Neutralizing With Paint

In as little as a few hours you can brighten just about any room with a new coat of paint. It is also one of the most cost-effective updates you can do. When the house is clean and the walls are freshly painted, your buyers will feel that they can move in and start enjoying your house right away.

• Dark walls, even if they are clean, rob a room of light. They also make your room appear smaller.
• Parents sometimes get very creative with their choice of paint colours and borders for the children’s rooms. These rooms look positively scary in some case.
• We strongly recommend you remove any wallpaper. Wallpaper comes in a myriad of designs that only you might appreciate. When wallpaper is old, buyers see it as extra work they will have to do to take it down.
• Paint your ceilings. If your house is old or if you have a heavy smoker in the house, chances are that the ceilings are yellowed. Take a piece of white paper and put it against the ceiling. The colour contrast may disgust you!

If you’re inept at painting or you don’t have the time to do it properly, consider having your walls painted professionally. Your house will look great and you should be to sell it for more money, thus recouping the added expense. Painters don’t just paint. They also patch damaged walls and they can help you choose nice colours. Be sure to tell them you’re selling your house and you want a neutral colour that will go with all dcor.

However, if you want to paint on your own and save, here are some general guidelines:

• Paint your kitchen, living room, family room, and hallways the same colour. It will flow better while making your house seem larger. Pick a warm tone such as cream, beige or pastels. These colours will go well with most furniture. This is your dominant colour.
• Create contrast by painting the washroom, the study room, and the bedrooms another colour. Again, pick a neutral colour or one that is a darker tone than your main living areas.
• Don’t want to paint the whole house? Try a different colour scheme for trims and doors. It will make your house look new again.
• Paint your ceiling white. This will brighten any room. You can rent a power paint sprayer from a tool rental shop. It’s much quicker than a roller and it paints your ceiling more consistently.
• Rent a wallpaper steamer from a tool rental shop to remove any old wallpaper. It will save you a lot of time. Clean leftover glue and patch the surface before applying new paint.
• Don’t overlook the dark wood paneling on walls in the basement. Patch holes and paint a nice warm neutral colour to remove the somberness. Your basement doesn’t have to look like a dungeon.

More tips from 'Prepare Your House For Sale'