Using the Right Colour Palette to Help Sell Your Home
The colour scheme you decide to use in your home can drastically affect the look, feel and style of your home. It can also affect those all-important first impressions on potential buyers, not to mention the mood and character of your environment whilst you are still living there.
Colour can elicit a highly personal response in potential buyers given that we all have different experiences and associations with certain colours. For example, a favourite colour as a child, or one associated with stress such as a hospital stay, or even your childhood bedroom decor will be different for every individual.
Here are some things to consider when choosing a colour scheme:
Choosing your colours
The most important thing to consider is the colour you are most attracted to, as it’s important that you love the space you’re in. Once you have decided on a colour palette that appeals to you, you can play around with the intensity of those colours by making them lighter, darker or more muted.
When choosing colours, think about the environment in which you live. Are you in a rural location close to lots of greenery, near to the beach, in an urban town or city or in an historical location? You can then decide if you want to tie-in the colours in the external environment with your room to give a cohesive look and to ensure your home looks like it belongs in the environment it’s located in.
Light reflection
It’s important to assess the amount of natural light that is available in the room and how paint can affect the light reflection. If your room gets little natural light you need to consider brighter colours to create more a sense of space, and if the room is large and bathed in natural light you could be bolder and go for deeper hues.
Avoid bright white as the glare can be harsh on the eyes, so it’s worth trying to find out the light reflective value (LRV) from the paint manufacturer as this measures how much light will be reflected by any colour. Choose 60% or lower.
Finding the right shade
Remember that even though a colour may seem dark on a small area used as a swatch, it won’t appear the same way once the whole room has been painted.
To test the colour in your room before committing to an entire wall, apply a five-inch vertical brushstroke from floor to ceiling with any trim colours next to it on one side. Then stand back and using your arms to block the original colour from view. This is the most accurate way to gauge the overall effect of a paint colour.
Using colour as an accent
You may not want to commit to one colour, which is where you can use colour as an accent. This will allow you to choose a bold colour without overwhelming the décor. You can do this by painting one wall, the window trim or even a piece of furniture. You can also tie in the colour with soft furnishings, flowers and pieces of art. Alternatively look for wallpaper that incorporates your chosen colours within a pattern for a subtler effect. If you would like a bold colour in the kitchen, perhaps choose a colourful cupboard door or splash back whilst keeping the rest of the room neutral and tie it all in with your kitchen gadgets and utensils.
Look at Houzz and Pinterest for some ideas of colour schemes and the hues can be used in unique ways and to put together a colour palette that appeals to you and hopefully your potential buyers!
Clyde Property is a leading independent, multiple award winning estate and letting agent with more than 30 years’ experience in selling and letting property in Scotland. Just call your local Clyde Property branch today, for friendly, impartial advice on finding your next dream home.
