Green

Today is St. Patrick’s Day. To me, that means all things green. What is green in a home? Plants, paint, accessories come to mind. Green is considered a neutral color, much like gray, beige, tan and white are neutrals. The dining room of one of my former homes was green. I loved it. Tip: Be careful to pick the right shade of green. Be sure it is a current shade. If it looks dated, buyers might discount the amount they offer. Consider painting one accent wall only in green, if the room has one wall that could benefit from being accented. For instance, paint the wall over the bed, or the wall behind the mantel green. This is not what most realtors would advise. They'd say leave everything white. I'm not so sure. In one of my past homes I lived out of state and my property manager had my home painted white, everywhere. The next year, when I toured it, I was so unhappy; the white cabinets in the kitchen looked horrible with the white walls! Since that kitchen had a wall of floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the lush, green back yard, wouldn't a pale green have been perfect?

Plants. Be sure to use plants to help you sell your home. Be sure the plants are healthy and attractive. Discard or move elsewhere plants that are not an asset. You are planning to move when the home sells, right? So start your packing and storing your excess furniture and collections now. This will ensure higher offers from buyers and in less time. Some designers believe that it is ok to mix real and artificial plants. I disagree. But then, I am a minimalist. I believe that if it isn’t real, it isn’t necessary. In the same way that I’d recommend emptying out everything non-essential from every room, I’d say only real plants are necessary. Don’t overdue it, though. Empty homes are not popular with buyers. Buyers prefer a home they feel they can move right into. Many buyers can’t envision how their furniture will look in an empty home. Tip: If possible, keep some furniture in the home while it is for sale; try to stage the property, even if just minimally.

And don’t forget the plants outside the home, especially those near the walkway. Curb appeal is critical to buyers getting a warm and fuzzy before even entering your home. If the outside isn’t appealing most buyers won’t even tour a home. Tip: If you know you are going to be selling your home in the winter, be sure to plant plants that are attractive in winter. Winter plants are those that are green all year long or have colorful stems or trunks in winter.