Color Scheme--Shades of Gray
Now that we had decided on a
contractor, the next decision was the color scheme.
When a seller tells me he has been watching HGTV, I can't help but cringe. I vividly remember walking into my client's home, not long after he had purchased it. He had invited me over to see what he had done. He had been "watching HGTV". I was shocked by a bright yellow entry wall and an orange accent wall in the dining room. All I could think of, is one day I would have to sell this home, and how was I going to break it to him, without insulting him, that he would need to repaint it the walls a more neutral color. Thank goodness, his sister broke the news to him. Leave it to family to be brutually honest.
While HGTV and other designers have some great ideas about vibrant colors in the kitchen, if you are preparing to sell your home you want to consider a more neutral palette that appeals to the majority of buyers. Even though contrast is important when decorating, colors come and go each year, so choose a neutral color for most of your walls and then decorate with accent colors that can easily be changed or removed.
When shades of gray (nothing to do with the book) came in a few years ago, I was thankful to finally see something I liked other than "realtor beige" that covered our walls. With smaller rooms, you are best to use lighter colors. Just like clothes, dark colors make rooms look smaller. So that narrowed down the search to a light neutral gray color.
While a white vanilla tones could have been an option, I had already done that before and wanted something different. However, I was not crazy about all of the now popular tones of gray either. So I searched for a shade that would be light and more neutral. Some people recommend choosing a couple of color shades and then paint splotches on a wall and make the final selection from there. However, I found that Pinterest had some paint colors already painted on walls that I loved. So I opted for a neutral light gray, Sherwin Williams' "Agreeable Grey" to contrast with the white kitchen cabinets we had chosen. My husband's comment was "how could you say no to Agreeable Gray."
To help the house flow better, we used the Agreeable Gray not only in the kitchen and dining room but throughout the livingroom and hallways. The stainless steel appliances, brushed nickle faucets and cabinet handles and light accents along with the white doors, windows, and crown molding contrasted nicely with the color.
Written by Virginia Hall
Keller Williams Realty
619.258.8585
While HGTV and other designers have some great ideas about vibrant colors in the kitchen, if you are preparing to sell your home you want to consider a more neutral palette that appeals to the majority of buyers. Even though contrast is important when decorating, colors come and go each year, so choose a neutral color for most of your walls and then decorate with accent colors that can easily be changed or removed. 
