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Thanks everyone for the excellent suggestions. I agree that we will remove all wallpaper and repaint our rooms a nice shade of golden beige. I'm still unsure about the kid's rooms though as they are well-decorated and both realtors loved them.
I'll also update all the light fixtures and hardware. I love the idea of just painting the cabinet knobs. Thanks, I never thought of that. It may just work. I also found a good discount website for knobs (Myknobs.com).
So, the only other thing that's undecided is whether to change the carpeting. I have also been thinking about doing a carpet allowance. But (as always), I'm getting conflicting opinions from realtors on whether an allowance works.
I know green is not a very neutral carpet color but I've gotten so many compliments on how good it looks on our foyer staircase. That's always the first thing everyone says when they enter our home. And there is some nice artwork, antique mahagoney furniture, and a persian rug that complement it well. I feel like I decorated my home after "Architecture Digest" and "Traditional Home" magazine and now this realtor wants me to make it look like a blah, beige IKEA home. But, I guess that's what makes it more marketable to more people.
Thanks for letting me vent.. It's been a stressful week and I'm just starting this process.
Best wishes to all of you out there who are selling your homes!
Hi! If I am a Buyer, I really prefer a "neutral" color. It will makes the house looks brighter, clean and spacious. When we sold our house 2 years ago, it is a 20 year old house. We just updated the Kitchen, did'nt spend to much money, we just change the knobs, the kitchen sink and pretty much left the cabinet the same coz it's still looks good. My husband and I painted the interior of our home, all "neutral" color, that saves us a lot of money. Put away the clutter and make sure that the lights inside the house are ON, everytime you have showings. Our realtor sold our home in 2 weeks. Vaccum once a week...it helps (,") Good Luck.
Last edited by annemorehead; 02-20-2008 at 02:23 PM..
Thanks everyone for the excellent suggestions. I agree that we will remove all wallpaper and repaint our rooms a nice shade of golden beige. I'm still unsure about the kid's rooms though as they are well-decorated and both realtors loved them.
I'll also update all the light fixtures and hardware. I love the idea of just painting the cabinet knobs. Thanks, I never thought of that. It may just work. I also found a good discount website for knobs (Myknobs.com).
So, the only other thing that's undecided is whether to change the carpeting. I have also been thinking about doing a carpet allowance. But (as always), I'm getting conflicting opinions from realtors on whether an allowance works.
I know green is not a very neutral carpet color but I've gotten so many compliments on how good it looks on our foyer staircase. That's always the first thing everyone says when they enter our home. And there is some nice artwork, antique mahagoney furniture, and a persian rug that complement it well. I feel like I decorated my home after "Architecture Digest" and "Traditional Home" magazine and now this realtor wants me to make it look like a blah, beige IKEA home. But, I guess that's what makes it more marketable to more people.
Thanks for letting me vent.. It's been a stressful week and I'm just starting this process.
Best wishes to all of you out there who are selling your homes!
What shade of green? And, honestly, unless you hit the right buyer at the right time and include the artwork, furniture and persian rug.......?
It truly does sound very nice, but you're trying to appeal to other people, not yourself.
That being said, don't spend a ton of cash.
Light fixtures, for some reason, have become huge. If it's brass (brushed or polished, faux or not), it's soooo last week. If you can find some inexpensive light fixtures that are muted, go for it.
I find that beige everywhere is turning Buyers off. Stick to muted "earth tones" for paint, but definitely remove any wallpaper/borders, etc.
Thanks for the feedback. We are definitely re-painting and removing all wallpaper.
I'm still on the fence about the carpet. It's an emerald green on the stairs and upstairs hallway. But all 5 bedrooms have a beautiful cream carpet. Since the cream carpet is neutral and in excellent shape, I could just replace the green carpeting with a matching cream carpet to keep it consistent.
But do people really want light, cream carpeting on the stairs? It may look good but is it practical in a high traffic area? Or, I could just spend the big bucks and replace everything with beige carpeting. But then would I have too much beige (beige walls, beige carpet, etc.). Or is beige always best?
Thanks for the feedback. We are definitely re-painting and removing all wallpaper.
I'm still on the fence about the carpet. It's an emerald green on the stairs and upstairs hallway. But all 5 bedrooms have a beautiful cream carpet. Since the cream carpet is neutral and in excellent shape, I could just replace the green carpeting with a matching cream carpet to keep it consistent.
But do people really want light, cream carpeting on the stairs? It may look good but is it practical in a high traffic area? Or, I could just spend the big bucks and replace everything with beige carpeting. But then would I have too much beige (beige walls, beige carpet, etc.). Or is beige always best?
I have off white (some just say white) carpet on both sets of stairs in my house and it does not show any more traffic or wear than any other area. It will actually REALLY lighten up the area especially the hallway and make it seem more flowing and not choppy. Just keep it cleaned and vaccumed like the rest of the house. The thing w/ the dark green is EVERY SINGLE LITTLE fiber, furball, fuzz, paper speck, etc will show up. Some buyers might think your trying to hide something w/ the dark colored carpet. I've known of two houses personally that had dark green carpet that when on the market to sale did not do well. Yes, buyers want the neutral floors. If you have a potential buyer for your house and they HATE GREEN and most of their own furnishings are blue they will find something else that suits them.
I have off white (some just say white) carpet on both sets of stairs in my house and it does not show any more traffic or wear than any other area. It will actually REALLY lighten up the area especially the hallway and make it seem more flowing and not choppy. Just keep it cleaned and vaccumed like the rest of the house. The thing w/ the dark green is EVERY SINGLE LITTLE fiber, furball, fuzz, paper speck, etc will show up. Some buyers might think your trying to hide something w/ the dark colored carpet. I've known of two houses personally that had dark green carpet that when on the market to sale did not do well. Yes, buyers want the neutral floors. If you have a potential buyer for your house and they HATE GREEN and most of their own furnishings are blue they will find something else that suits them.
You've all convinced me to change my green carpeting.
I also just looked at some model homes and many of them do have off-white carpet on the stairs and it looks great. So I'm going to go with that. Many of the models also had a darker earthy beige color on the walls. I was going to paint the walls with Benjamin Moore 919 - Buttermilk (looks exactly like buttermilk). I also have off-white ceramic tile in the foyer (which looks great and I won't change). So off-white tile, with off-white carpeting w/ off-white walls? Is that too much white? Should I go with a darker beige paint for contrast? Or is all that off-white the perfect neutral for buyers? BTW, the wood on the staircase, windows, crown molding is mahogany stained so that might break up the white a bit.
Keep the ideas coming. I'm listening. Thanks!
(momof2dfw - What paint colors do you like w/ your white carpeting?)
Spend as little as possible, and like others have said, clean it, declutter , and if you have an interested buyer, they usually ask for allowances, if they want them. Get rid of the wallpaper, and if you paint, go neutral. Good luck.
You've all convinced me to change my green carpeting.
I also just looked at some model homes and many of them do have off-white carpet on the stairs and it looks great. So I'm going to go with that. Many of the models also had a darker earthy beige color on the walls. I was going to paint the walls with Benjamin Moore 919 - Buttermilk (looks exactly like buttermilk). I also have off-white ceramic tile in the foyer (which looks great and I won't change). So off-white tile, with off-white carpeting w/ off-white walls? Is that too much white? Should I go with a darker beige paint for contrast? Or is all that off-white the perfect neutral for buyers? BTW, the wood on the staircase, windows, crown molding is mahogany stained so that might break up the white a bit.
Keep the ideas coming. I'm listening. Thanks!
(momof2dfw - What paint colors do you like w/ your white carpeting?)
Right now in the main areas of the house the color is still one the builder did. It is a taupe color that I actually like because it gives a nice contrast but is not too yellow or too grey. I think the brand is Monarch and the color is Mushroom Basket. We also have dark stained wood floors, moldings and cabinetry in the downstairs w/ the light carpet and white moldings upstairs.
i would definitely ditch whatever wallpaper you have and paint a neutral color. neutral does not have to be off-white! ditch the green carpet, but offer an allowance for the other. definitely clean, clean, and clean some more and lose all clutter. plus, don't forget when the weather is good, make sure the outside has some curb appeal.
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