The Best Paint Colours for Selling Your Home

If you’re in the process of selling your home, you’re probably busy with projects that will make your home more appealing to potential buyers. Before selling your home, an interior paint job is the perfect way to freshen things up. But, you will need to be smart in your colour choices. The wrong colour in a particular room can actually cause your home to sell for less. Take a look at the best paint colours for selling your home and which ones you should avoid.

Bathroom

Best Colour = Light Blue

On average, homes with light blue bathrooms tend to sell for $2000-$4000 more than any other colour. Why? It has to do with how colours make us feel. Light blue is fresh and airy, it reminds us of the sky or the ocean. Calm and soothing light blue walls can make your bathroom feel like an oasis retreat if done right. If you’re looking for the right shade of blue for your bathroom, opt for something with grey tones or even a periwinkle. You can speak with a painting professional to help choose the right colour for your bathroom.

Colour to Avoid = White

While you may be surprised to read this, there’s a good reason why white does not always work in bathrooms. White walls show dirt easier and can make a room look plain and boring. If your bathroom doesn’t get a lot of natural light or is cramped, the white walls will make it look flat and uninviting. While you want to create a blank slate for potential buyers, you don’t want to strip the room completely of personality. According to a study done by Zillow, white walls in a bathroom could lower your selling price by up to $4000.

Dining Room

Best Colour = Dark Blue

Another room that loves blue is the dining room. Homeowners who painted their dining rooms slate or navy blue found that their homes sold for almost $2000 more as compared to dining rooms with white walls. This could be due to the dark blues creating an inviting atmosphere that reminds us of fine restaurants with all the comforts of home. What potential buyer wouldn’t want that?

Colour to Avoid = Brown

Terracotta, oat, and sandy browns are all colours that should stay out of the dining room. According to research by Zillow, homes with dining rooms painted brown sold for $1600 less on average. The reason for the aversion to brown has to do with its undertones. Red is associated with aggression and orange is one of the least-liked colours in the world. Put those two together in a dark brown room and you’ll have unhappy diners on your hands. Avoid unpleasant colours by hiring a company to paint your walls a more appealing colour.

Kitchen

Best Colour = Blue

You’re probably starting to notice a trend here, and no, it’s not our HomeStars bias. Blue is the most popular colour in the world, so it’s no surprise it has the widest appeal to potential buyers. Blue is calming and soothing in a room that can sometimes be hectic when cooking a large family meal or entertaining guests. Painting your kitchen a soft grey-blue can increase your selling price by up to $1800. Tuxedo kitchen cabinets (upper and lower cabinets painted in two different colours) in particular saw an increase of up to $1500. Try pairing dark blue lower cabinets with fresh white cabinets up top for a look potential buyers will love.

Colour to Avoid = Yellow

This goes to show you need to do your colour research before you sell. In 2016, yellow was found to be the go-to colour for kitchens. Now in 2018, no one wants a yellow kitchen. This could be due to the fact that yellow is a tricky colour to get right. If your yellow is too bright, it can be off-putting and in some cases even cause anxiety. Causing potential buyers stress as they walk through your home is something you want to avoid at all costs. If your kitchen is an overpowering yellow colour, you may want to reconsider before you list your home.

Living Room

Best Colour = Beige or Taupe

Neutral colour lovers rejoice! This is the one room in your house where you can go as plain as possible with your colour. From beige to taupe or oatmeal, living rooms with neutral walls tend to sell for $1800 more than those with white walls. The reason why? The living room is one of the easiest rooms to visualize with your own stuff. This means that potential buyers want to see a blank slate where they can envision their own couch and artwork on the walls. Keeping it neutral is best for both you and potential buyers.

Colour to Avoid = Blue

The living room appears to be the one room in the house where blue will negatively affect the selling price. If you thought you could get away with painting your entire home blue, think again. For whatever reason, a blue living room leaves potential buyers feeling lukewarm and not in a mood to buy. While blue is a popular colour for almost every room, your living room will benefit from a neutral coat of paint instead.

Below are the average costs of Paint & Wallpaper services across different cities in Canada:

*Costs based on 13,969 verified Canadian homeowner reviews as of March 2022

Now that you have a better idea of what colours will aid in the selling of your home, the only thing left to do is paint. Save yourself the hassle and hire a professional company to get your home looking its best. When you’re ready to hire, start on HomeStars to instantly be connected with top painting companies in your area and receive quotes for your project for free. Good luck selling your home!

Article updated June 2022.