Go to colors for selling home?

[CommonCents]

Our realtor wants us to repaint our condo prior to selling it.  I'm willing to do so for the bedroom and living room that were painted last 10 years ago, but not the renovated kitchen/foyer of 3 years ago.  She's pushing beige as a neutral, even though I asked for other suggestions beyond beige.  I understand the key is neutrals, but I'm not thinking bright red or dark green.  Beige is a color too, just as much as say, a light grey-blue is a color.  Painting beige would probably also mean we'd need to repaint the foyer (a light sand color).  There have to be other colors considered a generally neutral color that aren't beige, which is reminiscent of renting apartments.  So what are your non-beige go-to shades for a living room and bedroom when selling property?  (Specific paint colors are helpful.)

[frugal-one]

Sherwin-Williams Blonde is a HUGE go to color.  With Dover White trim - stunning and classic.

[Another Reader]

Looking at the chips and their color visualizer, that blonde color is not neutral enough.  Two tone with a light beige and white or off-white gloss trim are what I always paint if I'm selling.

[Frankies Girl]

Why not paint the rest the same color as you have your foyer - the light sand color? Easy and you already know what it looks like on the walls and if most of the house is painted that, it's going to be a neutral feel.

You could technically argue that a pale gray or cool gray tone could be considered a neutral, but what it comes down to is the warmth and neutrality of the walls themselves. For some reason, warm beiges and tans always make a potential house show more neutral than any other color besides straight up white.

Grays always read "cool" so they won't appeal to everyone that comes through to look. (I personally like the idea of a cool gray like Sherwin Williams' Icicle 6238 with white trim, but I also like colors and will have to repaint every single room in my house if we ever sell...)

If you're not going to go with straight up white, I'd do a light tint of beige and bright white trim work.

[jba302]

Our townhome (rental) is painted something that I would call linen. I feel like I'm in an insane asylum when I walk in there but people seem to really like it because it's easy to picture their various things in there.

[CommonCents]

Also if it makes a difference - the floors are hardwood throughout (a natural blond color, not a dark brown).  Kitchen is a pale yellow.

[GoCubsGo]

I own rentals and flip homes as well as being a Realtor. My go to colors that aren't boring but still neutral (I've painted multiple homes with these colors).  Many younger buyers, especially condo buyers, don't want typical boring beige and I actually recommend against it for my sellers.

Benjamin Moore

- Revere Pewter- Richer but neutral
-Monterey White- It isn't white, more creamy white with a touch of yellow in the sun and is a nice bright color for darker rooms or low ceilings
-Edgecombe Gray- Probably my favorite
-Navajo White- One of the most common paint colors, pretty hard to go wrong but safe and boring
-Manchester Tan- a nice "beige" because it has some depth and warms up at night

[EK]

I just painted my dining room a very lovely light blue-gray that definitely reads as neutral and looks a little more special than blah realtor beige- Benjamin Moore Pale Smoke.

[HayMaker]

So I'm thinking -- you're hiring a professional to help you sell your house; if they succeed you won't be living there much longer so why do you care what color it is?

As long as it's not something like blaze orange, I'd just go with what they suggest.

[LibraTraci]

A non-beige neutral that I've painted many rooms in many houses over the years is Benjamin Moore Vellum.  It is a very muted yellow. 

A beige neutral that I have used in multiple rooms in the same house (not overpowering) is Benjamin Moore Bradstreet Beige. 

I am a huge fan of Benjamin Moore colors -- they tend to be more muted, more complex, than other lines.  This tends to look more sophisticated on the wall.  I can't say whether their paint itself is high quality, as I mostly take the Benjamin Moore color name to Home Depot and have them look it up and mix up the same color (they can do this). 

Side note:
With some colors (including Vellum above), Home Depot will warn you that their color match is way off the mark.  So you have to actually have to cough up the money buy the Benjamin Moore version to get the look you want. 

[CommonCents]

So I'm thinking -- you're hiring a professional to help you sell your house; if they succeed you won't be living there much longer so why do you care what color it is?

As long as it's not something like blaze orange, I'd just go with what they suggest.

I care because:
1. I disagree that beige is the best and most welcoming color.
2. It requires additional painting (=additional costs) to other rooms if I paint it beige.

You could argue I suppose, as to why hire a professional in the first place if I don't trust (this one aspect).  In fact, we didn't hire a realtor on the buy side.  On the sell side, we are hiring because we do not have the flexibility to show the place during the day due to our jobs, and don't have the connections to properly advertise to brokers.  We aren't hiring her for her staging abilities.  (Which is good, as we're selling it empty.)

[HayMaker]

I care because:
1. I disagree that beige is the best and most welcoming color.
2. It requires additional painting (=additional costs) to other rooms if I paint it beige.

Fair enough, I guess I was thinking of those "Sell This House" kind of shows where the homeowner really needs to sell but doesn't want to paint over their purple and green striped walls. 

That said I am all for doing as little as you need to get the place ready.  Good luck.

[Amosla]

On the sell side, we are hiring because we do not have the flexibility to show the place during the day due to our jobs, and don't have the connections to properly advertise to brokers. 

Not sure where you live, but there are US companies that help with the For Sale by Owner process, get it on the MLS, advertise,  etc. The buyer's agent is the one that usually shows the home without the sellers or seller's agent being present. They access through lock boxes, usually electronic so there is records of times entered, etc.  Most of the process is done online.

Oh and my go to colors is Martha Stewart's Bedford Grey by Glidden.

[CommonCents]

Thanks for all of the suggestions!  I'll take them to the realtor.  The hallway color is currrently Kilim Beige.

On the sell side, we are hiring because we do not have the flexibility to show the place during the day due to our jobs, and don't have the connections to properly advertise to brokers. 

Not sure where you live, but there are US companies that help with the For Sale by Owner process, get it on the MLS, advertise,  etc. The buyer's agent is the one that usually shows the home without the sellers or seller's agent being present. They access through lock boxes, usually electronic so there is records of times entered, etc.  Most of the process is done online.

Oh and my go to colors is Martha Stewart's Bedford Grey by Glidden.

Thanks.  We did consider it, but perhaps got turned off by the one FSBO property we toured (very uncomfortable by the owner - including kids - being all present in their rooms when going through it for an open house).  DH isn't sure we can do the best job of it and DH is very low bandwidth at the moment between settling into the new house (unpacking, dealing with a rodent problem, broken toilet already, getting contractors arranged - floor, delivery of appliances, internet set up, insurance appraisal, etc.), our car was rearended by a large truck last week badly damaging it, work, and getting the condo off our hands.  I'm afraid we've already gone past the "one straw" several straws ago, and asking him to do this would put him in the loony bin.  I've taken on arranging most of these tasks, but it still is pretty unsettling for him.  He doesn't deal well with change and stress.  :(  Whereas I'm from a military family where that's par for the course.  We ended up negotiating down the fee a little bit though.