If you are selling your house. The perception of newness can be a real asset to your home.
Newness can eliminate territorial anxiety, increase the feeling
of value, and suggest a well-maintained property. Color can be
used to suggest all three, and do so without your spending a
great deal of money. A freshly painted walls can create the same feeling of
newness projected by model homes. Painting can create a crisp,
clean feeling that can also eliminate many of the personal clues
that can create discomfort to potential buyers.
Fresh paint can also bring back to life the surface to which it
is applied. For example, worn and weathered shingle siding can
look brand new after a fresh coat of paint; even in the basement
tired walls and ceilings can be improved dramatically by simply
applying a coat of color.
A good test to determine the condition of painted walls is to
remove any pictures or paintings you may have on them. If the
area behind a picture, for example, is brighter and cleaner than
the remainder of the wall, seriously consider repainting the
area.
Not only does a fresh coat of paint suggest newness but so, too,
can the color itself. Like fashions, automobile design, and
music, colors change with the times. Although some colors, like
white and beige, are timeless, others, like chocolate brown or
harvest gold, are often associated with certain eras.
By applying up-to-date colors to older items in your home, you
can avoid the question of age. Obviously there are some aspects
of your home whose charm and character you will want to
emphasize. But certain rooms in a house or condo, like kitchens
or bathrooms, are looked upon more favorably by buyers when they
are new.
There are some significant color trends that are reflected in
anything from clothing to automobiles. There
seems to be a definite correlation between the mood and economy
of the country and the popularity of certain colors. In the
seventies, a period marked by economic slump and political
upheaval, dark heavy earth-tone colors like chocolate brown, for
example, were very widely used. The eighties appear to be a time
of optimism and economic growth, and the color trends reflect
this. Soft pastels and elegant traditional colors are replacing
the heavy hues. There is a real renaissance in the historic
color themes, as proven by the success of the historic paint lines.
There are many ways to introduce new
accent colors into the home without replacing expensive fixtures
and, in many cases, without repainting.
Best of all, most of these items are designed to be taken with
you if you sell the house. A good strategy for purchasing one
or more of these is to decide what you would like to have in
your new home, so that these items will then fit right in. Don't
forget to buy them in colors that will help brighten up or
update the look of the room.
Kitchens.
Countertop canisters, tablecloths, dishtowels, framed prints,
drapes, window blinds, wallpaper trim, green plants, and flowers
all add color.
Bathrooms.
Matching towel sets, throw rugs, shower curtains and rod covers,
toilet seats, decorative hand soaps, silk flowers, curtains or
window blinds, and framed prints can brighten up this room.
Bedrooms.
Comforters, sheets, curtains, window blinds, area rugs, flowers,
plants, and wallpaper trim can enliven any bedroom.
Living Room.
Area rugs, pillows, flowers, plants, draperies, slip covers,
wall prints, wall hangings, louvered shutters, and window blinds
can bring color to this room.
Entryways. Area rugs, upholstered chairs, wallpaper, framed prints,
flowers, and plants add color here, too.
Recognize the impact color can have in improving
the perception of your home and how inexpensive the use of color can
be. By doing so, you will find it to be one of the most effective
packaging tools you can use.
Color cannot be fully appreciated without proper light, however. In
fact, certain colors can look entirely different under different
lighting.
1. Color can be one of the least expensive and most effective packaging tools.
2. The right colors can suggest newness in those areas where newness
is an asset and can imply Old World charm where it is appropriate.
3. Light colors make areas seem more expansive, while dark colors make spaces close in.
4. Strong personal color statements can cause territorial anxiety
and make it more difficult for the buyer to visualize the home as his or her own.
5. To avoid territorial anxiety, stick with "safe" neutral colors
like whites, beiges, and soft pastels and use special caution when selecting wallpaper.
6. Use light-reflecting colors to add brightness to a room.
7. Use dark colors to correct cosmetic flaws in walls or ceilings.
8. Add bold colors through accent features like fabrics, flowers,
and trim, but keep the background neutral.
9. It is easy to become desensitized to dull or faded paint.
Consider repainting if your focus groups indicate it is needed.
10. When repainting, choose premium-quality paint because the
difference in results will far exceed the difference in cost.
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Natural earth colors are inorganic pigments found in minerals, principally iron
oxides, from the soil. They are washed and ground, then mixed with other
substances to create paints or dyes, parth colors usually include ocher
(yellow), sienna, red oxide (red), umber (brown), and terra verde (green).
Earth colons have been used for millennia. For example, these pigments were used
by the ancient Egyptians to paint the walls of their tombs, and by the artists
of the Middle Ages and Renaissance in their paintings.
Earth colors are still used today for many purposes, especially to help protect
items from corrosion. Earth colors are the most permanent colors available, are
usually nontoxic, and are not affected by atmospheric conditions.
Green Design |
