My husband and I will list our home up for sale in the next 5 months or so. I’m hoping for some opinions, some regarding the value of certain updates as well as current views of aesthetics.
Contemporary styling, light maple hardwood floors on first floor. Much stained wood throughout. Lot’s of windows and light. Kitchen renovated 5 years ago.
We plan to renovate 3 of the 4 baths, with most emphasis on the master bath, smaller upgrades for the other baths. We will refinish the floors, paint throughout – a neutral – maybe revere pewter, a beigh-ish grey. We will re-carpet the upstairs/stairs.
The questions:
*Blah tiles in the foyer. Replace or ignore?
All interior doors are stained (honey oak color) upgraded flush lauan doors. Window frames and trim are similarly stained pine. Some of the frames need attention because of moisture damage; easier to paint than to replace/refinish.
*What is the trend for frames and trim? Paint white/off-white?
*If we paint trim, what about the stained doors?
Finally, we have an oak fireplace mantle.
*Leave natural or paint?
Thanks for your thoughts
paint ALL the doors and window frames a color that will complement neutral color wall - stained is OUT.
extend maple hardwood into foyer.
paint oak mantle an off white color that will compliment wall color in that room
Talk to a real estate agent
Do all husbands resist painting stained wood?
^^^ yes - i’m trying to do the same and hitting resistance too
check out the website houzz and you’ll see all sorts of ideas on whats in. an agent knows things too.
It really depends on the style of the house. I’d cry if you painted all the wood in a craftsman style house. Our first house had stained oak from 1914 - I’d keep it today no matter what was theoretically in fashion.
But if it’s more colonial then paint would make more sense.
I think contemporary can go either way - but if you are going for the mid-century modern look - nothing wrong with wood.
And ditto talk to a real estate agent. It’s so easy to paint and so hard to strip it.
Or, since it’s a pretty new house and probably needs only cosmetics, price to sell and let the new owners deal with it, and do what THEY want, realizing anything you do may be redone anyway.
Mathmom beat me to it, but it’s easy for a new owner to paint and way more difficult to “undo.” My son is painstakingly stripping all the wood in his craftsman home that the prior owner “freshened” up for sale by painting every visible piece of wood because I agree that it depends on the style of home.I agree that a local realtor will know what your competition is and what you could do or should do (or not.)
And see if you can sell as is without all the upgrades. If it is more of a seller’s market, you might not be any worse off financially if you do the math. At least look at the options of a realistic sales price with incentives vs the nightmare of all that work. You might find a DIYer.
Talk to a real estate agent. He/she can suggest what needs to be done. Often it just decluttering, freshening, maybe new paint or something to give the house curb appeal. Many remodels like expensive bathroom renovations, recoup only 30% or so in increased sales price.
This made me laugh outloud. DH and I had big arguments in our last house about this. I contended the house would look much younger and fresher if we painted it; he contended that the dark wood trim and doors felt “den-like.”
For the record, he was wrong. IMO. We finally sold the house, but I think if we had painted we would have sold sooner, and for more.
Do what the real estate agent tells you to do.
If you’re nervous about this, talk to more than one real estate agent.
I appreciate the opinions. We will pull in a real estate agent pretty soon.
The most expensive renovation we have planned so far is an update on the master bath. I think we’ve found a way to enlarge the shower and improve the looks considerably. We’ll swap out the old vanity, lavatories, and hardware. Mostly, fixtures will stay put so no major plumbing overhauls.
The tub in the “kids’” bath has glass sliding enclosure (which I hate). I think I would prefer a shower curtain.
My husband and I agree to painting the trim and doors in the bedrooms. We can probably delay the decision re: 1st floor until later.
Husband here. We resist painting stained wood because it is a pain and hard to make look good. It’s not as simple as a coat of paint on drywall that can be done easily.
Declutter, paint walls, maybe replace tile counters (if you have them), and give buyers an allowance. Also agree to talk to real estate agent. You won’t get your money back on many renovations and buyer might want something different. Things are also very regional on what you can get away with. are you competing with other 30 year old houses or new construction? It matters in buyer expectations.
When interviewing agents, it can be helpful to get multiple takes on what they think needs to be done as part of the process on who to hire.
I’ve had really bad experiences with listening to real estate agents telling me what to do or what not to do to make a property more attractive to potential buyers. Don’t expect to get any money that you put into these renovations back. I would not renovate any bathrooms. I would not change floors. Don’t paint the stained trim. You have no idea what potential new owners will like. If the new owners want to renovate a bathroom, they’d prefer to spend the money doing it themselves so that it reflects their taste. There’s no guarantee they will like your taste. It’s best to have a cheaper list price than to have to raise the list price because you spent $20K+ sprucing the house up.
Painting a neutral color is good. Painting the exterior, if the exterior is wood, is good. Declutter, declutter, declutter. Get any pets out of the house once showings start.
We love our stained wood trim and doors. BUT when the time comes to seek…IF white is still the thing to have, we will have it all painted. All of it.
I would get the foyer tile replaced. It will be the first impression when folks walk in the door of your house. You want it to be a good one.
Talk to an agent…they will tell you what needs to be done to present your home for sale!
There’s much good advice to mull.
We would like a quick sale (as we already have a retirement house to move to, currently being rented out). We bought that house because we were able to look beyond the old paint, wallpaper, ugly kitchen and appreciate its potential and gorgeous view (and the price dropped to a compelling amount).
Even the real estate agent was lukewarm on the house until he saw the “after.”
I want to hit that sweet spot where it will be easy for buyers to imagine the potential.
I am a real estate agent, a home stager and I flip houses. Paint the woodwork and doors an white/off white my favorite is dove white by benjamin moore and update door hardware if they are brass. Update lighting…that always makes a huge difference. Let me know if you have any more questions. Good Luck!
OP, I think some of this also depends on the following:
-what are the style of homes in your neighborhood? Most the same age as your house? Or are you the new or old house on the block?
- who is likely to be your buyer? A young couple? A family with children? Multiple bedrooms so multiple family members? Socio economic group?