Paint Colors

[hjffkj]

Ok Hive.  I need help picking paint colors for preparing the house to sell.  We have the color for the entire downstairs (minus kitchen, half bath.) It is a gray beige color we have 4 gallons of from 2 years ago and the paint is still good.  I would like 2 more wall colors, one for bedrooms and the other for baths and kitchen. Or maybe just one color for all those rooms if it goes well in all those rooms. Floors are all light neutral colors.

Please help, as I have no eye for this type of stuff.  Bonus points if it is not an expensive paint brand since we're moving and I just need it to look pretty for showing,

[Katy]

To me the point of "expensive" paint brands is that it's quicker, easier, and requires one coat instead of 3 because the paint isn't watered down.  So I can't help you there.  I go with the cheapest line of Benjamin Moore paints, but almost any brand can match the popular colors of other brands.  I know some of the store brands like Valspar get pretty good reviews, but every time I've tried a cheaper brand I always go back to Benjamin Moore or Sherwin Williams.  Do be sure to specify the cheapest line each time you go in though, or they'll upgrade you to the newest line of paint and you'll pay 3 times as much - the results aren't worth it unless you're pregnant or chemically sensitive and need no VOC's.

By far the most popular color right now is Benjamin Moore's Revere Pewter.  It's a neutral green gray that many people think is beige or gray, depending on the light.  I would paint every room that color.  The red undertone version of the same color is Benjamin Moore Cedar Key, but this is more like the 80's beige than the popular gray right now.

Other colors I love include Benjamin Moore Cotton Tail (pale sunshine yellow great in a dreary room or nursery, the darker shades are pretty too), Benjamin Moore White Opulence for trim, and Sherwin Williams Sea Salt (pale aqua/seafoam green that I like to paint doors - most people don't notice they're not white, they just think it looks serene).

[Free Indeed]

Yes, what Katy said- apparently we have similar tastes in colors and thoughts on paint value. 

[TKDmom]

Here's a link I saved on Pinterest. https://pin.it/xf3nqqx2hr4ing

I wouldn't do all the colors, just pick a couple that you like.

My house is currently painted in Behr Antique White (it looks kinda like the baby fawn on this link). The previous owner painted all the walls and ceilings with it in a flat sheen. It's boring, but nice enough. I just wish they'd used eggshell so I could wipe the walls clean. I need to repaint everything, so I'll put some of these colors in some rooms and keep the antique white in the hallways and main living areas.

[lexi]

Well my vote is to paint all the rooms that neutral color. That way the buyers can easily add a color here or there to go with their decor. We looked at homes where bedrooms were painted different colors but they rarely went with what bedspreads and items we already had for those rooms. So I had to think about repainting them to not clash with our stuff. But I’m super boring and prefer neutral walls so I can hang art or other things on the wall to add color that way. But if you’re going to paint the rooms then I would find very neutral light colors that coordinate with the main color. 

[hjffkj]

1 hour ago, Plum Crazy said:

Not knowing the exact colors, I'd just go with the suggested coordinating colors of the paint you already put up.They are usually on the back or with the paint chip. 

 Sadly, the exact color we have is no longer made.  It has likely just had a name change but my research hasn't figured that out. And I really have no eye for color so I couldn't pick what coordinates with it.  Maybe I can do some research to see what other people have used with it in the past

[hjffkj]

3 hours ago, Katy said:

To me the point of "expensive" paint brands is that it's quicker, easier, and requires one coat instead of 3 because the paint isn't watered down.  So I can't help you there.  I go with the cheapest line of Benjamin Moore paints, but almost any brand can match the popular colors of other brands.  I know some of the store brands like Valspar get pretty good reviews, but every time I've tried a cheaper brand I always go back to Benjamin Moore or Sherwin Williams.  Do be sure to specify the cheapest line each time you go in though, or they'll upgrade you to the newest line of paint and you'll pay 3 times as much - the results aren't worth it unless you're pregnant or chemically sensitive and need no VOC's.

By far the most popular color right now is Benjamin Moore's Revere Pewter.  It's a neutral green gray that many people think is beige or gray, depending on the light.  I would paint every room that color.  The red undertone version of the same color is Benjamin Moore Cedar Key, but this is more like the 80's beige than the popular gray right now.

Other colors I love include Benjamin Moore Cotton Tail (pale sunshine yellow great in a dreary room or nursery, the darker shades are pretty too), Benjamin Moore White Opulence for trim, and Sherwin Williams Sea Salt (pale aqua/seafoam green that I like to paint doors - most people don't notice they're not white, they just think it looks serene).

I've never been able to do a paint project with one coat even with BM or SW. But cheaper ones have never taken me 3 coats either so there's that too.

I like Revere Pewter for the bedrooms I think. My fear with that is how drastic the look of it can change depending on the lighting.  I've seen it in many peoples' homes and it always seems like a different color than the last house I saw it at. Will have to make sure it coordinates with the downstairs enough and  pick up a sample.  

I love Sea Salt and will likely have it somewhere in our new house!

[hjffkj]

2 hours ago, TKDmom said:

Here's a link I saved on Pinterest. https://pin.it/xf3nqqx2hr4ing

I wouldn't do all the colors, just pick a couple that you like.

My house is currently painted in Behr Antique White (it looks kinda like the baby fawn on this link). The previous owner painted all the walls and ceilings with it in a flat sheen. It's boring, but nice enough. I just wish they'd used eggshell so I could wipe the walls clean. I need to repaint everything, so I'll put some of these colors in some rooms and keep the antique white in the hallways and main living areas.

That baby fawn looks close to the color we have for the downstairs. I think it'd be too boring all throughout a house.  

[hjffkj]

Thanks all.  I think I'm just going to make dh decide.  I'd rather take all the furniture apart, do all the packing, and change out the faucets and light fixtures than pick paint colors

[hjffkj]

42 minutes ago, heartlikealion said:

This may be a dumb question, but does it look like it has to be painted? Is it necessary? 

As for VOCs... I personally hate the smell of new paint even if I'm not pregnant. We once went to a new restaurant and decided it stunk so badly from the new paint that we needed to order food to go. This went on for some time. 

On the flip side, we once tried milk paint in a nursery and it was awful for painting so I wouldn't recommend that. 

If it doesn't shout "needs paint" then I might not bother. It's a toss up for me... someone may want "turn key ready" which could mean "needs to be freshly painted" but also may mean, "I wantn to sleep in there now, not hold my breath to handle the tour." 

 

Oh it screams needs paint 100%.This house needs so much before we can list it, paint is the least expensive of those things but most annoying for me.

[hjffkj]

2 hours ago, heartlikealion said:

Oh ok, gotcha. I hope your dh picks something neutral or common. Like for example, I could handle a soft blue or such in a bathroom, but unless it matched the tile or whatever, it would make sense to just go with something in a gray or brown family (or off white I guess).

Yeah, we'll stick to the gray family because that is what our realtor suggested.  I just have zero eye for things like this so it causes me anxiety. 

Thanks all for the suggestions. I will pick up some samples in a few of those colors and see what goes with what will being in the main living area.