Color Speaks - What Does Your House Say?

Color. It is part of our everyday life. We have color all around us and every color elicits an emotional and physical response. We are usually not even conscious of our body or mind going through the physiological process, but it happens. For example, in the world of color physiology, red is associated with blood and energy (or heat) and emotions that stir the blood such as anger or excitement.

There are entire industries devoted to the use of color and how to apply it to elicit desired responses or behaviors from consumers.

Consider this: Do you remember the old style Denny’s restaurants? Why were the booth colors orange and pink? Those colors were specifically selected so customers would not linger because orange and pink are stimulating colors that keep us unsettled. Their reasoning worked. Think about other restaurants where you have been that want you to stay a while – their color scheme was most likely soft, neutral, with calming colors of blue, green, greys, and soft purples, and dim lighting. Black and white are considered at the opposite ends of the color spectrum – with some schools of thought stating that they are not even colors. Black weighs down a space and white lifts it up – so together they help create an emotional anchor and should be used with accessories or art – a little splash here and there – to balance a room.

The art of “reading colors” has been a part of beauty and fashion for years – with certain colors making us look and feel younger and energetic and wrong colors literally making our complexion look sallow and eyes dull. When we wear certain colors, we actually feel happier and more uplifted, and the opposite is true when we wear other colors. When we paint our houses, we are dressing them up for show as well. How can we tell what colors work best? This article should help give you guidance whether you are selling it or living in it.

Here is a list of topics covered in this article:

▪Colors in our lives and our houses
▪Physiology of Color
▪Accent Walls – friend or foe?
▪Best Colors solutions for Selling
▪Embrace versus Replace
▪Contrast Colors to the Rescue
▪Where to get Help
▪Color Trends for 2008


Color is an integral part of our homes.

Just like we dress ourselves, we dress our house with colors used in accessories, artwork, and on walls. You may recall the avocado greens and gold colors found in houses in the 1950’s. Or how about tie-dye, and houses with olive green, orange, or dark brown shag carpets common in the 1960’s -70’s. The 1980’s seemed to be all about pastels and southwest color schemes. The 1990’s saw some shifting towards the use of color, but there was also an “all-white” movement afoot in homes. We did not see the full impact of using color in homes until the new millennium. It was almost as if with the turn of the century, homeowners left their fear box of white and enter the euphoric world of colored walls. Some of these people have really embraced the interior color world, while others remained more conservative – placing color on accent walls for punch and impact, while keeping the main walls a neutral.

We know the psychological impact of color can be found in nature.

Think about how you feel when you look at the water or sky, or sit under a tree. Blue and Green are relaxing. Cooler tones tend to be more relaxing, and Warmer tones tend to be more stimulating. So are some shades of purple such as lavender and periwinkle. If you want to relax in your bedroom, it’s probably a good idea not to paint it Red. On the other hand, if you have a room where you want constant activity, feel free to paint it Orange, Red, or Yellow – but just be sure you really like those colors because when they go on a wall they can really dominate!

Accent Walls – Friend or Foe?

If you are not quite ready to commit to an entire room re-do, consider an accent wall. Accent walls in red and burgundy are very common in dining rooms and kitchens. We are less likely to see this color in a bedroom or bathroom, but accent walls with a deeper tone of a soothing color behind a bed where a headboard is placed or a large piece of art makes a nice frame for the focal point of the bedroom. Experts share that we should never paint an outer wall as an accent wall.

What colors are best for the interior of a house?

Painting each room in a house a different color chops up the flow and actually is a detraction emotionally and visually. It’s better to use one color or tones of the same color family to flow through each room as a common thread, and then punch up color in various rooms with accent walls, or accessories and art. Dark colors close a room in and make it feel smaller – literally eliminating visual square footage because of the emotional response. It is never a good idea to paint a ceiling a dark color unless it is vaulted or higher than the standard 8-9 feet. Children’s rooms may have creative murals, fun colors and themes. Just keep in mind colors impact children more than adults – so keep the bright, stimulating colors off the walls unless you want Johnny and Susie up all night. If you want to have some fun, use accessories, props, and artwork to add the color but keep the background in a calming color or warm neutral.

These photos illustrate the difference strong colors versus warm neutral with accent colors in the accessories can do for presenting a room in a house that is for sale.

Warm Neutrals should be used as a background for the rooms in the house. White is called “the color of fear” with paint – meaning it is the sign of someone that does not know what to do – so does nothing. It seems clean and fresh, but really it’s boring. Houses exist with all white walls but they are usually ones with black and white decorating schemes, which is not practical for the everyday homeowner. White is great when used as an accent for moulding, trims, and cabinetry. On walls, even if you are not brave of heart to paint a wall orange, go for a nice tan color – or a soft gold or taupe. The walls come alive!

What if you are selling a house and you have bright colors on your walls? Colors speak to buyers. They say “Buy Me” or “When you buy me, before you move in you will have a lot of work to do.” If a buyer likes the color painted on a wall, great but to take that chance and eliminate an entire pool of buyers over a too-bright or odd color on the wall, does not make sense. In a market where there are a lot of houses for sale, making sure that a house is move-in ready is essential. Some sellers will argue that a buyer will usually paint the walls anyway, but painting a neutral wall is easy. Having to prime (possibly with multiple coats of paint) and then paint is a lot more work.

The best solution for selling is to paint out all the walls with a warm neutral. (Note: Sherwin Williams has a great line of colors and ASP Stagers can get a 40-60% discount on materials for clients.) We recommend sellers paint walls a warm tan, soft gold, or taupe color. Keep in mind that the undertone of the paint needs to blend nicely with cabinetry, carpet and flooring. Picking a color with a grey cast and painting it in a house with yellow or red oak cabinets will result in a mis-match and will not enhance the house. If you are not able to decide which color should be painted, seek the advice of a professional ASP Home Stager. Most ASP Stagers have color wheels and fan decks from professional paint supply stores and can easily help select a color that will be a good background to the features of the house.

“Embrace, not Replace.”

When a client states they will not invest in the painting, what do you do? First, we need to know how motivated this client is to get the results they want. There is a reason they don’t want to paint and it is usually about one of two factors: Cost or Attachment. Painting a whole house can cost a fair amount, but the return on investment more than makes up for it in the sale. There are discounts they can receive when they work with a Stager, and the fresh paint job can actually be marketed as a feature when selling the house. An attachment issue says the seller is not sure they want to move and because they like the color, if they don’t sell they don’t want to have to repaint the walls. They clearly lack the commitment to make necessary changes. The goal is to always work with the Seller to help educate them about why they need to make changes and give them solutions that make sense for them to achieve their sale.

What if the client just refuses to paint the bright walls?

How can you tone it down so that it is not such a shocker for a buyer? The solution is to counter-balance the color by adding accessories that are in the contrasting color. This takes experience to know exactly what to do, but it works! Again, an ASP Stager will know what colors to introduce in the room, and where to place them to help neutralize the impact of a too-bright or outdated color. As an example, a house that has too much blue – flooring or counters – would have gold, soft yellow, and perhaps even orange introduced with accessories, art and furnishings in order to play down the blue, and help a buyer focus on the house and not the blue paint or counters or carpet. The detracting color is still there, but with Staging the house is presented in a way that is appealing and helps a buyer to know how they might be able to deal with the color too.

Lastly, if you are planning a move and have not updated your house in a couple of decades, it’s time to bring your house into the current trends. Painting is a proven investment in a house that brings the highest rate of return.

Colors do speak to us. When we are Staging and selling a house, we want to make sure they are saying, “Come and linger here” and not “Run away!”

Whether you are selling or staying put – the We Stage Sacramento Staging Specialists can help advise you on what colors to select so that your house has the right combination of peace and pizzazz.

Want to know what the decorating color trends are for 2008?

Want to freshen up your house for 2008? Experts say earthtones are on the decline but still provide a great backdrop for most houses. Homeowners that are trend setters for style and decorating will add paint and decorative accessories and furnishings in the tones of soft grey blues, silvery green-blues, earthy greens, silvers and plums, and orchid. Expect to see more green used – as a following of being more earth and eco-friendly, plus green is the color of nature and life. Use of metallics and silver accents are a great touch to an already delightful palette.

We are an approved Sherwin-Williams vendor and receive 40-60% off on materials and supplies! Ask us how we can help YOU save on your painting needs!