People often paint their house when they’re thinking about selling. Painting is a good way to give a home a fresh start and make the rooms look extra clean. Painting the walls is also a good way to get rid of any dated paint colors and styles that might make the house less desirable for buyers.

Unfortunately, people often make mistakes when they paint their home for the real estate listing, and sometimes these mistakes can cost the seller money. Choosing the wrong colors or doing a poor job with the paint application can lead to lower offers from buyers. Avoiding the following five mistakes can help you improve your home’s value and can make your home more desirable for buyers.

Mistake 1: Choosing Colors Because You Like Them

Maybe you love bold paint colors like pink, orange, or yellow, but many buyers don’t. Colors that are not neutrals are more likely to clash with your buyer’s furniture and may clash with your buyer’s personal tastes.

Neutral colors like gray, beige, greige, and brown are safe color choices because they tend to match (or at least not clash with) furniture and other fixtures. These colors are generic, easy to live with, and generally unobtrusive. They are sophisticated but understated. Buyers tend to like them, or at least, they tend not to dislike them. This is a best-case scenario if you’re trying to appeal to a wide audience.

If you’re really attached to the idea of painting your home with colors instead of neutrals, stick to soft shades of blue and blue-gray. Some studies show that buyers respond well to blues in most areas of the house.

Mistake 2: Selecting an All-White or Cream Color Scheme

When used widely throughout the house, white and cream can make your home seem impersonal and unfriendly. These colors must be used thoughtfully and deliberately to ensure that they are more graceful and subtle than harsh and boring.

White remains a common color in rooms like the kitchen, where it is often paired with natural materials like wooden cabinets and copper accents, but be careful about applying this color to other parts of the house. Warmer and richer colors may make your home seem more inviting to buyers.

Mistake 3: Choosing Dark Colors in Naturally Dark Rooms

A room that lacks natural light is a problem when you’re selling your home. Buyers like light. Dark rooms can seem small, claustrophobic, and depressing. Dark paint colors only exacerbate this issue.

If you have a dark room in your home and the walls are painted a dark color, paint that room in a lighter color before listing your house for sale. Light- to medium-toned paints are best in rooms that lack natural light.

Mistake 4: Failing to Prep the Walls Properly

Many people who paint their own walls will skip steps during the preparation phase. The result may be a rough paint job, with sloppy edges and areas that need touchups. This doesn’t make a good impression on buyers and could be counterproductive.

Mistake 5: Failing to Hire a Professional

Hiring a professional painter to paint the walls for you will help ensure that your home’s interior paint job looks good for buyers. Hiring professionals also gives you the time you need to focus on other projects around the house as you prepare your home for sale.

For more information about how you can prepare your home for sale with a new coat of paint, contact a professional paint company. At The Carpentry & Painting Experts, we’re happy to answer your questions as you get your home ready to sell. Contact us today to learn more.