The time is approaching to sell the property and move to a smaller home. Before the place goes on the market, you do want to make some updates. One of the primary tasks is having the home’s exterior painted. What remains to be determined is the color that would be best.
Your goal is to ensure that the color chosen is one that prospective buyers will find appealing. Given that first impressions can make or break a sale, you want to choose wisely. If you want some ideas of which color would work best, it never hurts to draw on several resources, including ideas from one of the local home painting services. Here are some examples of what you could do.
There’s a possibility that you can simplify the process by going with the most basic choice of all: white. This approach has the benefit of being one of the most popular choices for home exteriors. White tends to work with just about any design or homes of all ages. You’ll also find that it can help freshen the look of the home with ease.
Even if you go with white, there are still some decisions to be made. That’s because you have a selection of white paints that range from a bright white to a dull or almost ecru shade. There’s also the matter of deciding if you want any amount of sheen to the paint itself.
If white is not what you want to do, then move on to other colors that are generally considered neutral. One of them may be just right. Look closely at shades of beige, taupe, and gray in particular. They have all enjoyed decades of popularity in terms of colors for home exteriors.
You enjoy many of the same benefits with neutral colors as you would with shades of white. They are easy on the eyes, tend to appeal to a wide range of potential buyers, and provide a crisp and clean look to the home. You will also find that coming up with a color for the trim will be easy, once you settle on the wall color.
Have you given any consideration to using blue for the home’s exterior? Blue has also been a popular choice for years, and it blends in well with options like white trim. The key is to know which shade of blue would work best with the home, and still appeal to anyone interested in the home.
In general, a lighter shade of blue is recommended. It’s true that navy and dark blue do make a statement, but it tends to be one that’s more reflective of the owner’s taste. Since you are not the one who will be living in the home, you want to go with something that doesn’t cause people to hesitate when they first see the house. Typically, a lighter shade will tend to draw people in, while darker shades are more likely to cause them to look elsewhere.
If you’re still having trouble coming up with an idea, why not take a look at what the neighbors have done with their homes? Even a simple walk up and down the street will provide some insight into which colors seem to be the most popular in the area. This has the added benefit of knowing which colors would help the home seem to fit right in with the rest.
Don’t hesitate to broaden the search a little. Instead of sticking to a block or two within your home, travel a little further up or down the street. You can also take a look at what’s going on in the way of house painting projects on homes on streets running parallel to yours. Feel free to take notes and maybe even use the camera feature to take a quick photo of any home that seems to be an appealing color. That will allow you to compare the images with your home when you get back to the house.
Do consider the home’s exterior design. What works well for a ranch house won’t always be the best choice for a Tudor style home. You may find that looking into color schemes that are traditionally used with particular designs will yield some ideas.
If so, head to the paint shop and pick up some sample cards that sport those colors. Hold them up to the exterior and see what you think. If you like, there’s online software that would help you create an image of the home using different shades. Put those ideas to good use and you may soon know what to tell the contractor from one of the local interior house painting services when it comes to questions about paint colors.
Another point to ponder is how old the home happens to be. While it’s possible to construct a new home using all sorts of designs, there may be the need to consider specific colors based on the vintage. For example, what you choose to use for a cottage built a century ago would likely be different from what you would select for a mid-20th century two-story dwelling.
You can often get some ideas for colors by looking up images of homes of the same vintage. There may be a shade that was used in times past that fits right in with your neighborhood, as well as the home’s design. The approach of going with some sort of historic home painting solution could be the added extra that attracts positive attention and makes the home appealing to those who would appreciate the additional care with details.
You may not think of the landscaping as having an impact on the choice for home exterior colors, but the fact is that what’s happening on the grounds will affect the property’s curb appeal. With that in mind, you want the house color to unify the look of the property, rather than seem as if it was just plopped down out of nowhere.
For this reason, consider colors that would work well with the types of trees and other plants that you have on the grounds. You don’t necessarily want to pick up those specific colors, but it would be nice to have something that visually works with all those other elements. You’re likely to find that neutral colors, particularly white, may be just what it takes to ensure the trees, bushes, fencing, and other elements all blend together to form a welcoming look.
While you will likely have some good ideas using these methods, don’t feel as if you can’t seek advice from other sources. In fact, one of the best resources that you have on hand is someone who will soon be working to sell your home: the real estate agent.
Agents already have some ideas about what buyers are seeking. It’s not just in terms of location, number of bedrooms, or factors related to home features. They also know what colors are attracting positive attention from buyers, and which ones motivate them to turn away from properties without giving them much of a look.
What you may find is that some of the colors you’re considering do earn positive feedback from the agent. That’s because there are already local buyers who want homes in those colors. Opting for a color that has the blessing of the real estate agent will have an excellent chance of selling the home sooner rather than later. It will also make it that much easier for the agent to attract the interest of people who have already looked at a few places and are still seeking the place of their dreams.
Once you make the final choice for the color, it’s time to make plans for the actual painting. This is not the time for you to try honing your house painting skills. Instead, you want to get in touch with a contractor for local house painting services and arrange for a meeting and home inspection.
It won’t take long for the professional to look over the place, note any minor repairs that the exterior needs, and provide a quote for managing them along with the painting. You can also get some idea of how soon the painting can commence. With a little luck, the work can be done well before the date you want to place the home on the market.
Remember that the choice of paint for the exterior is not about catering to your personal tastes. At this juncture, the goal is to go with a color scheme that is sure to appeal to a wide range of potential buyers. Set aside your ideas about using your favorite color, or going with something that makes a strong personal statement. When you see how people react to your choice of a color with broad appeal, there will be no doubt that you made the right choice.