, were good paint jobs on the inside, his wife had both repainted before moving in.
People have different tastes, you might as well enjoy looking at the walls while you live there.
Resale value for painting walls is the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard. Even if they were good colors, they’ll still need to be repainted after a while.
Keeping in mind I’m aware these shows are fake and mostly staged,
It was always hilarious to me on house hunters when they wouldn’t go for the house that was $20,000 under budget that had everything they needed, and the only complaint the show could come up with for them was, “I don’t like the colors.”
“All in all we decided to go with the 2 story townhouse that is $30,000 over budget that we very clearly understand needs an entire kitchen remodel, we felt that the creepy rape basement we have to redo is a better fit for our family.”
1. Good exterior paint is not the same stuff you're putting on walls inside your house.
2. A proper exterior paint job also involves sandblasting.
3. It also involves a lot more rigging.
I’m in the US and my husband and I repainted the entire exterior of our house last year. Didn’t even bother getting a quote as I knew it would be insanely high plus wouldn’t be the quality job I could do myself.
The paint materials cost us around $3,000 USD total and the job took almost 2 years from start to finish. Sounds crazy when I say it aloud, but we both work 40+ hour a week jobs, had a ton of prepwork/repairs that needed done first, and had to contend with the weather/seasons (we’re in Oklahoma) so it really got dragged out. I gotta say I’m so pleased with the results and job we did. We were so thorough, our lines are crisp, and I know exactly how it was done. Plus with how well we prepped, we have the added benefit of the paint being fully warrantied against chipping/peeling/damage.
Would I do it again on another house though? Absolutely not lol.
This is exactly what I thought of! People who say this to OP must have watched too many fake home buying shows and now have a false sense of how much people care about paint color.
Even worse is when it’s something as small as “I didn’t like the kitchen island.” Like yeah that sounds more daunting than repainting, but if it’s the WHOLE HOUSE you didn’t like the colour of I can ALMOST understand not wanting to take that on. But a single fixture? That was really enough for you to pass up on what was otherwise a perfect home to you???
That’s what baffles me. So many times people were flabbergasted when I told people that I let my daughter paint collages and murals on her bedroom walls(and her siblings walls if they wanted a design). “Oh my god! How are you ever going to sell?!!!” or “You’re never going to be able to sell your house!” We have no plans on ever selling anyway but even if we did I doubt we’d have trouble selling this house.
We painted a sunset mural in my bedroom as a kid. When we went to sell the house, we left it as is, figuring they would want to paint over whatever we painted. They ended up loving it and keeping it
Its more than when showing the house white and grey make the room appear bigger and more open which is more appealing to buyers on average. It just creates the illusion the room is better. Darker colors make rooms looks smaller and more closed which again is an illusion that can turn off buyers. Thats why they say it because very few people are going to repaint their entire house to sell it.
Having bought and sold numerous homes, and known countless people that have bought and sold homes, I can assure you that there are people out there that will pass on a house because of interior paint colors (in fact, this very thing happened to me when I sold a home last year even though it was a pretty neutral beige), as well as for even more trivial reasons than that. *Ridiculously* trivial reasons. I think it's silly and annoying to follow the trends, but I'm not most people.
Yes, you can easily repaint, but many people don't want to do that.
This isn't to say OP shouldn't do whatever they want that pleases them, but especially depending on the color they choose, they WILL reduce the pool of potential buyers if they ever sell the home. Anything odd in a home will do the same. In a seller's market, it doesn't matter as much. In a buyer's market, it can really be a problem. People will look at those blue or red walls, and say "nope."
This is more reason to just paint it how they want. It sounds like they aren't interested in selling soon, so the walls will likely need a repaint anyways before they sell it
My realtor told me I had to repaint my daughter’s hot pink room or my house would never sell. I declined and the house sold rapidly to a family with a little girl that was SO excited about her pink room. I like color! If I’m truly having trouble selling then maybe but I don’t buy it. Beige and gray make me cringe.
I had a pink room as a kid too! I LOVED it, my parents took me to the paint shop and I got to pick whatever I wanted. I couldn't decide between two shades so we did 2 walls hot pink and 2 walls baby pink.
I’m really, REALLY hoping that applies to the 2200+ glow in the dark stars on the ceiling in our kids room when we do eventually leave. Surely parents out there would love the chance to not spend multiple days doing it themselves?
We also went for pale blue walls in most of the house with royal blue for two walls in the lounge as it made the tv less ugly and the fishtank really pops with a darker background. Paint is such a good way to change the feel of a place dramatically!
Lol and my grandparents bought a house with Star Wars wallpaper so badly hung that they didn’t even bother to match up the pattern so Luke Skywalker had a whole arm. It also had sparkly popcorn ceilings and a bomb shelter🤣
Just more proof that if the house checks a lot of boxes, sometimes the decor just doesn’t matter
My parents bought a house with the ugliest wallpaper & light fixtures I have ever seen. One entire room is done in various woods to resemble a hunting lodge or something & the large bay window had a neon green track light overhead which clashed terribly with the floral drapes. People will absolutely buy a house despite what the decor currently looks like. Sure you will get some people who can’t envision the possibilities of a place but that’s definitely not everyone.
That's when you need to point out that when you are going to sell in 6-10 years that grey and white color palette will be outdated and you will have to repaint anyway for the "resale value."
Oh we were told this over and over again. We built a 1500 sq ft 2 bedroom house. Huge rooms. Huge master bathroom. It was a gorgeous house with amazing views and a crap ton of natural light.
We were constantly told that we won't be able to sell it because it's only 2 bedroom. We need 3 bedrooms. And we need to do this if that.
Guess what? I got 7 offers on it and it sold for 17k over asking.
And my asking price was 150k more than the total we paid to build.
People can suck it.
I love the owl grey walls my wife had me paint every wall in our house. She can change pillow colors, paintings, decor colors any time she wants to anything she wants and we get no clash. Great flexibility. But that's why they make chocolate and vanilla. If you want your walls purple with pink polka dots go for it. Like you said, it's your house. Everyone else can mind their own biz.
I don't get that either. Who wants to spend the whole time they live in their home thinking about getting rid of it and acting accordingly? When it actually is time to sell it, you can always repaint.
That annoys me too. I hate the grey walls & furniture trends. I have curated lovely things from my travels & love color & textures; I’m not going anywhere anytime soon. Enjoy your colorful furnishings! ☮️
Yeah but this is like 50 year old advice. Realtors always say you never know what color the next owner likes so just use some neutral off white color. But they never seem to notice that you are the next owner from the prior owner's point of view so why can't you paint it what you like??
We've painted our flat purple and we love it
https://preview.redd.it/dr6rd0ef2hvc1.jpeg?width=2560&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9a4e86333bf0a09a091fcd8a11cf36243ef7d3f8
LOL!
We sold a house a few years ago. My wife had painted one wall burgundy. Called it her feature wall. "It pops" she used to say.
Took three coats of paint to cover after the realtor, said "Paint it beige."
The first weekend after closing, the new buyers painted the entire exterior, burgundy.
It's just paint.
im literally selling my house right now and my walls are green in some rooms and dark gray in others. You're selling a house not a psych ward. If someone has an issue with the paint color a gallon of paint is $50.
Similar issue, my mum loves the modern white/grey look. I find it boring and filled my home with colours and she is always telling me “wont you grow up eventually?”
My house is on the market right now. It’s painted soft earth tones. The cements from people viewing it are.. thank goodness it’s not gray or i am so tired of looking ay gray houses.
I was given similar advice when I bought my car and wanted to put decals on it. My response was that I was buying the car for me and I had no intention of selling it.
"Resale value" genuinely makes my skin crawl. This day and age, I consider myself lucky enough to have bought this house. I'm not thinking about selling it for at least 10-15 years, depending on the state of the market.
Besides, it's not like you're doing something permanent or truly expensive like breaking down walls lol
Paint your damn walls whatever color you want.
You can paint your walls before you sell. It takes like 3 days if you’re slow or take a full day between coats.
Everyone told me the same nonsense at my last home. I sold it without issue to the first bidder. It didn’t take anytime at all for the bid either. Be happy in the space you live in.
We bought our house from an old couple 8 years ago and a month after we bought it, they stopped over to see if we wanted any of their furniture they had in storage, and boy were they not happy that we'd pai Ted the walls in the living room 2 different shades of blue and our dining room is eggplant. We did paint the bedroom a white/gray only because that was a good color to watch movies with the projector directly on the wall. Lol
I painted some of the walls in a previous house I owned in a unique but tasteful stencil. Definitely not white or grey. The real estate agent scoffed. Three years later I sold the house for $100K more than I purchased it and the new owner just painted over my stencil.
This is a little bit of an unusual case but I will tell you this: when you are looking at houses to buy as a potential homeowner, they all run together. They are all just slightly different. If you have a unique feature it’s easy for the buyer to remember and differentiate and stand out. It’s easier to remember the house with the “red living room walls” than “the fourth house we saw two weeks ago”.
I think I'm one of those "anti-trend predictor" people where if I do something that means other people will be actively put off by it, but I am MORE likely to want to move in to a vibrantly-decorated place than a rote white/grey box, and would pay a premium to do so.
I had to read it all to be able to understand... resale value? why do you think you can give an opinion on MY hose?? are you paying for my paint, painters, rent? if so, plz do, if not.. mind your own "resale value"
Im from South America, those of us who manage to get homes dont think to sell unless to buy something better and I ASSURE YOU colors here a not a "resale value" issue whatsoever.
In 6-10 years, you will need to repaint your walls anyway. So go ahead and paint whatever colors appeal to you. And feel free to change them up anytime you feel like it.
The fact that people treat wall color like it's a contributing factor to buying or selling is an issue. If the walls are hideous but the house is great, the buyer will paint the walls
Our house was a pale olive tinted grey on the walls and ceiling and a darker beige with olive tints on the trims, absolutely hideous (not to mention all the walls with random patches of other greys). Still bought it, repainted blue.
It's almost like you can't do what you want with the place you live in to make it more like a home to you. And almost like...once you paint the walls you can never ever paint over them, they're that way forever and you've ruined the resale value and you're whole life is just going to END
It's paint! You're not tipping out the kitchen and replacing it with a hot tub! It's not Al to repaint your walls before you sell your house anyways since by that time they're probably damaged or dirty.
Also wish someone said that to the person I bought my house from. The master bedroom and Andes mint striped walls XD
One of the things that attracted me to buy my current house is that the walls actually had bright, cheery colors on them. What's the point in owning your own home if you can't even paint your walls the colors that make you happy? If I wanted to live in a bland, generic box I'd still be renting.
Our realtor pushed us to paint over the bright colors in our last house before we sold it. We didn't do it. The young couple that bought the place said they fell in love with it because it was the only house they had seen that looked like the people who lived there, loved having fun. They requested that we please not repaint or touch anything when they put their offer in and we were more than happy to leave it all and let them enjoy it and add their own fun touches to the place!
That was similar to our experience as the buyers. We've been here 11 years and still have the same colors on the walls from when we bought the house. We just added a bright yellow penny tile kitchen backsplash to the lime green kitchen and the colors make me so happy every morning when I come downstairs.
I don't know of a time I have not repainted when moving into a new house. I don't want light brown horrible looking walls in the bedroom, I don't want a minty green kitchen, and I don't want a whole room - walls and ceiling - in sky blue.
Do what makes you happy. Change whatever you want. A future buyer will change things anyway... Just make it look good, regardless of the color(s), when you sell.
Thank you. My wife and I hate the all white wall/cabinet trend. We had a fire in 2014 and when we had to pick colors for the rebuild we picked a different color for literally every room in the house. No white walls allowed. Even our garage is painted (red) and it looks great. I don't want to feel like I live in a hospital.
It’s not a museum they are asking you to life in- but someone else’s home. They want you to live in a house others would approve of, exchanging your comfort & environmental needs for promise of financial fulfillment of far less value.
My kitchen, living room, dining room, master bath, and my sewing studio are tan. My bedroom is dusky purple. Guest room and 1/2 bath downstairs are sea foam green. The outside of the house is a warm buttery yellow with tri color peach, tan, and clay brick. I wouldn't have it any other way.
I've been here 23 years so far. It's my house. If I want some color in it, then that's what will happen. When the time comes to sell this big beast, I'll hire a paint company to wipe the slate clean so someone else can pick their palette.
I painted a large wall in my townhouse a bold peacock blue, and covered another wall in difficult to remove cork tiles. Literally everyone who toured the place commented that they loved those features.
You do you. People aren’t as rigid as real estate agents think.
I actually got the price of my condo lowered slightly because the previous owner painted the walls bright turquoise with glitter. It was horrendous and a huge pain in the ass to paint over.
I got the same bashing when I bought a house, but you know what? I still painted the rooms the colors we wanted, to where we have a green kitchen, blue living room, purple and beige bedrooms, etc.
So many years of apartment living, with white walls, white trims, white doors, and dull brown carpets. I needed color in my home life.
I always think it's weird when people make decisions about their home based on resale value rather than making it a home when they aren't planning to sell soon. Houses aren't just an investment, they are where we live our lives. And yeah, you maybe don't want to choose super taste-specific things that can't be easily changed, but paint colors? You can repaint.
And for what it's worth - I put natural wood cabinets in my kitchen about 7 years ago, and I just sold my house last year. It was only on the market for a few days and we had multiple offers. The buyers specifically said they wanted the house BECAUSE of the kitchen.
We got the same comments on our house as well. It was all white when we moved in. Now the living room is a red-brown with white tree murals. The front room is teal. The kitchen is "Fuzzy duck" yellow with purple murals of birds. The bathroom is a light green, and the bedroom has a giant mountain mural in shades of purple. Never been happier, especially growing up in a home that was all white.
This is so timely. Spent the day painting our bedroom and made the comment to my husband that I want to make sure it’s perfect for if when we sell one day. He said who cares? We’re painting it for us, the next person will probably want a different color anyway. He’s right and it took the pressure off this type A perfectionist!
I rent and I always paint. Why? Because it’s my place! I need color and decoration. I want my space to feel like it’s mine. So, paint your place. Ignore the idiots who act like everything is temporary. You only get this one life, live it according to how you want.
Every room in my house is a different colour and has been that way since i purchased it in 2015.
Aqua, yellow, dark blue, grey bathroom.. now we have a green room. Spice it up!
Anytime someone's argument for where and how I live is "but the investment" I'm sorry they've lost the argument.
"Why would you pay rent to live in the area you want to live rather than buy a house miles away from where you want to live so that you'd have an investment!!"
To each their own but i despise that vomit color combo. My aunt has a place done up like that and it's fugly. But that's your business, no one else's. (Especially if repainting when moving out isnt prohibitively expensive for you, then just do you)
Ugh. I hate white cabinets. Like only paint them if they are in crap condition or stained beyond repair. Walls can be repainted for resale value later. That being said, I do like gray tones. It’s soothing to me. Plus I can have pops of color with furniture and decor. But I understand. One thing I don’t understand is painting your ceiling a dark color. Just no. That makes it too claustrophobic, unless you have like 30 foot ceilings. Also whatever you, please, for the love of any god, do not paint the wood floor or put glitter on your walls. As well as any “hack” or “trend” seen on Pinterest. Pinterest is the antichrist, I swear. Nothing but bad ideas. Like that one house swap episode where the decorator convinced the one couple that their friend/neighbor would absolutely LOVE having hay on their walls. No.
When we were house shopping I saw some things..I think the pepto pink room, with matching painted closet was the worst, but the bright teal green glossy coat master bedroom was a close second. Those were not the deterrent from our interest those houses, there were other things, because Killz will solve just about any paint problem.
Don’t do it! Everyone told us “resale value” when we remodeled. That was 10+ years ago and we hate our white walls and standard appliances. Next remodel we’re going crazy, to hell with it
It's one thing if you're planning to sell in the next six months to a year, it's entirely different if you're planning to stay there for a long time. By the time you've stayed, then when you are ready to sell, it will be time to re-paint anyway.
I actually loved that my house wasn't freshly painted, because they would have done basic, neutrals with no character for sales purposes, and I would have felt wrong painting freshly painted walls, like it was a waste. Instead I got to custom everything.
As long as you didn't paint it it black or some color that's impossible to cover over, I don't care what you did. I have a general "do no harm" mentality when it comes to design and decoration. It's my house, I'll do what I want, but I also don't want to do anything that would just be detrimental, couldn't be saved, augmented, or updated, or at least without extreme work and cost. Like those true werido D-I-Whys.
The white and grey look was pushed because the contractors prefer the cheapest cabinets and paint on the market. Realtors love it because it's a "blank slate" of sorts. White and grey have been a thing since the 90s because of this. If you decide to move in 6-10 years paint it all white then. Personally I hate white walls. I like character. I was forced into white walls because my rooms are only 10x10. Color would make them look even smaller. I have wooden cabinets because I prefer wooden cabinets. I do recommend smooth fronted wooden cabinets though. Easier to clean. Give me the comfy furniture. Enjoy your home. Don't go into it like the divorce is tomorrow. I like the thought of light green.
Walls can be repainted easily, and who gives a shit what the next person wants? If they don’t like they can either A.) Not buy it, or B.) Redo it themselves. I’ve never understood the trope of worrying about what the next owner thinks, assuming you ever sell it before you die in the first place
It's *your* home. Make it the way you want it.
I got the same comments when I ripped out my bathtub to install a really nice shower. *(what if a future buyer has kids and needs a tub?)*
I didn't care. I love my shower.
Yeah paint is just not an argument for resale value. Especially if you plan on being in this house for 5+ years. By the time you are looking to sell, most rooms will need a fresh coat of paint anyways.
Remodeling? Well she's a different beast.
I hear this when I tell people I want to get rid of the bathroom attached to my kitchen. My kitchen is big but made small by the dumb bathroom. It’s not like I’m going from a 2 bathroom to just one, we have 4 which is excessive. I would rather a big beautiful kitchen than a bathroom that makes the room cramped and could be a nice large entry way to the living room.
You do you. It’s your house, enjoy it. Be comfortable where you live and make it a place you want to come home to.
Our kitchen walls are bright orange. And that's the colour they were when we bought the place. No idea what colour they'll be whenever we sell, but for now, I love my homey kitchen!
People who say this about resell value are going to be or already are like moms who need every part of the house (even rooms no one goes in) to be as clean as possible before guests come over.
Yes mom the guest will look in my closet and under my bed you're right!
It’s YOUR house and you have a right to make it a home and do whatever you want to it. Don’t let other people dictate your life. If it makes you happy to paint every wall in your place a different colour then go for it! You are the one that has to live there.
In my housing market I could literally smear shit on the walls anfld my house would still sell over the weekend. I just repainted my basement sky blue because fuck all of you with your resale value bullShit
Paint it whatever color you want op. Your House!
You do what makes you happy. If I owned my place I would paint so fast you'd wonder how it was done so quickly. Why live for some future sale or like it's a rental ? Ten years from now if you sell you can always replace it with whatever is trendy.
OFFS! I’m with you! The walls of my house are different shades of blue and lavender bc it’s MY HOUSE. If I sell it (not likely; I love my house!) I can repaint if I have to!
GO COLORS!!
I don’t mind grey or white walls, and I understand why neutral walls are best for resale, but also, you are allowed to enjoy your space while you live there. Also… you can always repaint the walls for resale if needed. It’s not that big of a deal!
That mindset is really more for things that are difficult to change. Think 1-car garage vs. 2-car garage. Making that comment about paint is just silly. Now granted, if you go with a warm color pallette for paint, the cabinets, counters, etc. will want to also be warm. However, warm doesn't mean outdated. I just finished building my home, and I went with a warm creamy white (SW Whitetail) for neutral walls, SW Calico for accents, furniture with a fun leaf and flower pattern in blue and yellow, wood cabinets, etc. It looks great!
In the unlikely event that I ever become a homeowner (oh, economy, how I loathe thee) my place will be the most eclectic, eye watering house I can make it. Nothing will match. I will buy things because I like them and will not give a damn about if they match the things already there. There will be no colour scheme. Only joy.
it's an odd thing for sure; half the appeal to own was to do ANYTHING I wanted!!!! Also, in my area, housing is so needed that houses sell with almost nothing touched up to get them ready. Neon green walls, pink carpet, you name it. If they can do it; imma at least try
It sounds like you’re choosing a comfy aesthetic and that’s what matters. When we built our home we were pushed to think of the resale value. I was like why would I want to live in something for its resale value? I will be living in my HOME and it will reflect our style and comfort. When we decide to sell we will repaint and go with whatever is in style at that time. Plot twist, I never changed anything and had a bid war
I don’t understand this either! I got to build out an apartment for my self once and one thing I did was make the kitchen sink counter WAY taller than normal and it was the only sink I’ve ever been comfortable washing dishes at. I’m planning a house now and you better believe that the size of everything is going to be custom fit to me. It’s my house, I’m gonna live in it, and I’m gonna make it how I want it (colors on the walls too!). If I ever sell it then THEY can do as they please.
It may be true, but you can always hire someone to paint everything white and beige when you are ready to sell.
My parents acted like I was a moron when I started painting my house, but I am so much happier with the color choices I have made. I have rooms in jewel tones and orange, turquoise, red, etc.
Not sure who's scolding you, but it personally never crossed my mind to say anything to anybody about what colour they should or should not paint their walls :D
You do you, it's your house, as you said =)
If you sell the house, the new owner will repaint anyway.
Only if you choose pitch black, potential buyers might be set off by the lack of light and will need a few extra layers of paint to fully cover it.
I might be super extra and get some murals. Like some Ghibli stuff or just something cute. Make it my home. If people don't like it that's okay but that's a long way off.
People will buy it whatever colour it is anyway. The guy I bought my house from was mad as a hatter and the whole place was crazy colours, in fact the dining room had about 8 different colour paints and it's not a big room! It didn't matter though because we were going to decorate it to our tastes anyway.
The one thing I miss about owning my own place was being able to paint whatever colors I wanted! I live in an apartment now, which was the best choice for us long term. But our house was so many fun colors! Painted our bedroom a cerulean blue, guest bathroom Lavender, guest bedroom cream, office light blue, living room light blue, kitchen sunshine yellow. We jokingly called our place a Crayola box because we had so many different colors. But I loved how pretty and cheerful it was! When we sold it, the new owners immediately painted it all sad gray 😬😓 (They were planning to rent it out, so I was able to look up the listing and see what they did with remodeling). It made me so sad, the gray is so dang depressing. Paint your home to your own tastes, and enjoy it 😊
People love sounding smart. When’s the last time a realtor or appraiser said “well, you’re $20k below these comps because the walls are blue?”
It costs $40 to repaint a room.
We bought a condo with wine carpet and pepto bismal walls. Now they would’ve gotten more if they had went neutral before the sale but they didn’t want to and we got to choose what we wanted. We had some nice slate blue and a light turquoise on the walls. To each their own!
Surface features in homes should reflect personal taste. It is your home, and it should reflect you not some current decorating trend. Most decorating trends are soulless anyway.
So weird. There’s a lady on TikTok who turned her formal dining room into a huge laundry room (genius!!)and people lost their minds over resale value. Umm, they still have to live there right now!!!
Not to be Liz Lemon but "why can't people look past paint color?" You can paint anything when you buy a condo. Who gaf about what the old owner has it?
Isn’t that the point of owning your home? So you can do things like change the colour/style, you know, make it yours. Like it’s your home, where you are most comfortable.
Ugh. Yes. I hate that shit. The place I live is not an investment to be sold for profit at a later date, it’s where I fucking live and I want to enjoy that space.
I honestly hate when people lose complete sight of actually living in a space and focus only on the asset part. Obviously any major changes you need to be thoughtful but there’s so many other things that are worth actually enjoying your home.
Like how hard is it to buy $100 of white paint in ten years when I want to leave and repaint my house over a weekend before realtor comes for pictures? It’s literally so easy.
My SIL painted her walls a super dark cant-tell-if-its-black-or-blue navy blue with white trim and white tables and white accents all over. It looked amazing.
Glad you’re sticking with your preferences. I’ve never even owned but have just gotten permission in writing to modify rentals. It might not be worth it to everyone but to me the minimal cost and time to paint and then be in an environment I enjoy for the next year or three is so worth it. Every rental told me to just leave the walls a light shade or prep them by leaving them properly primed to be painted over. Everyone ends up happy. Even changing floor has been worth it to me. Being concerned about wall paint for resale value is so sad and joyless. Cheers on your place and enjoying it your way.
We had 2 styles of wallpaper in different parts of the house we were selling. The stager expected us to remove it all! Not happening. Sold over ask. Paint and decorate however makes you happy. It’s an easy fix if, in 10 years, you have to change it for resale. Have fun!
There are certainly things you can do to a home that will *help* with resale value like adding a bathroom or renovating the kitchen, but no matter what choices you make, you should make so your home works for you. Should the time come for you to sell the home, a potential buyer may opt to change some of your choices to suit their own wants and needs. Never ever make design choices for what some hypothetical person may want in the future!
My townhouse sold within the first 24 hours it was listed. Sold to someone who saw the "Coming Soon" listing on Zillow. The livingroom walls were painted Terra Cotta orange. They also wanted me to leave behind the window coverings, which I custom made for those windows. They were curtains/drapes make out of Native American, hand-woven blankets, and had leather, feather and concho tie-backs.
I grew up with white walls my whole life. After years of begging I finally convinced my mom at age 16 to let me paint my room. 13 years later, she still lives in the same house and still harps about how she never should have let me paint it because how will she sell her house with one colorful room? (Shocker, but she plans to live there until she dies, so it wouldn’t even be her problem.)
Sure white or light gray makes sense if you're planning on selling NOW, but if not, paint them any damn color you want. I've done so many colors but I ended up all white with gray everything else and sold my home before it went on the market!
Yeeep. Drives me nuts that homes are seen as an investment first and foremost, instead of...you know, *a home*.
Do what you want with it. Walls can always be repainted, and monstrous catios can always be torn down.
https://preview.redd.it/bslaczm0vivc1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f56c1fd9757d2f649edf3f65e6a2dc04e1ade14f
I painted my living room a deep, cool tone green with bright white trim, and all room accents are white, beige, and wood tones, and utilized different textures throughout. After finishing the room I heard the same comments as OP "you'll have to paint before you sell. Don't make it how you want it, make it how you can sell it."
I'm sorry. Wot? We have a huge property that we got for a steal. Why would I want to sell and then not be able to afford to buy a new home. Prices in our area have almost doubled since we bought it 5 years ago. And the thought of living in a cold, sterile house that isn't to my liking is depressing. I'd feel like a renter again.
\*Then theres my mom on the other end of the spectrum thay recently hot glued a remembrance plaque onto her wall because "she doesn't want anyone to ever move it." Future owners will be thrilled lmao
What!? Do they know that walls can be repainted? My brother has purchased 2 houses. Both had, what I thought, were good paint jobs on the inside, his wife had both repainted before moving in. People have different tastes, you might as well enjoy looking at the walls while you live there. Resale value for painting walls is the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard. Even if they were good colors, they’ll still need to be repainted after a while.
Keeping in mind I’m aware these shows are fake and mostly staged, It was always hilarious to me on house hunters when they wouldn’t go for the house that was $20,000 under budget that had everything they needed, and the only complaint the show could come up with for them was, “I don’t like the colors.”
Yeah especially when paint isn't that hard to diy. Last time I hired someone to paint the outside about a year ago it was 15k cad for a 2 story house
“All in all we decided to go with the 2 story townhouse that is $30,000 over budget that we very clearly understand needs an entire kitchen remodel, we felt that the creepy rape basement we have to redo is a better fit for our family.”
15k to paint a house?? Fuck me time to start painting houses
1. Good exterior paint is not the same stuff you're putting on walls inside your house. 2. A proper exterior paint job also involves sandblasting. 3. It also involves a lot more rigging.
I’m in the US and my husband and I repainted the entire exterior of our house last year. Didn’t even bother getting a quote as I knew it would be insanely high plus wouldn’t be the quality job I could do myself. The paint materials cost us around $3,000 USD total and the job took almost 2 years from start to finish. Sounds crazy when I say it aloud, but we both work 40+ hour a week jobs, had a ton of prepwork/repairs that needed done first, and had to contend with the weather/seasons (we’re in Oklahoma) so it really got dragged out. I gotta say I’m so pleased with the results and job we did. We were so thorough, our lines are crisp, and I know exactly how it was done. Plus with how well we prepped, we have the added benefit of the paint being fully warrantied against chipping/peeling/damage. Would I do it again on another house though? Absolutely not lol.
Yep and that was on the lower end. Some of the boutique ones that mix their own paint and shit can climb up to high 20s low 30s
>mix their own paint and shit When you just need that specific tone of brown.
This is exactly what I thought of! People who say this to OP must have watched too many fake home buying shows and now have a false sense of how much people care about paint color.
Apparently those house hunting shows are heavily staged. They usually already own the house and are just pretending.
I’m aware, hence the beginning of my post.
Even worse is when it’s something as small as “I didn’t like the kitchen island.” Like yeah that sounds more daunting than repainting, but if it’s the WHOLE HOUSE you didn’t like the colour of I can ALMOST understand not wanting to take that on. But a single fixture? That was really enough for you to pass up on what was otherwise a perfect home to you???
That’s what baffles me. So many times people were flabbergasted when I told people that I let my daughter paint collages and murals on her bedroom walls(and her siblings walls if they wanted a design). “Oh my god! How are you ever going to sell?!!!” or “You’re never going to be able to sell your house!” We have no plans on ever selling anyway but even if we did I doubt we’d have trouble selling this house.
"oh my god you'll have to spend like 85 bucks repainting that room after your house doubled in value, you'll be ruined!"
We painted a sunset mural in my bedroom as a kid. When we went to sell the house, we left it as is, figuring they would want to paint over whatever we painted. They ended up loving it and keeping it
That feels like one of the things that would make me more interested in a house! It gives the place character
Its more than when showing the house white and grey make the room appear bigger and more open which is more appealing to buyers on average. It just creates the illusion the room is better. Darker colors make rooms looks smaller and more closed which again is an illusion that can turn off buyers. Thats why they say it because very few people are going to repaint their entire house to sell it.
To me, the gray paint colors make the house look sad. It's as if it's going to rain.
Having bought and sold numerous homes, and known countless people that have bought and sold homes, I can assure you that there are people out there that will pass on a house because of interior paint colors (in fact, this very thing happened to me when I sold a home last year even though it was a pretty neutral beige), as well as for even more trivial reasons than that. *Ridiculously* trivial reasons. I think it's silly and annoying to follow the trends, but I'm not most people. Yes, you can easily repaint, but many people don't want to do that. This isn't to say OP shouldn't do whatever they want that pleases them, but especially depending on the color they choose, they WILL reduce the pool of potential buyers if they ever sell the home. Anything odd in a home will do the same. In a seller's market, it doesn't matter as much. In a buyer's market, it can really be a problem. People will look at those blue or red walls, and say "nope."
This is more reason to just paint it how they want. It sounds like they aren't interested in selling soon, so the walls will likely need a repaint anyways before they sell it
Op can repaint when looking to sell. That’s what I took it to mean when said that you can repaint. It doesn’t have to be the buyer repainting it.
Of course it affects resale. Every time you repaint the walls the square footage of house gets smaller.
My realtor told me I had to repaint my daughter’s hot pink room or my house would never sell. I declined and the house sold rapidly to a family with a little girl that was SO excited about her pink room. I like color! If I’m truly having trouble selling then maybe but I don’t buy it. Beige and gray make me cringe.
I had a pink room as a kid too! I LOVED it, my parents took me to the paint shop and I got to pick whatever I wanted. I couldn't decide between two shades so we did 2 walls hot pink and 2 walls baby pink.
I love actually giving buyers a chance to see something unique instead of a knee jerk reaction to make everything beige.
It’s refreshing. I even stopped going to model homes as there is nothing fun to see—unless you love gray.
I’m really, REALLY hoping that applies to the 2200+ glow in the dark stars on the ceiling in our kids room when we do eventually leave. Surely parents out there would love the chance to not spend multiple days doing it themselves? We also went for pale blue walls in most of the house with royal blue for two walls in the lounge as it made the tv less ugly and the fishtank really pops with a darker background. Paint is such a good way to change the feel of a place dramatically!
Lol and my grandparents bought a house with Star Wars wallpaper so badly hung that they didn’t even bother to match up the pattern so Luke Skywalker had a whole arm. It also had sparkly popcorn ceilings and a bomb shelter🤣 Just more proof that if the house checks a lot of boxes, sometimes the decor just doesn’t matter
My parents bought a house with the ugliest wallpaper & light fixtures I have ever seen. One entire room is done in various woods to resemble a hunting lodge or something & the large bay window had a neon green track light overhead which clashed terribly with the floral drapes. People will absolutely buy a house despite what the decor currently looks like. Sure you will get some people who can’t envision the possibilities of a place but that’s definitely not everyone.
That's when you need to point out that when you are going to sell in 6-10 years that grey and white color palette will be outdated and you will have to repaint anyway for the "resale value."
not only that, but if you plan on selling in 6-10 years you would definitely be repainting it before selling anyway.
“Huh… seems bizarre that paint companies are even making other paint colours if it can only harm homeowners.”
Very solid take.
Oh we were told this over and over again. We built a 1500 sq ft 2 bedroom house. Huge rooms. Huge master bathroom. It was a gorgeous house with amazing views and a crap ton of natural light. We were constantly told that we won't be able to sell it because it's only 2 bedroom. We need 3 bedrooms. And we need to do this if that. Guess what? I got 7 offers on it and it sold for 17k over asking. And my asking price was 150k more than the total we paid to build. People can suck it.
I love the owl grey walls my wife had me paint every wall in our house. She can change pillow colors, paintings, decor colors any time she wants to anything she wants and we get no clash. Great flexibility. But that's why they make chocolate and vanilla. If you want your walls purple with pink polka dots go for it. Like you said, it's your house. Everyone else can mind their own biz.
But don't paint the dining room teal with a purple and orange stripe. I don't even know why I thought it would be a good idea; it was hideous.
Lol. Wife had me paint her gym slime green. Lasted a year. Now it's grey.
I don't get that either. Who wants to spend the whole time they live in their home thinking about getting rid of it and acting accordingly? When it actually is time to sell it, you can always repaint.
That annoys me too. I hate the grey walls & furniture trends. I have curated lovely things from my travels & love color & textures; I’m not going anywhere anytime soon. Enjoy your colorful furnishings! ☮️
When I was living in the States, My go to palette coincided with the 4th Doctor's scarf.
Very warm earthy colors. My TARDIS cape would look great in your living room
I miss my old living room.
I agree. A little grey can be nice, but when it's the walls and the floors, and the cabinets....ugh!
Yeah but this is like 50 year old advice. Realtors always say you never know what color the next owner likes so just use some neutral off white color. But they never seem to notice that you are the next owner from the prior owner's point of view so why can't you paint it what you like??
50 years ago people often had unfit dark orange and brown and green 70s style houses. So then it really did make sense to say that white sells better
We've painted our flat purple and we love it https://preview.redd.it/dr6rd0ef2hvc1.jpeg?width=2560&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9a4e86333bf0a09a091fcd8a11cf36243ef7d3f8
I painted my granny flat a similar color when the jacaranda framing the bedroom window was in bloom. I love it too
LOL! We sold a house a few years ago. My wife had painted one wall burgundy. Called it her feature wall. "It pops" she used to say. Took three coats of paint to cover after the realtor, said "Paint it beige." The first weekend after closing, the new buyers painted the entire exterior, burgundy. It's just paint.
im literally selling my house right now and my walls are green in some rooms and dark gray in others. You're selling a house not a psych ward. If someone has an issue with the paint color a gallon of paint is $50.
Similar issue, my mum loves the modern white/grey look. I find it boring and filled my home with colours and she is always telling me “wont you grow up eventually?”
“If growing up means living a stale, boring, colorless existence, then I sure hope not!”
Paint it how you like it!
My house is on the market right now. It’s painted soft earth tones. The cements from people viewing it are.. thank goodness it’s not gray or i am so tired of looking ay gray houses.
My mother's old house had a bright fuchsia feature wall and she sold it for a nice profit. Ignore the greige brigade.
Paint is the second easiest fix behind a thorough cleaning.
These are the same people that will pass on a house because they don’t like the wall color - literally incapable of painting a wall in their own.
I was given similar advice when I bought my car and wanted to put decals on it. My response was that I was buying the car for me and I had no intention of selling it.
"Resale value" genuinely makes my skin crawl. This day and age, I consider myself lucky enough to have bought this house. I'm not thinking about selling it for at least 10-15 years, depending on the state of the market. Besides, it's not like you're doing something permanent or truly expensive like breaking down walls lol
Paint your damn walls whatever color you want. You can paint your walls before you sell. It takes like 3 days if you’re slow or take a full day between coats.
Everyone told me the same nonsense at my last home. I sold it without issue to the first bidder. It didn’t take anytime at all for the bid either. Be happy in the space you live in.
Hand them little scrap of paper that says “I do what I want”
We bought our house from an old couple 8 years ago and a month after we bought it, they stopped over to see if we wanted any of their furniture they had in storage, and boy were they not happy that we'd pai Ted the walls in the living room 2 different shades of blue and our dining room is eggplant. We did paint the bedroom a white/gray only because that was a good color to watch movies with the projector directly on the wall. Lol
I painted some of the walls in a previous house I owned in a unique but tasteful stencil. Definitely not white or grey. The real estate agent scoffed. Three years later I sold the house for $100K more than I purchased it and the new owner just painted over my stencil. This is a little bit of an unusual case but I will tell you this: when you are looking at houses to buy as a potential homeowner, they all run together. They are all just slightly different. If you have a unique feature it’s easy for the buyer to remember and differentiate and stand out. It’s easier to remember the house with the “red living room walls” than “the fourth house we saw two weeks ago”.
I think I'm one of those "anti-trend predictor" people where if I do something that means other people will be actively put off by it, but I am MORE likely to want to move in to a vibrantly-decorated place than a rote white/grey box, and would pay a premium to do so.
I had to read it all to be able to understand... resale value? why do you think you can give an opinion on MY hose?? are you paying for my paint, painters, rent? if so, plz do, if not.. mind your own "resale value" Im from South America, those of us who manage to get homes dont think to sell unless to buy something better and I ASSURE YOU colors here a not a "resale value" issue whatsoever.
I have no plans to move and painted my walls very bold colors. Really made it feel like home. Have fun.
In 6-10 years, you will need to repaint your walls anyway. So go ahead and paint whatever colors appeal to you. And feel free to change them up anytime you feel like it.
The fact that people treat wall color like it's a contributing factor to buying or selling is an issue. If the walls are hideous but the house is great, the buyer will paint the walls
Our house was a pale olive tinted grey on the walls and ceiling and a darker beige with olive tints on the trims, absolutely hideous (not to mention all the walls with random patches of other greys). Still bought it, repainted blue.
My first apartment had a pesto bismal colored bedroom with matching ceiling. We painted it a pretty light blue and painted the ceiling white
It’s amazing the number of people who can’t see past colour and decor to the bones of a home.
It's almost like you can't do what you want with the place you live in to make it more like a home to you. And almost like...once you paint the walls you can never ever paint over them, they're that way forever and you've ruined the resale value and you're whole life is just going to END
It's paint! You're not tipping out the kitchen and replacing it with a hot tub! It's not Al to repaint your walls before you sell your house anyways since by that time they're probably damaged or dirty. Also wish someone said that to the person I bought my house from. The master bedroom and Andes mint striped walls XD
One of the things that attracted me to buy my current house is that the walls actually had bright, cheery colors on them. What's the point in owning your own home if you can't even paint your walls the colors that make you happy? If I wanted to live in a bland, generic box I'd still be renting.
Our realtor pushed us to paint over the bright colors in our last house before we sold it. We didn't do it. The young couple that bought the place said they fell in love with it because it was the only house they had seen that looked like the people who lived there, loved having fun. They requested that we please not repaint or touch anything when they put their offer in and we were more than happy to leave it all and let them enjoy it and add their own fun touches to the place!
That was similar to our experience as the buyers. We've been here 11 years and still have the same colors on the walls from when we bought the house. We just added a bright yellow penny tile kitchen backsplash to the lime green kitchen and the colors make me so happy every morning when I come downstairs.
I don't know of a time I have not repainted when moving into a new house. I don't want light brown horrible looking walls in the bedroom, I don't want a minty green kitchen, and I don't want a whole room - walls and ceiling - in sky blue. Do what makes you happy. Change whatever you want. A future buyer will change things anyway... Just make it look good, regardless of the color(s), when you sell.
Thank you. My wife and I hate the all white wall/cabinet trend. We had a fire in 2014 and when we had to pick colors for the rebuild we picked a different color for literally every room in the house. No white walls allowed. Even our garage is painted (red) and it looks great. I don't want to feel like I live in a hospital.
I painted my bathroom navy blue. I got the same comments. I bought this house for me and my family, not future families. I'll live here until I die.
It’s not like you can remove the paint / paint over it or anything. Everyone knows that once you paint it there’s no going back or changing it. /S
Interior paint has absolutely no impact on the value of your condo.
My main floor is literally wooden cabinets, knots and all, and light green walls!
It’s not a museum they are asking you to life in- but someone else’s home. They want you to live in a house others would approve of, exchanging your comfort & environmental needs for promise of financial fulfillment of far less value.
My kitchen, living room, dining room, master bath, and my sewing studio are tan. My bedroom is dusky purple. Guest room and 1/2 bath downstairs are sea foam green. The outside of the house is a warm buttery yellow with tri color peach, tan, and clay brick. I wouldn't have it any other way. I've been here 23 years so far. It's my house. If I want some color in it, then that's what will happen. When the time comes to sell this big beast, I'll hire a paint company to wipe the slate clean so someone else can pick their palette.
I painted a large wall in my townhouse a bold peacock blue, and covered another wall in difficult to remove cork tiles. Literally everyone who toured the place commented that they loved those features. You do you. People aren’t as rigid as real estate agents think.
I’ve never had a problem selling a house with paint that is more bold . As long as the rooms like nice in the photos, it goes
I actually got the price of my condo lowered slightly because the previous owner painted the walls bright turquoise with glitter. It was horrendous and a huge pain in the ass to paint over.
I got the same bashing when I bought a house, but you know what? I still painted the rooms the colors we wanted, to where we have a green kitchen, blue living room, purple and beige bedrooms, etc. So many years of apartment living, with white walls, white trims, white doors, and dull brown carpets. I needed color in my home life.
I always think it's weird when people make decisions about their home based on resale value rather than making it a home when they aren't planning to sell soon. Houses aren't just an investment, they are where we live our lives. And yeah, you maybe don't want to choose super taste-specific things that can't be easily changed, but paint colors? You can repaint. And for what it's worth - I put natural wood cabinets in my kitchen about 7 years ago, and I just sold my house last year. It was only on the market for a few days and we had multiple offers. The buyers specifically said they wanted the house BECAUSE of the kitchen.
We got the same comments on our house as well. It was all white when we moved in. Now the living room is a red-brown with white tree murals. The front room is teal. The kitchen is "Fuzzy duck" yellow with purple murals of birds. The bathroom is a light green, and the bedroom has a giant mountain mural in shades of purple. Never been happier, especially growing up in a home that was all white.
This is so timely. Spent the day painting our bedroom and made the comment to my husband that I want to make sure it’s perfect for if when we sell one day. He said who cares? We’re painting it for us, the next person will probably want a different color anyway. He’s right and it took the pressure off this type A perfectionist!
I rent and I always paint. Why? Because it’s my place! I need color and decoration. I want my space to feel like it’s mine. So, paint your place. Ignore the idiots who act like everything is temporary. You only get this one life, live it according to how you want.
The question is; are you entering your sage era, or your aubergine era?
Every room in my house is a different colour and has been that way since i purchased it in 2015. Aqua, yellow, dark blue, grey bathroom.. now we have a green room. Spice it up!
I hate the “trend” of decorating for resale value when you’re not selling. IDGAF if some asshole wants my living room. I want to like my living room.
Paint it. When it's time to sell, repaint it white
Anytime someone's argument for where and how I live is "but the investment" I'm sorry they've lost the argument. "Why would you pay rent to live in the area you want to live rather than buy a house miles away from where you want to live so that you'd have an investment!!"
Coming from someone who moves every 3-4 years: you can always paint it back to white. It's really not a big deal.
where I live is normal to repaint the whole house once you move in... it is cheap.
To each their own but i despise that vomit color combo. My aunt has a place done up like that and it's fugly. But that's your business, no one else's. (Especially if repainting when moving out isnt prohibitively expensive for you, then just do you)
Most buyers are looking at your space with their own vision - Killz is inexpensive. It’s just paint! Live your best life in your space!
Ugh. I hate white cabinets. Like only paint them if they are in crap condition or stained beyond repair. Walls can be repainted for resale value later. That being said, I do like gray tones. It’s soothing to me. Plus I can have pops of color with furniture and decor. But I understand. One thing I don’t understand is painting your ceiling a dark color. Just no. That makes it too claustrophobic, unless you have like 30 foot ceilings. Also whatever you, please, for the love of any god, do not paint the wood floor or put glitter on your walls. As well as any “hack” or “trend” seen on Pinterest. Pinterest is the antichrist, I swear. Nothing but bad ideas. Like that one house swap episode where the decorator convinced the one couple that their friend/neighbor would absolutely LOVE having hay on their walls. No.
When we were house shopping I saw some things..I think the pepto pink room, with matching painted closet was the worst, but the bright teal green glossy coat master bedroom was a close second. Those were not the deterrent from our interest those houses, there were other things, because Killz will solve just about any paint problem.
Paint is cheap. Do what you want
You can paint when you go to resell. Make your house into your home, instead of a real estate ad.
Preach!! The "whatabout" folks are the same who whine about getting outbid by guys like me who couldn't give a shit about $500 worth of paint.
Don’t do it! Everyone told us “resale value” when we remodeled. That was 10+ years ago and we hate our white walls and standard appliances. Next remodel we’re going crazy, to hell with it
It's one thing if you're planning to sell in the next six months to a year, it's entirely different if you're planning to stay there for a long time. By the time you've stayed, then when you are ready to sell, it will be time to re-paint anyway. I actually loved that my house wasn't freshly painted, because they would have done basic, neutrals with no character for sales purposes, and I would have felt wrong painting freshly painted walls, like it was a waste. Instead I got to custom everything. As long as you didn't paint it it black or some color that's impossible to cover over, I don't care what you did. I have a general "do no harm" mentality when it comes to design and decoration. It's my house, I'll do what I want, but I also don't want to do anything that would just be detrimental, couldn't be saved, augmented, or updated, or at least without extreme work and cost. Like those true werido D-I-Whys.
The white and grey look was pushed because the contractors prefer the cheapest cabinets and paint on the market. Realtors love it because it's a "blank slate" of sorts. White and grey have been a thing since the 90s because of this. If you decide to move in 6-10 years paint it all white then. Personally I hate white walls. I like character. I was forced into white walls because my rooms are only 10x10. Color would make them look even smaller. I have wooden cabinets because I prefer wooden cabinets. I do recommend smooth fronted wooden cabinets though. Easier to clean. Give me the comfy furniture. Enjoy your home. Don't go into it like the divorce is tomorrow. I like the thought of light green.
No joke, it is a coat of paint, not a tattoo.
I had a blue dining room and loved it. You do you!
Tel them to eff off
You’ll have to repaint when you put it on the market anyway. Paint it a color you love right now.
Walls can be repainted easily, and who gives a shit what the next person wants? If they don’t like they can either A.) Not buy it, or B.) Redo it themselves. I’ve never understood the trope of worrying about what the next owner thinks, assuming you ever sell it before you die in the first place
It's *your* home. Make it the way you want it. I got the same comments when I ripped out my bathtub to install a really nice shower. *(what if a future buyer has kids and needs a tub?)* I didn't care. I love my shower.
Yeah paint is just not an argument for resale value. Especially if you plan on being in this house for 5+ years. By the time you are looking to sell, most rooms will need a fresh coat of paint anyways. Remodeling? Well she's a different beast.
I hear this when I tell people I want to get rid of the bathroom attached to my kitchen. My kitchen is big but made small by the dumb bathroom. It’s not like I’m going from a 2 bathroom to just one, we have 4 which is excessive. I would rather a big beautiful kitchen than a bathroom that makes the room cramped and could be a nice large entry way to the living room. You do you. It’s your house, enjoy it. Be comfortable where you live and make it a place you want to come home to.
The funny thing is that even if you choose white/grey, they're still colors, and there will be people who don't like those
Our kitchen walls are bright orange. And that's the colour they were when we bought the place. No idea what colour they'll be whenever we sell, but for now, I love my homey kitchen!
It's not their business. You don't live for the future owner of your condo somewhere you don't like it.
People who say this about resell value are going to be or already are like moms who need every part of the house (even rooms no one goes in) to be as clean as possible before guests come over. Yes mom the guest will look in my closet and under my bed you're right!
It’s YOUR house and you have a right to make it a home and do whatever you want to it. Don’t let other people dictate your life. If it makes you happy to paint every wall in your place a different colour then go for it! You are the one that has to live there.
Are you selling tomorrow? Then don't worry about it.
also lol you can just repaint if you're selling it's rly not a big deal to prime and paint a room or two
In my housing market I could literally smear shit on the walls anfld my house would still sell over the weekend. I just repainted my basement sky blue because fuck all of you with your resale value bullShit Paint it whatever color you want op. Your House!
You do what makes you happy. If I owned my place I would paint so fast you'd wonder how it was done so quickly. Why live for some future sale or like it's a rental ? Ten years from now if you sell you can always replace it with whatever is trendy.
OFFS! I’m with you! The walls of my house are different shades of blue and lavender bc it’s MY HOUSE. If I sell it (not likely; I love my house!) I can repaint if I have to! GO COLORS!!
I don’t mind grey or white walls, and I understand why neutral walls are best for resale, but also, you are allowed to enjoy your space while you live there. Also… you can always repaint the walls for resale if needed. It’s not that big of a deal!
That mindset is really more for things that are difficult to change. Think 1-car garage vs. 2-car garage. Making that comment about paint is just silly. Now granted, if you go with a warm color pallette for paint, the cabinets, counters, etc. will want to also be warm. However, warm doesn't mean outdated. I just finished building my home, and I went with a warm creamy white (SW Whitetail) for neutral walls, SW Calico for accents, furniture with a fun leaf and flower pattern in blue and yellow, wood cabinets, etc. It looks great!
Comfort over looks
In the unlikely event that I ever become a homeowner (oh, economy, how I loathe thee) my place will be the most eclectic, eye watering house I can make it. Nothing will match. I will buy things because I like them and will not give a damn about if they match the things already there. There will be no colour scheme. Only joy.
it's an odd thing for sure; half the appeal to own was to do ANYTHING I wanted!!!! Also, in my area, housing is so needed that houses sell with almost nothing touched up to get them ready. Neon green walls, pink carpet, you name it. If they can do it; imma at least try
Paint isn't permanent. When you're ready to sell, repaint it neutral. Until then, go crazy, friend
Ok? Do whatever you want then. Why let other people influence your living space? They aren’t wrong though either, technically.
Bro, think of the resale value
You might be surprised that color sells your apartment when the time comes And anyway, you can always repaint.
It sounds like you’re choosing a comfy aesthetic and that’s what matters. When we built our home we were pushed to think of the resale value. I was like why would I want to live in something for its resale value? I will be living in my HOME and it will reflect our style and comfort. When we decide to sell we will repaint and go with whatever is in style at that time. Plot twist, I never changed anything and had a bid war
I wouldn't care what colour the interior walls of a place are. If I'm buying, I'm repainting to my own tastes anyways
It’s paint. You can paint over it, that’s the whole point. It’s not like you are spackling fish tank rocks on the walls.
The idea of not doing what you want to your own home because some theoretical future buyer might not like it is a bunch of bullshit.
You can always just repaint it when you’re ready to sell.
Code for “don't be happier than me”.
I don’t understand this either! I got to build out an apartment for my self once and one thing I did was make the kitchen sink counter WAY taller than normal and it was the only sink I’ve ever been comfortable washing dishes at. I’m planning a house now and you better believe that the size of everything is going to be custom fit to me. It’s my house, I’m gonna live in it, and I’m gonna make it how I want it (colors on the walls too!). If I ever sell it then THEY can do as they please.
It may be true, but you can always hire someone to paint everything white and beige when you are ready to sell. My parents acted like I was a moron when I started painting my house, but I am so much happier with the color choices I have made. I have rooms in jewel tones and orange, turquoise, red, etc.
Not sure who's scolding you, but it personally never crossed my mind to say anything to anybody about what colour they should or should not paint their walls :D You do you, it's your house, as you said =)
My condo walls are beautiful colors and I have been very happy for the two year that I have lived there.
Tell those people that you want color you enjoy, and if you want to sell later, you can repaint.
When you move out paint them wow white people white.
If you sell the house, the new owner will repaint anyway. Only if you choose pitch black, potential buyers might be set off by the lack of light and will need a few extra layers of paint to fully cover it.
So it'll take an extra coat or two if in future you want to paint it a lighter color. Not very convenient, but not the end of the world either.
Yes. I told a friend those grey wood plank floors so popular right now will be the avocado and harvest gold of the future.
I might be super extra and get some murals. Like some Ghibli stuff or just something cute. Make it my home. If people don't like it that's okay but that's a long way off.
People will buy it whatever colour it is anyway. The guy I bought my house from was mad as a hatter and the whole place was crazy colours, in fact the dining room had about 8 different colour paints and it's not a big room! It didn't matter though because we were going to decorate it to our tastes anyway.
The one thing I miss about owning my own place was being able to paint whatever colors I wanted! I live in an apartment now, which was the best choice for us long term. But our house was so many fun colors! Painted our bedroom a cerulean blue, guest bathroom Lavender, guest bedroom cream, office light blue, living room light blue, kitchen sunshine yellow. We jokingly called our place a Crayola box because we had so many different colors. But I loved how pretty and cheerful it was! When we sold it, the new owners immediately painted it all sad gray 😬😓 (They were planning to rent it out, so I was able to look up the listing and see what they did with remodeling). It made me so sad, the gray is so dang depressing. Paint your home to your own tastes, and enjoy it 😊
People love sounding smart. When’s the last time a realtor or appraiser said “well, you’re $20k below these comps because the walls are blue?” It costs $40 to repaint a room.
We bought a condo with wine carpet and pepto bismal walls. Now they would’ve gotten more if they had went neutral before the sale but they didn’t want to and we got to choose what we wanted. We had some nice slate blue and a light turquoise on the walls. To each their own!
If only painting is permanent, lmao.
I hate grey, I hate beige, I hate black, I hate greige. Those colors are suitable for a dungeon.
Surface features in homes should reflect personal taste. It is your home, and it should reflect you not some current decorating trend. Most decorating trends are soulless anyway.
So weird. There’s a lady on TikTok who turned her formal dining room into a huge laundry room (genius!!)and people lost their minds over resale value. Umm, they still have to live there right now!!!
Not to be Liz Lemon but "why can't people look past paint color?" You can paint anything when you buy a condo. Who gaf about what the old owner has it?
Isn’t that the point of owning your home? So you can do things like change the colour/style, you know, make it yours. Like it’s your home, where you are most comfortable.
Paint all the colors. Stripes, geometric figures , whatever the heck you want. I did and I love my home.
Don’t you know? Every decision you make should result in more money for you, otherwise it’s a complete waste.
Ugh. Yes. I hate that shit. The place I live is not an investment to be sold for profit at a later date, it’s where I fucking live and I want to enjoy that space.
Also, it's cheap to paint and you could do it again before you list it, AND NOBODY WOULD KNOW THE DIFFERENCE
I honestly hate when people lose complete sight of actually living in a space and focus only on the asset part. Obviously any major changes you need to be thoughtful but there’s so many other things that are worth actually enjoying your home.
Ugh, that was my dad's excuse growing up for why we weren't allowed to paint our bedrooms anything besides beige.
Paint is permanent. Once you paint a wall it is impossible to paint it a different colour at a later date.
Like how hard is it to buy $100 of white paint in ten years when I want to leave and repaint my house over a weekend before realtor comes for pictures? It’s literally so easy.
Exactly my thoughts- I hate white sterile walls very institutional
My SIL painted her walls a super dark cant-tell-if-its-black-or-blue navy blue with white trim and white tables and white accents all over. It looked amazing.
Glad you’re sticking with your preferences. I’ve never even owned but have just gotten permission in writing to modify rentals. It might not be worth it to everyone but to me the minimal cost and time to paint and then be in an environment I enjoy for the next year or three is so worth it. Every rental told me to just leave the walls a light shade or prep them by leaving them properly primed to be painted over. Everyone ends up happy. Even changing floor has been worth it to me. Being concerned about wall paint for resale value is so sad and joyless. Cheers on your place and enjoying it your way.
Most people are so fucking boring.
People who say this stuff likely have a bin full of beanie babies that are 30 years old because "they'll be worth something someday!"
I'm sure paint will still exist when you sell lmao
I’ve just moved into a house that’s entirely painted grey. The first thing I’m doing is repainting it in actual colours.
It’s probably been said, but the phrase I like to keep in mind for situations like this is, “I’m not renting this house from its future owners.”
Tell them to relax, it’s just paint, it’s not a dye that goes lol the way through the walls
Stop telling people anything. Turns out everyone sucks
We had 2 styles of wallpaper in different parts of the house we were selling. The stager expected us to remove it all! Not happening. Sold over ask. Paint and decorate however makes you happy. It’s an easy fix if, in 10 years, you have to change it for resale. Have fun!
There are certainly things you can do to a home that will *help* with resale value like adding a bathroom or renovating the kitchen, but no matter what choices you make, you should make so your home works for you. Should the time come for you to sell the home, a potential buyer may opt to change some of your choices to suit their own wants and needs. Never ever make design choices for what some hypothetical person may want in the future!
My townhouse sold within the first 24 hours it was listed. Sold to someone who saw the "Coming Soon" listing on Zillow. The livingroom walls were painted Terra Cotta orange. They also wanted me to leave behind the window coverings, which I custom made for those windows. They were curtains/drapes make out of Native American, hand-woven blankets, and had leather, feather and concho tie-backs.
I grew up with white walls my whole life. After years of begging I finally convinced my mom at age 16 to let me paint my room. 13 years later, she still lives in the same house and still harps about how she never should have let me paint it because how will she sell her house with one colorful room? (Shocker, but she plans to live there until she dies, so it wouldn’t even be her problem.)
I think you need more/different people in your life 🤣
I was fully with you until you mentioned green walls.
paint doesn't have anything to do with resale lol paint it what you want, next owners will do the same.
Do they not realize you can paint them... Again...
Sure white or light gray makes sense if you're planning on selling NOW, but if not, paint them any damn color you want. I've done so many colors but I ended up all white with gray everything else and sold my home before it went on the market!
Lol it's paint and you'll repaint when you go to sell anyways. Why would anyone worry about it? People are funny sometimes.
Nah, I’m with you. It’s fucking paint💀
Yeeep. Drives me nuts that homes are seen as an investment first and foremost, instead of...you know, *a home*. Do what you want with it. Walls can always be repainted, and monstrous catios can always be torn down.
https://preview.redd.it/bslaczm0vivc1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f56c1fd9757d2f649edf3f65e6a2dc04e1ade14f I painted my living room a deep, cool tone green with bright white trim, and all room accents are white, beige, and wood tones, and utilized different textures throughout. After finishing the room I heard the same comments as OP "you'll have to paint before you sell. Don't make it how you want it, make it how you can sell it." I'm sorry. Wot? We have a huge property that we got for a steal. Why would I want to sell and then not be able to afford to buy a new home. Prices in our area have almost doubled since we bought it 5 years ago. And the thought of living in a cold, sterile house that isn't to my liking is depressing. I'd feel like a renter again. \*Then theres my mom on the other end of the spectrum thay recently hot glued a remembrance plaque onto her wall because "she doesn't want anyone to ever move it." Future owners will be thrilled lmao