As a Realtor in League City, Texas, I often have clients with dramatic or brightly painted walls who are resistant to neutralizing tones prior to listing their homes.
While I can totally understand the hesitation to spend time and money on a house you are leaving behind, I think most Realtors would agree that houses with neutral colored walls show better and sell faster. I found a great tool to use in trying to convince my clients to paint some of their walls. Behr.com allows you to upload a picture of the room you are considering painting and then change the paint color so that you can visualize what the room would look like with all different colors. Sometime seeing a picture of the actual room with a different color can convince someone how much better it could look. Check it out.
It's pretty awesome... With a bit of practice, you can make the before and after look pretty good. Use it to convince your clients to paint, or use it to show a rendering of a room to a buyer so they can see the potential. And you can do this in 5 minutes to make sure you like a color you are thinking about painting!!
You may like the purple better, but I guarantee you that the majority of buyers will want the neutral. Why? Because not everyone likes purple. And their furniture may clash with the purple.
BEFORE:
AFTER:
© 2004 - 2011 Brian Worrell Team, Realtors in League City, TX - 281-948-7042. All Rights Reserved. LeagueCityBlog.com. Prudential Gary Greene, Realtors.
Brian, that is really a great idea. And what a great tool for someone who wants to paint a room a different color, but is hesitant of how it would look.
Cool tool. Pale earthy green is a great neutral color too - it goes with everything and stands out from all the plain white and beige rooms.
Thanks for the tip, Brian! I'm impressed with how well the "After" shot stays true to the ligting and shadows. This could be a great tool for buyers or sellers.
Awesome tip, plus awesome for anyone painting the house they are about to buy. I know I purchased a can of paint a few years ago and it was quite brighter once it went on the wall.
Hi Brian, I have used this tool a bit to pick colors for my own home, but for some reason, it didn't click with me to use it as virtual staging for my clients. Ding!
Brian, I recently wrote a post regarding paint and contrast, due to the challenges of errors on this site I was unable to post a picture of a chartreuse room in a home that I had listed & sold. The color of the room was so shocking, however, the sellers did an extraordinary job in complimenting the room with contrast.
I really think you have something there and it could catch on.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. It is hard to be tactfully to tell the Sellers that their taste is not what is typical. Earth-tone colors always seem to be the way to go and will match just about anything.
I've seen homes that need a few coats of paint on top of some of the colors they have selected. Some people are not visionaries, so for a few extra dollars, it is going to enhance their home and will easily recoup the funds they put into the cost of the labor and material and probably gain them a little more equity.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. It is hard to be tactfully to tell the Sellers that their taste is not what is typical. Earth-tone colors always seem to be the way to go and will match just about anything.
I've seen homes that need a few coats of paint on top of some of the colors they have selected. Some people are not visionaries, so for a few extra dollars, it is going to enhance their home and will easily recoup the funds they put into the cost of the labor and material and probably gain them a little more equity.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. It is hard to be tactfully to tell the Sellers that their taste is not what is typical. Earth-tone colors always seem to be the way to go and will match just about anything.
I've seen homes that need a few coats of paint on top of some of the colors they have selected. Some people are not visionaries, so for a few extra dollars, it is going to enhance their home and will easily recoup the funds they put into the cost of the labor and material and probably gain them a little more equity.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. It is hard to be tactfully to tell the Sellers that their taste is not what is typical. Earth-tone colors always seem to be the way to go and will match just about anything.
I've seen homes that need a few coats of paint on top of some of the colors they have selected. Some people are not visionaries, so for a few extra dollars, it is going to enhance their home and will easily recoup the funds they put into the cost of the labor and material and probably gain them a little more equity.
This is one of the services that we offer our clients and it is a big hit. Thank you for sharing and glad it is working for you too ;)
While I would never use a virtually "repainted" picture on the MLS or other advertising, it can be a great tool to have a picture of what the room could look like on-site. As a note, you don't even have to use a third party site like Behr. If you have Photo Shop, Photo Studio, or any robust photo enhancing software, it's easy to define a color area and change it to any color you want!
Brian- the more neutral color really does make a difference. I've used Sherwin Williams Color Visualizer too for the same purpose. It helps when your client can see the difference before they open up their checkbook. I'll have to take a peek at Behr's.
The right color can make a world of difference. Buyers really have trouble seeing past whats there. I am impressed that you are so committed to your sellers that you would go the extra mile to show them how their investment will work...good for you!!
I think this is a GREAT tool.....there are several out there....to help visualize how the room, cabinets etc will change!! GREAT Before/After pic's.
I am going to check out the web site...I have a project that I am working on that I can use this..thanks for sharing...
Brian, I use a similar tool from another paint company and clients are amazed at the "paint" job and the differences. Good for you for offering this to your clients. You're a step ahead!
Thanks for all of your comments! I will say this, the tools do take a bit of fine tuning. If you read the brief tutorial, they have many tips and tricks that are much more user friendly than Photoshop. I'm something of a Photoshopoholic and fanatic. But you could spend a lifetime learning Photoshop. The tools at Behr.com are much more user friendly and with a small amount of effort to read the tutorial, and you'll be amazed at your skills!! And your clients will be amazed at your skills as well!!!
Thanks for the info. I agree, photoshop can do so much that it is intimidating! I am going to check this out and see if it will work for my business as well.
WOW, Brian. What a great tool. I would be a perfect candidate for this. I'm visually challenged - can't picture a room in a different color. I once purchased a sofa by choosing a pattern that looked awesome on the swatch but was a nightmare when it actually arrived. Too bad I can't find a tool with swatch choices, huh?
I hear Behr is doing some pretty amazing stuff with innovative paint solutions. Thanks for sharing!
I've used the Sherwin Williams color visualizer, now I have to go and check out the Behr to see which is better suited to me. Thanks for the heads up!
Thanks for telling us about this tool. Its always great to be able to share photos of what their rooms will look like after painting.