Shelly, Simon said your were a little flat in spots or maybe it was pitchy, I think that is the word he used.

The truth is that trends set the styles. People want the "in style" and we can agree or disagree but we just present not accept or promote. If clients like pink or green this week, so do I. If they hate granite because they have to season it twice a year, so do I. If they want a 50's retro look, I love that also.

So, ours is not to reason why, just live with it.

Isn't that Dr. Suess? I like it in the rain. (grin)

Good post Shelly.  Do you think this trend towards neutrality seems more pronounced to you because you are dealing with homes that are being sold?

What I mean is, I personally really like unique, funky colours and materials - but I swap a lot of them out for neutrals, and paint over some bold colours before I call my agent - the house I want to live in isn't necessarily the most saleable house.

Shelly maybe because we cringe when someone says they are painting that we want to make sure it is not terrible. You know how that paint looks in the store may look terrible on a big or small room with 4 walls.

I am happy with beiging America unless we can get someone to pick out paint for people if they must paint.

I should talk, my flip is going to have a red wall, if buyers don't like it, only one wall shouldn't hurt.

Silly me. I though Beiging was the capital of China.

Good one, Jay! LOL

Great Topic!  I'm for beiging America but kind of in the Antique White arena of beiging.  My flip is going on to and I have to admit, it doesn't really mater what color because the guy across the street from my house is repainting his entire house and that puppy was "mustard yellow" in two different hues.  I'm right there with Gary as far as what my clients like but when it comes to selling - Beige America.  

I'm with you, Jay!  "Beiging" IS in China...   But "Tipping" is not, I'm told.

I say beige is beautiful if you know you are going to sell in the next few years.   I know that custom colors (especially the BIG BRIGHT ONES) are the first things my potential buyers remark negatively about.   Yes, it can be repainted, but it's just another item the buyer would have to deal with.

Jay,

I did a double-take on the title also! I was thinking Beijing!

I was trying to figure out if we're talking China or I'm lacking something in my vocabulary ... I should have known better :-)

Mary, I love having a red wall or two ... had couple in our previous house (red seems to be the best color to cover imperfections in the drywall) ... and we already have one small wall kinda red in our current house. We went quite wild even in our new kitchen ... two shades of green (nice calm creamy green .... not fresh grass green :-) ... and we love it!

I'll be listing a property in the next few days where when I went in the first time, the homeowner had almost all of the house remodeled and painting was one of the last few things on the to-do list. She already had samples of color choices on all the walls when I came ... I loved her choices ... if she was to stay and live in there ... but as her agent-to-be, I had to recommend perhaps keeping the colors but going with lighter shades. I could just see the buyers walking in saying they "will have to paint the whole place". I haven't seen the finished product yet, so I wonder if she went with her choice or my recommendation.

Yes, what happened to my red, white and blue  America!

Hey what is old is now new... Wall to wall carpet was such a rage that people covered up all those beautiful hardwood.  Now people want those hardwoods back. Rip up that carpet!  Can't afford it that is OK we have pergo!  I am still a tile in the kitchen person.  But I do like the combo look.  Something I think is a bit funny is if you look in all the designer books they are showing color.  Mulit color walls at that!  But heaven for bid your home has any color if you want to sell it.  Maybe people want that clean palette?  Beige it, the buyer can always add colorful throw pillows!

Jana

I'm finding that more buyers are open to colour if the house is nicely staged. Beige is kinda boring really.

Seriously, there is almost nothing worse than taking a buyer into a house that has one purple bedroom, one pink bedroom, a red office and a bright yellow kitchen.  Ok, the kitchen isn't so bad.  Not only does the house cry out "Paint Me," it says "You're going to have to work at it to make me livable."

Sage greens and taupes are as workable as off-white, beige and eggshell.  Things just need to be a muted so that people aren't missing the house for the walls.

For me, I love having color in my house and actually have 17 different colors throughout - I know it sounds like a lot but the colors actually flow really well and we love it.  Have a deep rich red wall in my kitchen that goes beautifully with the natural cherry cabinets, Corian counters and black/stainless appliances.

But, I know that when we have to sell, I'll probably have to "beige out" some or several rooms because a lot of people have a hard time seeing beyond color or custom decorating and imagining their furniture in the house, etc.  It just seems like the "beiging of America" almost goes too far sometimes though.  You drive into the sub-division that has the 5 or 6 different shades of taupe and beige on the exterior and then you go inside and there is a couple of shades of taupe/beige, blah blah blah.  Are we just a beige nation now?  I know, I know...neutral sells homes but I guess I'm just a gal that likes some color in her life!

another "color" I can't stand is white on the walls ... I call it "contractor white" ... it's cold, lifeless and looks like quick rehab that just got primed. My husband really wanted to try white in our house so I gave up let him paint our new bathroom with sort of slightly tinted white shades ... and I think we'll be reconsidering ... it's lacking color :-). We're actually getting into deeper colors with each house we buy. We started out with very light yellowish and peachy colors, then went into more creamy and darker shades ... and now we just go wild. If we decide to sell and buyers don't like it, we can always repaint ... we are finally at a point of painting to our liking ... and not for the future buyer!

When we bought our first house we were afraid to put any color at all on the white walls...now as you can tell we're much braver.  White just looks so sterile like an operating room to me...unless it's put with black in an Art Deco sort of way, then it can look really sharp and contemporary.  We've used plums/mauves in our master suite, red/tan in the kitchen, carmel color on the family room walls, etc.  I actually love being IN my house more now than I did before we had it painted.  It really feels like we have our personality and character in it now - I guess "there's no place like home"...maybe one man's "beige" is another man's "blah" :)

Sarah, maybe we should have one of our office meetings in your house :-) ... to get some inspiration ... the one time I saw it was right after you moved in ... I don't recall much color from back then.

It's definitely a lot different...come on over...I'll make the coffee and cookies.  Don't worry...no Mayo cupcakes here!