paint rooms different colors as upgrade??? (house, buy, floors)

[caligurltotx]

I think any house painted tastefully is going to look really GREAT! Now some people do get outlandish with it. Like in another post someone had a pic of their newly decorated great room and it was painted really nice!

Everybody should not attempt to be an interior decorator when you don't have an ey for that stuff. I admit I have no decorating skills at all. I can go to the store and say give me all the accessories on display. That's my idea of decorating

[honu1]

Builders pay their crew to go in with one ginormous thing of paint and spray everything even the ceilings. It costs them extra to pay workers for the time to tape off other areas, rinse equipment to switch colors, etc and sadly, its all about the bottom line. Now if you are truly doing a custom home, not a spec, then you can pretty much have them do whatever you want.

[loves2read]

custom home= custom price--sure you can have rooms painted differnt colors, or ceilings or trim--but you don't get it for free---it is all rolled into the painters' costs plus the contractor's %---

you need to consider that if you are paying extra to have those rooms painted by the company/builder you are buying from that option will be included in the final price of the house and the mortgage you are financing for 15-20-30 years--
even if you don't live there that long that is what you are committed to pay
how much are they charging you to do something that you could do yourself for the cost of two gallons of paint and a day's work??? or more if you want several rooms painted---the only time I would pay for that is if the ceiling was so high that I could not do the walls without a Sistine Chapel type of ladder system...

do it yourself or pay somone out of pocket to do it before you move in--but DON"T pay that cost for 30 yrs...that is just my opinion

just like upgrading appliances--get the ones with the builder's package and replace with better ones when they break--the upgrades to have are the ones like added insulation, more efficient hot water heater, better windows or better/insulated garage door, or having higher SEER HVAC unit--and know what a fair price is--there is nothing more difficult about installing a 14 or 16 SEER unit--and sometimes there is a rebate...
a better pad UNDER the carpet will make the cheaper carpet seem more expensive
or you could even see what stained concrete and NO carpet might be

having added electrical outlets espcially as floor socket in the LA would be something worth paying for cause it can't happen after construction would be something to consider--

[RE Diva]

Some builders negotiate with the paint trades (depending on price point) to use one color. It's usually a color that doesn't require too many coats to cover the walls and they get a very good discount on that color. The painters must keep that one in stock at all times. They then go in on stilts and paint the whole house that color with a spray canister and don't have to stop and worry about the ceilings. Remember, this is production housing, so they make their money on the amount of homes they can sell. If the trades have to tape off the ceilings and make sure they don't get any of the Builder Beige on the ceiling, then turn around and use a white on the ceilings, it costs time and money. Same reasoning behind each room being a different color. Hope this helps.

[nsumner]

Most builders will have a palette of 3-5 colors to choose from. But the buyer can only choose one color for the entire house. These are usually neutral so in case the house doesn't close they can put it back on the market right away.

Naima

[Rakin]

It's amazing that we homeowners have forgotten how to do maintenance or an easy paint job on a home. For $50 in materials and some real nice paint you can paint a room in a few hours.

It's always refreshing when you show a home that the owners have updated and done the needed maintenance. So many people today don't even know how to change an air conditioning filter.

[alaina75]

Thanks everyone! I'll look into contracting after the fact.

Also - just a comment to that last post - it's not that I have forgotten - it's just that as a Mom who also works a full time job - any time I spend on this sort of thing is time not spent with my kids or living life. Kids are little and need us for such a short sweet time so I prefer not to spend that time painting. Not sure I'll always feel this way, but right now, I am stingy with my time and willing to pay for certain things...within reason. Also - my husband and I are notoriously BAD at painting

I do like the idea of NOT making something like this part of my 30 year mortgage though!

Thanks again everyone!

[aeh]

I have to add something. I currently have a home painted neutrally throughout. It's a nice tan/beige. I have always hated the "white" or cream walls in houses because it looks unfinished. However, that's what high end designers are doing right now..I'm debating doing that in the house we are about to move into...but don't know if I will always look at the walls and think "they look like they are unpainted"! Definitely there is a certain look that can pull it off--just saw the most gorgeous home in Preston Hollow that is WHITE THROUGHOUT. Looks amazing--not sterile, not unfinished. It looks fresh, up to date traditional, not stuffy or dated. Granted, its all about what you put with those white walls. For the record, the home we are moving into has nice tan walls, the same color I am leaving in the house we are currently in...but I have to go in and put my stamp on it...and it needs to be brightened up because it gets so much shade. Fingers crossed....

[5stones]

I HATE to pay for painters. my house is so torn up right now (having hardwoods installed, then handscraped on site...) We enclosed the formal living to make a home office etc... so I am painting. The only time I pay is when I need to get those HUGE catherdral walls painted. I am not getting up on a 30ft ladder!!
But seriously it is fun to me to see the difference just a coat of paint can make!

My kids always get to choose the colors for thier rooms and help paint as well...sometimes they turn out really nice, others...well good thing paint is pretty cheap!!

But...I see if you are moving into a new build that is still under construction... makes sense to have them paint for ya.

But i think you can do the small rooms ALOT cheaper than the builder will charge.

[MurphyPl1]

Our builder quoted us $800 to paint our media room a darker color. Dad offered to do it for $200 after he heard that.

We opted to do it a few weekends after we moved in. Which was funny in itself because DH (like Dad) is a 2 shades off of white kind of guy. The hunter's green we painted was definitely a stretch for him. I think his comment after painting the first small section was "OMG we've ruined the room!" But it turned out great IMO.

Alaina, I get what you are saying. But how old are your kids? If they are old enough, can you turn this into a family project - let them help by being an extra set of hands, running to rewet the wiperag, etc. I have great memories of helping my dad do home projects growing up. It may not look like quality time to a lot of people but we had great conversations and I learned how to do things around the house myself. We did the same thing with DSD too over the years. But if they are too young, that might need to wait a few years.