That's a big problem with having so much of your wealth in the form of the house you live in. You only want to benefit yourself, but you've got a conflict of interest — the tangible reality of your house or that money out there that you'd realize if you sold. And the thing is, what is good in that tangible reality? What do you actually like and what will you like going forward if you repaint and renovate? Are you really so independent about interior design or are you influenced by what (you think) other people prefer? We like to think we're creative and individualistic, but are we? And if we lean into some notion of our specialness, what horror might we make out of our home? Are you really so special that other people's opinions are not woven into all those personal preferences of yours? Really? Tell me a few things you've done to your house that support your opinion of yourself.
July 8, 2023
"Zillow... does an analysis of paint colors. Its latest analysis said that a white kitchen, long de rigueur, could now hurt a house’s home price to the tune of $612..."
"... whereas a charcoal-gray kitchen allegedly increases the cost by an average of $2,512. (To get these very specific numbers, Zillow showed study participants homes and asked how much they’d offer for each. Then, the company’s behavioral scientists used statistical modeling to figure out how the relationship between list and offer price changed depending on the room color.)
In a news release about the paint analysis, Zillow quoted Mehnaz Khan, a color psychology specialist and interior designer in Albany, N.Y.: 'Buyers have been exposed to dark gray spaces through home improvement TV shows and their social media feeds, but they’re likely drawn to charcoal on a psychological level.'
Khan specializes in determining how colors and the built environment impact people’s moods and well-being. Yet when she and her husband built their first house... they fell into the same trap of prioritizing other people’s opinions over their own.... 'I never painted anything. I lived in those white walls and I was always thinking about the next homeowner. Everything was for the next homeowner.'"
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Whatever the builder picked is fine with me.
Hot tub deck off of the master bedroom, 25 feet above the back yard.
Did it for me, not future buyers.
We updated our 1970s kitchen, making a place for a dishwasher I never used because Future Buyer. I couldn't go all white cabinets though but didn't like the nat wood color I ended up with either.
That was in 2019 and it did make a difference when we sold this year. Buyers are young so they will probably paint the cabs gray...
could now hurt a house’s home price to the tune of $612..."
"... whereas a charcoal-gray kitchen allegedly increases the cost by an average of $2,512.
I had to read this a couple of times to parse it and I'm still not 100% certain.
Are price and cost supposed to mean the same thing here?
John Henry
I don't have HGTV, so I don't know how influenced I am, but I do know that gray is in right now. I love bright colors and have always had the attitude that paint is easy to fix. We have painted our questionable walls before we sell. We've had Ferrari red walls, and lime green walls and bright blue sky walls. All painted over. I really hate the color in our kitchen and just haven't pulled the trigger yet. I did our dining room already.
Everything was for the next homeowner.
The way to avoid that is to assume that you are living in your “forever home” (a term popularized by HGTV). If your daughter has gone goth and wants to have her room painted black (including the ceiling) just do it. When you go to sell just repaint it. The time to worry about the next homeowner is when you are fixing up the house to sell it.
(Thankfully I had sons.)
A mess is easy to spot in a white kitchen, which is part of its appeal. It's industrial and unlovely, but white is clean. Regardless of the latest HGTV trend, white and other light colors will always be best-sellers for a kitchen.
If you're genuinely asking me how I've personalized my home in defiance of real estate market expectations, the list is too long for here. My clean kitchen is neither white nor gray.
"Zillow quoted Mehnaz Khan, a color psychology specialist"
And this good people is why I didn't walk away from the "psychology" profession. I ran.
Good gravy. I've been saying this for years. (why I do not watch that mostly crap network)
HGTV hires pretty people to sell gray gray gray and more gray... with touches of dark blue and white. over and over an over.
I've heard from a local Denver real estate agent that homes with gray kitchens are not selling.
Dark gray sucks as much as white.
Also - the correct answer is always --> surround yourself with what makes YOU happy. f the trends.
Everything was for the next homeowner.
My parents are in their late 80’s living in the house they bought in 1970. Trying to convince them to replace bathtub/shower with walk-in shower. Their concern is resale value of a house without a bathtub. They live in a nice area but as their neighbors have downsized or passed away most homes are gutted by flippers and resold. Don’t think a bathtub matters.
There’s a fun Facebook group (there’s a lot of them) that deals with maximalism - wildly colorful walls, black ceilings, crazy wallpaper: Maximalist Design and Decor
btw- Gray has been "In" for way too many years now. It will crash and burn as a trend.
If you like gray - that's fine - surround yourself with gray. There are no rules. Many people, like me, do not like gray. Especially cool gray. Again - my taste - others might love cool grays. Now - I am all for a neutral color palette, but neutrals run the gamut.
Americans are mostly sheeple. They listen to crap fake "news" on PBS and MSNBC... and they obey fauci, and they dutifully install gray and white kitchens after watching another boring episode of some cute chick selling gray, white, black and blue. break free.
and yes - that is Hunter's coke.
Holy shit. Just this morning I repainted the kitchen pantry doors "Samovar Silver" which is Sherwin Williams way of saying charcoal gray.
It's taken very many many years for me to actually get ahead of the curve. Or at least neck and neck with it.
My neighbors all want three coats of Dove White...everywhere. They also don't want too much pepper...
Zillow:
"Then, the company’s behavioral scientists "
Hahahahahaha - that made me laugh. Really? Behavioral scientists? How creepy.
Don't see the conflict. Paint the interior of the house the color you like. When you ready to sell, paint the color that sells best as a newly painted room always looks better.
I enjoy home renovation TV shows, but never understood people who thought the interior of their house should conform to current trends. If you can't do your own thing there, then you can't do it anywhere. Before Reddit's Home Improvement went on strike, there were always posts by people with no intention of selling their house, asking about the ROI of particular renovations.
I have renovated almost everything in my house and plan on staying, so do what suits me.
Traditional floors are reliable, so everything is hardwood or ceramic tile, so have no LVP anywhere. The solarium has a wood stove because there are a lot of trees on the property. The kitchen has maple cabinets in a natural finish. The walls are painted sage green or slate blue.
My most stunning departure from conventional wisdom would be removing the bathtub and putting in a walk-in steam shower. I'm considering it, even though not having a bathtub in the house is heresy.
OMG we looked at some places that still had the bright colors of the 2000s, deep reds and royal blues and heavy texturing..all I could think was how hard would it be to cover all that mess. Please don't do that..
"And if we lean into some notion of our specialness, what horror might we make out of our home? Tell me a few things you've done to your house that support your opinion of yourself."
This made me think of the pictures I've seen of Donald Trump's abodes.
When choosing colors in a home for sale, OF COURSE one chooses colors that will appeal to the largest percentage of potential buyers. One also tries to choose colors that will repel the smallest percentage of possible buyers. So Mr. Yuck glowing green accent walls just don't get chosen.
Give me Behr Subtle Touch color for walls every time. Cabinets can be darker or solid white. White cabinets show well during sale, darker is more livable as it hides dirt better. Me, I like natural wood cabinet doors.
I grew up with avocado green shag carpets, and a turqoise blue toilet, so I will state openly that home decoration is a changing thing.
“ Tell me a few things you've done to your house that support your opinion of yourself.”
I put a two-post lift in the garage.
Our kitchen is painted a color that called itself "Fruit Shake" on the can.
Use your imagination.
We updated our 1975 kitchen ten years ago. Tore out all the cabinets, the pantry and the suspended ceiling. The pantry was one of those black-hole pantries: anything more than 6-in from the front would disappear forever unless Stanley led an expedition to find Livingston.
The new kitchen cabinets were American Cherry with a butternut stain. Painting wood cabinets is a crime. The wood grain is something to be cherished, not hidden behind a coat of paint. The cabinets in our new home replicates those earlier cabinets.
Removing the suspended ceiling with its florescent light opened up the vaulted ceiling. We added a skylight to enhance the illumination in the kitchen.
The most egregious example of HGTV's outsized influence is the number of brain-dead househunters who burble excitedly at a "bedroom with a lot of light!" What moron wants the bedroom to be bright?
Don't get me started on granite counteracts.
Selling RE Agent: "that color has got to go"
Me: "I have enjoyed that color every day since I painted it"
So I paid to have mauve replaced with beige.
Bought a house with the exact same beige. Don't like it but the paint is new so I'll live with it. I call it "real estate agent beige".
"Don’t think a bathtub matters."
I gave up my bathtub so my husband could have a walk-in shower. It was the only way to get him on board for downsizing.
When he is dead I will have a bathtub again.
I sit in the middle somewhere. True, you should do things to your house that you like and not just for 'potential buyers'. That said, don't go nuts with very permanent things, like a sunken tub surrounded by gold shag carpeting (yes, I've seen this). Because the cost to make it sellable when you (or your heirs) actually do have to sell it will lose you money either way. But easily changeable stuff like paint color, go for it.
I've become a fan over the last few years of maintaining architectural integrity as much as possible, mainly because my first 1954 house was 'renovated' with a mish-mash of styles that didn't go well with the original mid-century modern vibe. Probably up until about 20 years ago it was difficult to find vintage-looking stuff -- plumbing fixtures, etc. -- but nowadays you can completely gut your MCM home with new, vintage-but-not-dated fixtures, cabinets, tile, etc.
LOL Zillow. The value they put on my mom's rental property swings up and down 35% on a whim.
The boring design esthetic spills over into other durable goods (new cars come to mind most readily, available in any color as long as it looks like garage-floor paint, or putty)
"I put a two-post lift in the garage."
Sold!!!
Some of our personal likes and dislikes are clearly connected to the sentiments of the herd. Others might or might not be the the result of my independent me-ness. Introspection is a poor guide. When we remodeled our house, I decided that I wanted a master bedroom suite with a very high cathedral ceiling -- 18 feet high, with light flowing in from triangular windows on the east and west, along the roof line. The choice was rooted in my dislike of my life as a condo dweller waking up in the morning, looking at what felt, to me, like a claustrophobically low enclosure.
I like it very much, but it's not going to be to everyone's taste. It increases the difficulty of home maintenance, and raises cooling costs, but it still makes me feel somehow optimistic. It probably added something like $20K to the remodel. I doubt that it added anything to resale value. So what. I'm getting my money's worth.
The Foyer and Great Room in our home are painted dove gray. For splashes of color we have a ton of art work on the walls, much of which is original except for the Kandinsky, Dali and Picasso prints.
Like many homes, the color and design is owner specific. Some people love it and some people hate it.
Anyone here old enough to remember Avocado Green appliances that were all the rage?
We bought a home that had a burgundy kitchen, brown living room, a black bathroom, blue and purple bedrooms.
My decorator came in and said, holy smokes. It’s gonna take a few coats of paint to cover those colors.
It took four coats of paint to cover the burgundy in the kitchen. Foor coats of paint to cover the black in the master bathroom.
But, when I was done, I was very happy with my colors.
We painted the majority of the rooms, a creamy, soft yellow. Our bedroom very soothing blue. Our office, a medium green and two other bathrooms a complementary green. On the light side. In the lower level in more neutral off-white since there are not many windows. We also have color in our furniture. Not just throw pillows. My favorite chair is a big, deep, red chair and ottoman that is great for reading and napping. I won’t change thing when we go to sell.
Truth is it doesn’t matter because the buyer is going to change everything to their taste anyway.
I like natural wood. We ripped out painted trim, doors, and cabinets to put in alder and cherry, no stain. It's not popular and it's not economical, but that's what we like. Also, we don't much care for the overly open kitchen/living room style. You end up with the family blasting the TV to be able to hear over the kitchen noises. And you have to step outside to be able to talk on the phone.
Now hold on just a second. Next you'll be telling me that open concept was just a fad.
Zillow's a lot of fun. According to their calculations, my home (bought for $125K in 2001) is worth $332K today).
Hint: It isn't. They also show a picture of a neighbor's house, not mine.
Their algorithms vastly inflate prices of neighboring houses that are not situated in ideal neighborhoods. My house overlooks a factory, but Zillow doesn't take that into account.
I suspect -- no, I know -- their color psychology specialist is as reliable as today's vaccine or climate scientists.
In our first little house, we painted the walls of the living/dining room a very pale gray and the ceiling the darkest possible midnight blue. I did the line where the two colors met by hand with a 1/8" brush, actually coming down the walls a teeny bit and snapping a line because the actual junction between walls and ceiling wasn't perfectly straight; with that much contrast, you see every little deviation.
I loved that ceiling. At night, it was as if we were sitting under the night sky. I always wished I had painted stars up there...
We painted it out when we sold the house; it took primer and a LOT of paint.
"Also - the correct answer is always --> surround yourself with what makes YOU happy. f the trends."
Exactly. My house is 100 years old and being restored as close as possible to what it was back then. I have always liked stainless steel for stoves, because as a young man, I worked in restaurant kitchens. A few years back, the Wall Street Journal had a story about black stainless steel being really, really in. They wondered if like the avocado and harvest gold of the 70's, it would become dated.
When it was finally time to buy a stove I was set on stainless. But the more I thought about it, the more it seemed that stainless steel would be anachronistic. So I decided on black stainless steel because 100 years ago, most stoves were made of cast iron, which is black. That it might quickly become dated as a color didn't enter into the equation. I just wanted it to look right.
Next up, hauling the original farmhouse sink to a place in Missouri that sandblasts and re-enamels antique sinks. Not that Porcelite® crap. Real fired-enamel, which should last another 100 years.
I can't imagine designing and decorating my home to please whomever moves in next.
Will celebrate 25 years in our current place at the end of the month. Constantly doing upgrades because it's what I like to do. Just finished a $<75K complete remodel of the kitchen. Tore out walls, drop ceilings, the works. Put in a gas stove while we still could.
We did it all so we could enjoy it. Should've done it 20 years ago.
We'll sell after one of us passes on. If they don't like certain things, they can change them.
It's a nice day for a white kitchen...
So we are talking about $3,000 on a half million dollar transaction? Hardly even a rounding error.
I had a urinal installed in our master bath. It prevented many toilet seat arguments. When we went to sell, real estate guy said he couldn't sell a house with a urinal because women make the buying decision and they would not go for it. I had it removed and took it with us to our next house where it is now. BTW, the eventual buyer was a retired widower who would have been happy to have a urinal for his convenience. A man shouldn't have to use the ladies room in his own house.
Myself, I can't stand those frickin ugly kitchen stoves with ugly black grills covering the entire top.
If anything drips between them onto the stove top, you gotta take the damn things off. They are heavy.
And did I mention they are ugly?
I have a 4-burner stove, with one I need to light using a match or electronic lighter. A bit inconvenient, but no way I'm plunking down $$ for a modern beast.
Maynard said...
Anyone here old enough to remember Avocado Green appliances that were all the rage?
Man fears Time.
Time fears Avocado Green appliances.
Isn’t it Zillow that got in trouble, financially, for doing some kind of speculation, buying houses expecting the value to soar, or something like that?
Regardless, light colors - including white - always will have a house sell. Properly staged, white walls give the next owner a view of what they see their house to be, and not what it was. While you may get slightly more for something a bit more unusual, you need to find that one buyer, after getting inundated with low bids.
Anything light-to-medium gray is really just an attempt to bring the 'warmth' and sophistication of a concrete parking structure into the home.
Charcoal variations? Now we're talking drama, inner sanctum and a 'color' that doesn't take attention away from an outstanding piece of art or furniture. It doesn't work for every room in the house - but, when used in some spaces... WOW!
When I re-did my bedroom/minimalist backup office, I went with three charcoal walls and one parchment wall. I wanted an almost black ceiling but ceilings are tough for DIYers. The room's on the small side so I took out the closet doors and entry door. Simple curtains on tension rods regained space used by swinging doors. Extra wide window on one wall was covered with white semi-see-through linen curtain (provides a modicum of privacy while still providing a glimpse of all the beautiful greenery outside). Slightly darker than medium wide plank wood floor. I love that room!
Only one thing left to do. Get rid of white door/window trim and moulding at ceiling. Black lacquer or natural wood??? White trim has always reminded me of white shoelaces in black shoes. Even converse has gotten away from that, I think.
During the planing stage my wife and busy-body neighbor said I was crazy and the charcoal walls were ridiculous. I should point out that, if the choice were available, my wife would pick the car with the pastel plaid paintjob every time.
If I may echo the late Gomer Pyle; SURPRISE, SURPRISE, SURPRISE!
Guess whose wife just finished remodling the master and a guest bath in charcoal everything except white tile walls in walk-in shower and white vanities. And, guess what color the the neighbor recently painted his office?
FWIW, the H&G network wants me to believe half the households in America are same sex couples. And, that a sane person looking to spend half million and up would chose to be guided by an in-your-face inked-up flamer. No thanks.
We had our house built with hardwood floors and not carpet because of animals and allergies. All of the walls above grade are shades of blue, green, and yellow. The recently remodeled kitchen has golden maple cabinets and a granite countertop that's of a medium gray and brown with striking blue veins. The appliances are all white.
Oh, and there's a recording studio in the basement with a window between the two ferns rooms.
I thought greige was in. I can’t do it. I am about white walls, big splashes of color in my artwork and furniture. I am looking at adding a window box outside in front. Maybe in a lovely electric blue.
For those corporate types who will be moving often, sure, go with the trendy colors. Reduces the to-do list when you put it on the market.
Otherwise, decorate and renovate for yourself.
Me, I live in a century home, and most of the 1st floor is geared to the style of that era. It helps we have some sntiques already.
Th3 2nd floor suite and the basement and family room are ours to do as we see fit.
We like it; we’re the ones paying the mortgage.
We bought our house because it had the combination of features we valued most at the time. When we needed to move, we chose the realtor who saw what the house HAD rather than what it didn't have, and perhaps for that reason, she also priced it the highest of the three we consulted. It sold quickly. A house doesn't have to appeal to the majority of buyers: it has to appeal to the one for whom it's best suited.
We took our colors, which we liked in the first house, to our second house, and discovered they didn't work as well with its older woodwork. So we began to learn what colors work in the new space. When the time comes, we'll look again for a realtor who loves the house as it is, and will help us get it into the hands of a buyer who will as well. There are plenty of other, and different, houses on the market.
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