The exterior of your home is your buyer’s first sneak peak of your home. Curb appeal is very important. The colour of your exterior is what often draws people to your home. The first impression whether it is in your online photos or buyers just driving through the neighbourhood is the colour of your brick or siding and outside doors. It just takes seconds for opinions to be made. Often as sellers we tend to overlook the exterior and concentrate so much on the interior of our homes. Staging a home is done in both places – interior and the exterior.
What does the exterior of your house say about you? Are your colours very bland? To begin with take a good look at the exterior of your home. What style home do you have? If your home is older, stick to colours that are more historical in nature. Many paint companies have country or historical paint colours that will be suitable and enhance the beauty of your older home.
Exterior colour has lots of options and some limitations – i.e. Brick colour, siding and roof colour are static colours compared to trim and door colour. As a starting point pay attention to the brick, roof and siding colours. Use the inspiration of your garden colours and choose a colour that will complement all of these factors. Perhaps a yellow or blue flower from your garden will help you choose your front door colour?
Do your house colours fit in with your neighbourhood? You want your home to look different but if your neighbourhood is more neutral you also don’t want your house to appear too flashy. Create the look to impress but in a subtle way.
Will your exterior colours look good in photos when you are selling your home? If you have white siding and trim and a white door – your house will not impress even with the best photos. Take a drive around your neighbourhood and look at what colour schemes you find will best suit your home also. You often just need this visual look of the area to know how you can improve the look of your home.
You may need to change the colours of your exterior to attract buyers. There are so many colours to choose from. Check out paint stores that have visual software to give you an idea what your home will look like with different colour paint. Don’t accent downspouts or eavestroughs. Make them blend in with your home. If you want to make a statement your entrance door is your best choice. Neutral colours with a colourful statement door done tastefully can attract buyers. Remember that dark colours also fade easily in the sun. Dark colours vs. light – dark colours absorb the light. Keep your trim colours lighter.
Lastly, for 2018 Consumer Reports state that “warm neutral colours continue to be a popular choice” especially if you are thinking of selling. Blues, yellows, black and greys continue to be colour choices for front doors.
We hope that this helps you think about the exterior of your home when you decide to sell. Our Anne Winch Ottawa Real Estate and Staging Team are always here to help you with the details of selling your home. Our free home staging service helps you with the details of creating the right look for you home too. Contact us to see how we can help.