Little Pink Houses For You and Me

When I was growing up, my childhood home was a wonderful and comforting place for me.  It was what I was used to and I never really thought about its color other than it was yellow and green.  I would draw it in school and of course, I would color it in with the yellow and green crayon from the 8 pack Crayola box.  To me the house was the perfect colors, bright and cheerful.  When I was a little older, my parents decided that it was time to sell the old place and move.  With the decision to put the house on the market, came the decision to paint the house. I couldn’t understand why they would go from bright, happy yellow and green to this bland brown with tan trim. Shortly after finishing painting, the house was sold and we moved on to a new home.  Years later, when I asked my parents about the decision, they said that they couldn’t live with the drab mustardy yellow with olive green trim anymore and they wanted to update the look of the house in order to entice buyers.  I was blown away by how they described the house, as I certainly had remembered it looking a lot different then they did, but they were right.  I loved my life in that house, so it made me love everything about it, including the paint. 

While you may have a strong emotional connection to your home and have picked the colors to your taste, it doesn’t mean that a buyer will have the same connection or love for the color scheme as you do.   While a bright turquoise or salmon color may appeal to those from more tropical climates, it may not appeal to say those from the northeast.  Southwestern flare may be popular in Arizona, but not so much in New York City.  The best bet is to do what my parents did, which is to choose colors in a more neutral shade that will appeal to the most people.   Now, beige and white are neutral shades, but keep in mind, they are not the only ones.   There are a myriad of choices out there from earth tones, grays, creams, and browns, as well softer muted shades of red, blue, and even yellow and green.   When deciding on a color scheme, also keep in mind that certain types of architecture may need bolder colors to make them pop.   Of course, my parents made the right decision and were able to sell our home almost immediately after painting.  I look at pictures of our home before we painted and even though the house was an ugly mustard yellow with olive trim, to me it will always be that happy bright yellow and green.