Okay, so this is not about Interior Design. But clients ask me for help with their Exterior choices too. This client has a house in Milwaukee that they are fixing up with some remodeling inside and also were painting the exterior and installing a new front door. My client really had her heart set on gray and she is also using grays for her neutral colors inside, so when she asked for help on her color selection, it was really about choosing the right gray. I thought you would enjoy seeing how helpful the free online color selection programs are. This one is Personal Color Viewer® by Benjamin Moore.

Here is the exterior before painting, and below are three of the many grays we considered. You can see what a difference each shade makes. I recommended a paler warm gray because I felt it worked better than the deeper and cooler grays on this wood exterior. Her interior grays are also warm in tone and it made their new front door in a deep iron gray really pop out as a focal point.

Continue reading to see the “after” photos & new door …

I would just love to take all of the credit for this, but as I have said before, it takes a team to successfully sell a home. With properties languishing on the market for months and months at a time, it seems like a miracle that a home could sell so fast. So, here is what each person did.

The Broker:
* Counseled the seller regarding the importance of condition and presentation of the home.
* Expertly assessed the right pricing for the property
* Referred the seller to the Home Stager
* Hired a professional photographer to take great photos for the listing

The Home Stager (Me) :
* Started by asking the broker for any special concerns or negatives about the property – Although either of the two bedrooms could be the “master”, the seller had set up the downstairs room as their master and the upstairs bedroom as a “guest” room with a futon. So the perception of no master on the main floor was an issue.The bedroom on the main floor looked very crowded & wall color was dark.
* Scheduled and performed a thorough “Walk & Talk” consultation for the seller with specifics about what needed to be done and why.
* Empowered the seller to know that she could accomplish everything by prioritizing and showing specific examples to take out any guesswork.
* Provided additional furnishings / art / accessories and returned to do the final staging.

The Seller:
* Trusted her professionals and committed to doing everything recommended by her broker and home stager.
* Rolled up her sleeves and worked hard!

Now here’s the success story that shows that all three pieces are what sold this home —

Two weeks prior to going on the market, the broker put out a “pre-listing” notice so people would know it was coming up. She connected with another broker who had a buyer ready to buy! They went to see the house, contract in hand ready to write an offer, before the painting and staging work had been done (bad idea). As soon as the buyer saw that the “master” bedroom was downstairs, they changed their mind and passed on the house.

So, to prepare the home, I had the seller remove clutter & older, unattractive furniture. Also had her paint the kitchen in a warm sand color and paint the cabinets white, plus update the hardware. The main floor bedroom had a futon in it. Because of the arms on the futon, when it was folded down to be a bed, the arms protruded into the space enough to make it very tight and to “scream” that it was a guest room. Although I had recommeded painting a lighter color in the bedroom, time & money made us decide to go with the existing color. The seller’s white bedding made the dark walls seem even darker. So I used darker bedding more befitting of a “master” bedroom, and added art & throw pillows that tied in with the green but in lighter shades.

Once the property was staged, professional photos were taken that day and put online asap! An open house was held the next day. According to the broker, the very first person who walked in bought the home. The main level bedroom was readily accepted as the “master”. Happy Ending!! If you would like help professionally staging a home for sale, I would love to help! Pangaea Interior Design

Here are before & after photos for you to enjoy. “After Photos” courtesy of Rachel Weinstein rachelweinstein@comcast.net

Living Room Before Home Staging

Living Room After Home Staging by Pangaea Interior Design

Kitchen Before Painting

Kitchen After Painting and New Hardware

Bedroom Before Home Staging

Bedroom After Home Staging by Pangaea Interior Design

For decades, when you got ready to sell your house, the conventional wisdom was to paint all the walls back to white. But that is SO yesterday!  White …. the color of snow & ice … does absolutely nothing to warm up a house. It doesn’t highlight architectural features and it doesn’t enhance the colors of your wood, granite or other finishes. To sell your property today, it’s best to use soft warm decorator colors that are current. That way they not only look beautiful in the home, but will go with the existing furnishings of your prospective buyers and remind them of the beautiful new furnishings and colors they have been eyeing at the stores in anticipation of their new home.

A professional paint color consultation will help you paint out the colors that turn buyers off and select ones that appeal to them.

Accent Walls: Which walls should be accented? Where should the accent color start and stop? An accent wall can create or enhance a focal point or it can highlight architectural interest. It might be the wall with the fireplace, built in shelving, or the wall that soars up two stories. Selecting the wrong wall for your accent can pull focus away from important features of your house or even make a room feel unbalanced, which most people sense as a vague feeling of discomfort in the room, even if they can’t put their finger on why it feels that way.

Red Walls: I’m afraid that the news here is you need to paint those out! Although many people like to paint dining rooms red, and I see them all the time, red walls stop most buyers in their tracks. Any broker will tell you that they get negative feedback when showing properties that have bold red walls of any shade. Red is a tough sell. Why leave something in your home that has the potential to turn off so many people? When I stage a home, I can mitigate some of that impact through the use of art and accessories … but doing both the painting and the staging will give you the most attractive results.

The same goes for any bright, bold or “too deep” colors. If the color names “sunny yellow” “hunter green” “peach” “federal blue” “maroon” or “burgundy” can be used to describe any of your rooms, then a paint color consultation is in your future.

Even though guests in your home over the years have always said they love your colors, don’t fool yourself into thinking that means the colors can stay. The problem here is that when guests come over they aren’t thinking of living in your house! I, too, would have to paint out my own beloved accent walls if I put my house on the market. So, don’t take it personally, it has nothing to do with having good or bad taste. It’s all about wide appeal.

The “Right” Colors: If I could tell you here the exact colors to use, I would do it … but it isn’t that simple. When I choose paint colors for a property going on the market, I look at the wood tones in floors, cabinetry, doors & moldings, and also consider any finishes such as granite colors, fireplace stones, carpeting, tiles, amount of light and exterior house colors as well. The colors of the house should flow from the outside to the inside and the colors in all rooms should work well enough together (not change radically) so that as you walk through the property, you always feel you are in the same house.
Colors that are soft and a little “smoky” or “creamy” work better than very pure colors. Think of colors like toast – caramel – taupe – sage & muted water colors.

Finishes: The right finish – satin – eggshell – flat – will make a difference too. In general flat, or matte finishes are very forgiving if your walls are not in perfect condition. They also look the most “true” to color because they don’t reflect a lot of light. Satin or eggshell finish paints have a little bit of a sheen to them. They show imperfections in the walls so you need to prep your walls more carefully. They are very good for kitchen & baths where the walls may need to be cleaned often. Use semi-gloss for moldings. High Gloss paint is generally best for painting cabinetry.

Sustainable: Remember to select paints that are “Green” – no I don’t mean the color! There’s just no good reason not to use paints with zero or low VOC’s. They are readily available and only run about $5 more per gallon than the ones with the nasty chemicals. Your prospective buyers will be happy that they don’t smell your new paint, and most of them will consider it a positive point about your property. Devine Color and Yolo Colorhouse are two locally produced, eco-friendly paint lines and I recommend them both! The paint color samples at the top of this post are from Devine Color. Both brands are sold at Powell Paint Center in Portland.

If you are in the Portland area and are getting ready to sell, please call me for your professional paint color consultation. Or, if you just want to freshen up your home, then a paint color consultation can help you select the right colors for your personal taste and style. Call today at 503.816.4394

Pangaea Interior Design is a full service firm specializing in residential projects and also offering home staging.