Painting crown molding

My wife and ai are finally painting our bedroom (in preparation for selling) and I get to paint over the pink.

We have chosen a medium to light tan for the walls and white for the trim, baseboards and doors. I will also be painting the ceiling white. (It's now a very light pink.)

My question has to do with the crown molding. i think if the ceiling is white, painting it white will cause it to be rather invisible. Is this ok? what other color should I go with? (I'm replacing the carpet with a light brown 'hickory' shade of laminate.)

 

Why are you doing all that work, if you are going to sell the house? Young couples are going to change everything that you do. Whatever you do won't make or break the sale. Don't waste your time.

 

I have to somewhat agree with Shorty. Other than a coat of basic off white maybe (if the old paint is pretty rough or just gawdawful ugly...like yours ), any money you spend on decorating or improvements is just money out of your pocket. People buy based on what THEY see a house becoming, not what you made it.

Declutter, declutter, declutter. Clean, clean, clean. Curb appeal is one thing, some cheap blooms in a planter or bed is always nice, but selling the house once they are inside is the Agents job. I can hear them now..."Oh, paint is cheap, you'll want to make it reflect your tastes anyway, won't you?", "The carpet will be ok til you get all moved in and see what works best for you". (See, he's assuming they already are buying it...planting a seed.)

Sorry, didn't really answer the question, but it's the truth. Only major bath and kitchen renovations, or additions give a return. Even then it can't be one of those "What WERE they thinking???" type re-do's.

 

If you are going to paint, I'd just paint them white. I like off-whites and mine are all off-white with white ceilings. You still see it. Unless they're stained, they don't need to stand out.

 

Completely disagree!!

Anybody selling a house wants to present their house in tip top condition, any, and I mean anything that shows the lack of maintenance, or dis repair will be a focal point for buyers to attempt to gain a financial advantage.

Granted some may want to change things but it;s much more common for buyers to want a "move in ready" house.

You are doing the right thing to make the inexpensive improvements that will bring top dollar to your house.

 

Maintenance and repair are one thing. Cosmetic items are another. Would you buy a used car that the guy says was just painted? I sure wouldn't. And new tires make me wonder about the suspension or abuse. Now if he wants to show me maintenance and repair receipts, that's could be another story.

Move in ready to me means, everything is clean, nothing needs to be fixed or replaced, everything works as it should, and there aren't any hidden gremlins in the attic or basement the buyer isn't telling me.

 

All I wanted is some advice on the crown molding. LOL

I have to agree on making your house look good for a sale, and I also agree about declutter. But, to be honest, I"m not painting just to paint. The walls need repair, and we decided to repaint neutral rather than attempt to match the pink. (Actually more of a melon color but that's not important) The rest of the house has been recently painted with more neutral colors, which (i'm told) helps sales.

So, we're back to the question of what color to do the crown. White and it won't stand out, a medium brown to make it stand out?

 

Those days are gone. Young couples are different these days. I know a place where the common practice is to level the house to the foundation & rebuild. Paint on crown molding means nothing.

 

We went through a flood in 2016 & we done some extra updating that hasnt been done is about 30 years. We repainted the already white ceiling & crown molding white. It looks good to me. My wife (late 50's) & daughter (mid 30s) chose to do that... so I would say that with both of them coming to that conclusion, its the right thing to do. I mean, as a guy, it looks right to me...

Having given MHO on that, we are now selling the home which is completely repainted & remodeled, with floors, walls, ceilings, kitchen & baths etc. We were hoping it would make for a quick sale. It has not so far after 6 weeks on the market.
We just closed on a 1968, on updates etc.... that never even made it to the market. We bought it that quick with at least one other prospective buyer in the picture.

Now we start all over. I really aint looking forward to it, but, it is what it is.

I'll go farther to say that when we looked at houses, we "looked at the house & property". Not what it was, but its potential. Personally, I would have rather had a completely move in ready, but I couldn't let this pass me by.
So, whether its updated or not, it's going to solely depend on what the buyer is looking for. Its a gamble either way. Just do your homework & try not to put more in the house than you will get back. Make sure the money you put into it is an investment for the sale.
Usually, the female is looking at the home & the guy is looking at the property, shop, etc. Up date accordingly.

 

Ok, don't touch it.

As my uncle used to say, Now you're cooking with gas.

 

Almost all ceilings are white. Almost all crown moulding is white. If you decide to paint, ceilings look best with flat ceiling white, crown looks best with semi gloss or gloss trim enamel. The sheen is what makes it pop, not the color. Unless you WANT it to stand out like a sore thumb, the crown isn't generally the focal point of the room.

 

Well I did answer your question and I think I know a little bit about decorating.

 

White, same as the walls. And as X said, semi or gloss if you want, but that's really small plain crown...I doubt I'd go that far.

 

I've almost always painted the crown molding the same color as the rest of the woodwork. If the ceiling is white and the trim is white that doesn't mean the crown will be hid. Ceilings typically get painted with flat paint while the woodwork will be painted with an enamel - typically semi-gloss.

 

I can agree, white flat ceilings, with White semi-gloss crown..and trim.

THANKS!