Must Know Painting Tips for Home Sellers

Everyone selling a residential property needs to know this!

Don’t put your home on the market without reading these tips.

Selling your home can be a large undertaking. Usually sellers are looking to put the home on the market investing the least amount of money while selling it for top dollar. Painting is on of the least expensive ways to improve buyer impression of your home.

We strongly recommend following the advice of a Realtor® when selling your home. Follow their advice over ours. That being said, we work with a lot of Realtors and their advice resonates with what we share.

1. Selling is about giving the buyer what THEY want. Not standing up for what you like. They need to be able to envision their stuff in your home. Remember, if all goes well, their stuff WILL be in your home and don’t expect them to keep the color on the walls as a shrine to you and your design savvy.
2. Smart color choices can loosen the pocket books of people in a competitive market. While we in no way promise increased profits or recouped costs when painting your home to sell, we’ve seen buyers lower their offers because they expect to have to paint over a poor paint job. We’ve also seen buyers swoon over a freshly painted home.

These paint DO’s and DON’Ts are essential to attracting buyers!

DON’T be emotionally attached to your personal color choices. If you painted a wall bright orange or even a bright purple like I have, don’t expect others to be as in love with it as you are. Your neon green bathroom with stenciled lizards may have worked for you, but will likely lower your sale price.

DO find inspiration and look through photos of upscale homes that use neutral paint colors. Neutral paint colors include tan, gray, beige, and sage/olive green. Notice how light or dark they go in each color. It’s unlikely there will be very light or dark extremes. And notice how they bring color in through accessories. Imitate as much as possible.

DON’T use white paint on your walls. It is cold and sterile and shows dirt. The house we bought was painted white inside. We started painting the interior a couple days before closing and the sellers stopped by. The walls were now a gray/beige color and we had done some accent walls. Their comment: “Wow! We should have painted these colors and asked $10,000 more!” Paint your walls a tan, beige, or gray color to warm things up.

DO leave your trim and doors white or stained. Again unless they are in bad shape and you’re replacing things, stick with what you have and save some money. Use a Magic Eraser to remove scuff marks. Use a 1:1 vinegar and water solution and a soft cloth to clean the doors and trim.

DON’T forget to look at your cabinetry. If it’s really outdated or cheap looking, consider painting and adding fresh hardware. People gravitate toward white cabinets or espresso (dark brown) finishes. It’s very popular among designers to paint the top cabinets white and the lower ones an espresso color.

DO paint closets. Scuff marks and other wear and tear look cheap. Clean and fresh is the name of the game here. (Bonus: You can use inexpensive paint here and get away with it.)

DO consider painting your front door an inviting color. A front door can be a focal point for the whole exterior. Colors like red or black can give a good impression.

As a professional painter we can help your home look crisp and fresh for home buyers. If your property is in the Colorado Springs area contact us and get your FREE estimate.

Paint Your House to Sell on a Tight Budget

 

Getting ready to sell your home but on a tight budget?

 

You can save bundles painting it yourself!

You can paint your house interior yourself. There, we said it. Lots of people do it. And sometimes you just can’t afford to hire a painter and a Realtor®.

The tips we share in this post could save you bundles over hiring a professional. But understand these ideas are akin to having a bad hair day and wearing a hat. Wearing a hat doesn’t fix your hair, it’s still unruly and may look worse after you take the hat off, but it improves the impression you give.

This post talks about interior painting only. We recommend using a professional to help you with any exterior paint work.

1. Fill nail holes and drywall screw holes before painting. Check out this brief video on how to do it properly.
2. Clean trim and doors. Get a Magic Eraser at your local store and go to town. It is abrasive so exercise prudence. You can also make a 1:1 vinegar and water solution and wipe everything down using a soft cloth. Cut up old t-shirts to use as rags (buy some from a thrift store if you don’t have any on hand.) You may be surprised how nice it looks and that you don’t have to repaint.
3. Never ever try to use old paint to touch up spots on your walls larger than a couple inches. It looks tacky because the two won’t blend. The touched-up spot will look shinier and possibly darker or lighter than the wall around it.
4. For a significant wall touch up we suggest just re-painting the wall in the same color as the walls next to it. Any minor color variations between the old and new paint of the same color will be hard to detect when the corner is a divider.
5. When repainting a whole room, save yourself time and materials by painting your ceilings the same color as the wall.
6. It’s important to repaint closets because shoe scuffs and other marks look cheap. Use very inexpensive white paint to repaint closets.
7. Only use primer when you need it. If you are covering a very dark color you will need to prime. If you are covering a metallic or stencil treatment, use primer. If you are painting something that was once stained, prime it. If you’re covering a medium to light color you don’t need to prime.
8. Avoid using white paint for the walls—it looks really cold. Tan or beige is a great color against white trim. SW 6107 Nomadic Desert or SW 7712 Townhouse Tan are good to try. Give gray a shot against stained trim/doors. SW 7641 Collonade Gray or SW 7667 Zircon are good grays to sample.
9. Buy paint samples to try on the wall. It can save you a lot if you’re painting a whole room and prevent you from having to repaint an off color. Some Benjamin Moore stores sell small samples for a few bucks a piece. This includes Pottery Barn colors. Sherwin Williams sells quart-sized samples. For foolproof test swatch results, try Small Wall. It is a board with adhesive backing you can use to move a paint sample from room to room. When all is said and done it is only a few bucks more than poster board and tack. Available on Amazon.com.
10. Expect to spend about $100 or more on equipment. It’s worth spending the money for good tape, a Purdy angled paintbrush, the liners for the paint trays, and good tarps.
11. Do not use a sprayer yourself. Brush and roll. It is cheaper, more time efficient, and more reliable than using a sprayer when not a professional.
12. Only paint cabinets when your Realtor strongly recommends you do so. Do not paint your kitchen cabinets yourself. It’s easy to make them gunky and sticky and cheap looking if you aren’t careful. Having a professional do the work right the first time will save you time and materials associated with a failed DIY experiment.

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Disclaimer: We never promise you’ll make more money painting your home before you sell. We are also not responsible for any mistakes or problems you come across when doing a project yourself. Always defer to the recommendations of your Realtor. They know your market and what is selling. Our advice is based on what we’ve been asked and what we know to be true in Colorado Springs which heavily suburban.

Best Exterior Paint Colors for Colorado

As we’ve mentioned in our article, Light Exterior Paint Color Can Save You Money, light exterior paint colors tend to be very popular in Colorado. With over 300 days of sunshine a year sun becomes our greatest paint enemy. Light colors fade less quickly and hide typical wear and tear very well.

First of all, let me say that the best exterior paint color is one that makes you happy and helps you comply with your HOA. Always, always, always buy samples and apply them to various places on your siding before making your decision. Being confident when choosing color will save you the hassle and expense of a re-paint.

We’ve painted a LOT of houses in Colorado Springs. A quick drive up and down the streets of the nicer areas of town will confirm what we tell you. There are three go-to exterior paint colors homeowners choose over and over again—they are all neutrals.

The great thing about these colors is you can add bold accents easily. It’s just like when you dress yourself. You can wear a navy top with gray pants and accessorize with a pop of kelly green or orange and it makes sense visually.

Here are the top exterior paint colors for Colorado Springs.

Tan

You will see an unending sea of tan houses in Colorado Springs. Our dirt is a light sandy color in most places and it blends well with our winter brown foliage. It’s hard to get this one wrong. Tread lightly when it begins to have pink undertones because it starts to look like skin tone peach or even a light pink in certain lights.

Colors to try:

• SW 7528 Windsor Greige 
• SW 7518 Beach House
• SW 7538 Tamarind

Green (olive or sage)

Treat this like you would a great olive blazer, dress, or pair of slacks. It looks amazing with red, orange, purple, and neutrals. It’s the neutral that stands out a little bit. Be cautious about how close to yellow you go on the color swatch. It can start to look muddy or very retro like my mother’s green washing machine that was retired in 1985. Colors to try:

• SW 7728 Sprout
• SW 7726 Lemon Verbena
• SW Koi Pond 7727

 

Gray

I love gray. It goes with everything. You can put ANY color with it. And most grays that lean toward another color like blue, green, or yellow work better than a neutral prison cinderblock gray.  Be sure to choose a color on the top 2/3 of a gradient paint swatch or one that uses a light or medium paint base. Go too dark and you run the risk of obvious fading and oxidation. Colors to try:

• SW 7643 Pussywillow
• SW 7642 Pavestone
• SW Collonade Gray

White or cream is very common for trim. Dover White or Extra White (both Sherwin Williams colors) are very common homeowner choices. If you want a darker trim color, try to keep it from being the absolute darkest color on the color swatch. A step or two up will be more forgiving over time.

Colorado Springs area homeowners mention this post and receive 10% OFF up to $300 on your next paint project*. Get your free estimate NOW!

*Offer details: This may seem obvious, but we need to say it. This is a great offer, but we won’t apply the discount to past work or current estimates—this is for new ones only. You get to use this coupon once. And we’re not able to make a living if we let you combine offers and discounts so that’s not possible here, either. We’re happy to help you with your job size of 10’x10’ room or larger. The offer is for 10% off the price of your paint project with a limit of $300 off.

Best Tip For Choosing Countertop Colors and Floor Colors

 

We’ve worked with our share of homeowners who are in the process of remodeling and upgrading their homes. You’d be surprised how many times we’re asked our opinion on home finishes.

There’s a lot to think about when choosing a surface type, including the color. In working with designers and other construction professionals we’ve learned a thing or two. This is why I’m so excited to share with you the BEST tip I’ve heard for choosing countertop colors and floor colors.

FLOORING
When Greg and I were choosing our floor we both LOVED the darker wood. It was super popular on all the decorating shows. Then we met our flooring expert. They said, “The best thing you can do is take a handful of dirt from outside, some of the debris you sweep up, and pet hair and put a little on each sample.” So the key to finding a forgiving floor is as easy as finding the one that best hides the dirt. I felt like, “DUH!”

Turns out most of Colorado’s dirt is very light—almost sand-like. It would show like crazy on a dark floor. But my chocolate lab’s hair would appear like brown fluffy hair clouds on a light floor. Not cute. The best choice for us? A medium tone wood floor with lots of grain. It is so forgiving and has made my cleaning stress level decrease. I’ve swept up considerable debris and dog hair that I couldn’t see—gross! But so cool.

COUNTERTOPS
The reasoning and process for finding a forgiving countertop is similar.

Get your samples out and lay them on your current counter.
Collect some of your crumbs and the like you’ve wiped from your countertop when cleaning.
Take those crumbs and spread them on your samples.
Now step back. Which one hides these little particles best? There you go.

We had a good friend who really wanted dark countertops that were basically one color. Those would have shown fingerprints, streaks, and crumbs all day every day. So unless he wanted to clean them all the time he needed to find a more forgiving counter surface. He still chose a dark one, but with the tip I just shared, he chose a different surface pattern (lines, specks, etc.) to hide little offenders. And he has thanked me over and over.

We are experienced painters. If you live in the Colorado Springs area, contact us NOW to get your free paint estimate!

Disclaimer: You are responsible for your choices. What we provide here is for entertainment purposes. If you choose a color of anything and you don’t like it, that’s not our fault.

Outlet with USB Charger: A Little Upgrade

Looking for an inexpensive home upgrade?

As painters we deal a lot with outlets—well, at least the plates around them. As smart phone owners we are on the lookout for convenient ways to charge our phones. We can use the same USB cable to charge an iPad or iPhone but they take different charger adapters. And recently one charger went missing. Ugh!

Enter the outlet with USB charger.

This device replaces a standard outlet with two receptacles. Greg replaced the outlet in our kitchen counter we usually use for charging with one of these bad boys. A.Mazing. Our phones and iPad charge quickly. No searching for the charger. We just use one of several USB cords.

It’s so great we’re thinking of replacing the outlets by the bed with something similar. Imagine how nice this would be for your guests.

Of course we don’t recommend using this on every outlet, but if there are a couple of charging stations in your home, it’s worth considering. And at around $15 a piece on Amazon.com they are very economical.

Plus they make your house look high tech.

Disclaimer: Please be careful and follow all manufacturer instructions when installing. We’re not responsible for your mistakes.

What inexpensive upgrades have you found? Share a comment below.