If selling your home is on your to-do list for 2025 or 2026, one of the smartest (and most affordable) updates you can make right now is a fresh coat of paint. It may seem like a small detail, but your paint choices can have a major impact on how buyers perceive your home, and whether they choose to move forward with an offer.
At The Tully Team at Platinum Partners Realtors, we help sellers throughout the Chicagoland area get the most value for their homes by offering expert staging and redesign guidance. And one of the first things we often address is paint. Why? Because certain colors are proven to turn buyers off, sometimes before they even step foot inside the home.
Paint Color Really Does Matter
Paint affects so much more than the appearance of your walls. It impacts lighting, mood, and how large or small a space feels. It also shows up in every online photo and video tour, which means it can influence whether someone even decides to book a showing.
Buyers today are looking for homes that feel fresh, clean, and move-in ready. Bold, bright, or dark wall colors can make your home feel dated or overly personalized. Even if buyers plan to repaint, those strong color impressions can reduce their emotional connection, or lead to lower offers based on perceived “work” they’ll need to do after closing.
These Are the Most Off-Putting Colors to Buyers
According to a report from NAR, buyers consistently rank the following paint colors as the least appealing when touring a home:
If your home has rooms painted in any of these colors, it may be time for an update:
Source: ListReports, 2024
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🔴 Red – Feels aggressive or heavy; can shrink a space visually
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🟢 Lime Green – Often seen as too playful or unconventional
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🌕 Bright Yellow – Too intense for most lighting conditions
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🟡 Mustard Yellow – Can read as outdated
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💗 Pink – Highly personal and rarely neutral
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💧 Turquoise – Bright and trendy, but often too bold for resale
What Should You Paint Instead?
The good news is that updating paint doesn’t have to be overwhelming or expensive. A soft, neutral palette helps buyers focus on your home’s features, not the wall color. After all, it’s your home features and square footage that buyers are paying for. Here are a few of our favorite go-to shades that photograph beautifully and appeal to most buyers:
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Sherwin-Williams Accessible Beige – A warm neutral that works in almost any room
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Benjamin Moore Classic Gray – Soft and elegant without feeling cold
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Behr Swiss Coffee – A creamy off-white that adds light and warmth
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Sherwin-Williams Repose Gray – Versatile and modern without being sterile
We often recommend flat or eggshell finishes on walls to minimize imperfections and semi-gloss on trim to give everything a clean, crisp edge.
Real Example: From Red to Ready
One of our recent clients had a dining room painted in a deep red, a color that was once trendy for its association with warmth and appetite, but now tends to make the space feel dark, heavy, and dated. With guidance from our staging and redesign consultant, Cindy Zaeske, the seller chose a warm, neutral greige to replace the red. The difference was immediate.
The room felt larger, lighter, and the entire home felt more cohesive and far more inviting in photos and showings. And the best part? The home went under contract shortly after and the seller was thrilled with.
This is the power of smart, strategic staging, and it starts with the right paint.
Meet Cindy Zaeske, Our Staging and Redesign Consultant
We’re lucky to work with Cindy Zaeske, who brings years of experience and a designer’s eye to every listing. Cindy helps our clients make informed decisions about color, lighting, furniture arrangement, and more, always with a focus on helping buyers fall in love with the space.
Cindy works one-on-one with our sellers, offering both hands-on support and practical advice that fits within your budget and timeline. Whether you’re prepping a home that’s already vacant or still being lived in, her input makes a huge difference in how your home shows and sells.
Quick Checklist: Is It Time to Repaint?
If you’re thinking about listing your home in the next 12–24 months, ask yourself:
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Do any rooms have bold or dated colors (like red, yellow, green, or turquoise)?
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Are there scuffs, chips, or fading paint in high-traffic areas?
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Does the paint color coordinate with the flooring and light in each room?
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Will the current colors appeal to most buyers, or are they personal to your style?
If you’re unsure, we’d be happy to take a look and let you know what will help you stand out in today’s market.
Thinking About Selling in 2025 or 2026? Let’s Talk
Whether you’re planning to sell soon or just getting a head start, we’re here to help. Shanon Tully, lead agent for The Tully Team at Platinum Partners Realtors provides full-service staging and marketing for sellers across the Chicagoland area, including paint recommendations, redesign consultations, and marketing that gets your home noticed.
If you’re planning on selling soon, we’d love to offer our advise. Reach out today for a no-pressure evaluation. We’ll walk through your home and give you honest, practical suggestions that make a real impact.
The above references an opinion and is for informational purposes only. It is not intended to be financial, legal, or tax advice. Consult the appropriate professionals for advice regarding your individual needs.
Shanon Tully is a licensed real estate broker and leads the The Tully Team at Platinum Partners Realtors located in Downers Grove, Illinois. She provides exceptional concierge real estate services throughout the Chicagoland area, especially the western suburbs. A residential listing specialist, Shanon thoroughly enjoys helping clients achieve their goals, and particularly relishes the unique challenges associated with staging, redesigning, and marketing properties. Her attention to detail and dedicated care for her clients has earned her numerous rave reviews! Among other things, Shanon has earned several designations and certifications including SRS-Seller Representative Specialist, PSA-Pricing Strategy Advisor, RENE-Real Estate Negotiation Expert, SRES-Senior Real Estate Specialist, CSC-Certified Staging Consultant. She is eager to speak with you and always welcomes new referrals! Shanon can be reached at 630.435.3585 or [email protected]