Preparing House for sale, choice of paint color

Hi everyone, I'm new here.

I need a little advice. Having some disagreements with my partner over interior paint color.

We are preparing our house for sale. The majority of the interior was painted in Dutch Boy Atrium White. We plan to do the painting ourselves. I want to repaint with the same color. Its easier, cheaper and will turn out better because we have lots of wood stained trim.

My partner has become an interior designer, real estate appraiser, remodeling cost estimator, financial planner all from watching Home Remodeling Shows on TV. She says and I quote “The house won’t sell in Atrium White”.

It’s a lot harder to change colors with all that wood trim. Sorry for venting but there are millions of other things without doing 2 coats in every room. I could maybe understand a little if we had one of those “Designer Homes” she sees on TV but many would call ours somewhat of a fixer upper.

Maybe I’m wrong but what do you think?

 

Personally, I'd go with an off-white with warm undertones. This will warm things up a bit but still make it easy to re-color if the new owners want. Bright white can be a little stark and cold looking.

 

I agree! I don't know how white atrium white is [I seldom use dutch boy] but an off white that is closer to a pastel should be more appealing. It will also soften the look of the stained trim.

Using a quality paint should make coverage a non issue. I usually use a good brush to cut to all the wood trim except the baseboard. On the base I'll carefully tape and then cut it in with my brush, not slopping the paint onto the tape as tape is problematic about letting paint seep under it. Removing the tape as soon as possible will allow you to clean up any paint that does get on the trim.

 

I believe there is no right answer here for every potential buyer - I know I'm in the minority but I would rather have white walls than a cream or off-white.

We sold our home with white walls because I refused to get on a ladder to paint the 12 foot dining room ceilings (not to mention the even bigger height in the area over the steps to the basement). Would it have gone faster if I did? If I had painted off-white instead? Maybe....

 

As soon as you put your house on HGTV we will all know the answer. Until then, it's 50/50. I would much rather have a good clean neutral coat that a half azzed designer color. I am sure your direction is to spend as little time and money as needed to sell the home. If I recall, Atruim White has a little touch of yellow in it which softens it a little. I am currently repainting a house that was just purchased and had been crappily decorator colored. The good thing was that the buyer could see past the paint for the true potential of the house. Some folks can't see past the paint. I would also spend some time making sure the wood work and doors are looking their best. Oh, please don't paint the ceilings the same color.

 

t_o_s_k; we all have opinions of course, and for the last 15 years I've selected interior and exterior colors for my clients. I'm from Az and Frazee is a good brand out here, plus we have Pitts burg Paint. When a client was selling their house, I would recommend a color called swiss Coffee. Our Habitat houses also switched from navajo white to swiss coffee. This color is neutral in hue and that's important if you have different flooring colors and works with any hue. If you are not changing out carpet and the original color worked, why change it. The key to selling a house is keeping the costs low, regardless that you are painting it yourself.

I don't see why that color would be an issue for resale purposes.

Best of Luck