Conventional wisdom says that certain colours will work and others won’t when it comes to getting your home sold on show day - but is this still the case?
Tanya Mans, owner of Knysna’s Workshop Interiors, said that colours in the interior of your home should reflect your personality, and should be appropriate to the individual rooms - and while she agreed that the psychology of colour is important, she also suggested that you should consider international trends in order to enhance the appeal of the place.
And if you’re preparing a house for show-day, adding a few touches of colour in the form of scatter cushions or throws is easy, and often quite affordable.
COLOUR PALETTE
Traditionally, yellows have been associated with happiness and light, light blues with tranquility, darker blues with regal formality, and greens and browns with the restfulness of nature.
“Whether they’re decorating for themselves, or with an eye to selling their houses, I always advise my clients to work from a basic colour palette that ties the house together visually, and then to use splashes of other colours and perhaps interesting, contrasting patterns to highlight and accentuate the mood and purpose of each room in the house,” said Tanya.
She suggested that bright colours are generally most acceptable in living areas - while muted colours are more suitable to bedrooms, “where you want a calming effect, and where you want to create a feeling of restfulness and tranquility.”
She said, though, that there’s no set way in or out - because different colours mean different things to different people.
“We’re not as scared of colour as we used to be: these days you can get away with a bright purple wall or a petrol blue or orange accent piece if it’s done in a style that fits with the general interior, and that works with or in contrast to your basic palette.”
TRENDS
“Daisy yellow is the upcoming colour for winter,” said Tanya. “Daisy yellow rather than the more electric yellows we were seeing a few years ago.
“And digital printed fabrics have become very fashionable - things like bright flowers overprinted with fabric patterns or stencil motifs.”
Tanya suggested that you could consider using different coloured accents (lampshades, scatter cushions, throws, even ceramic pieces or fresh flowers) at different times of the year - so, for example, you’ll bring out the bright oranges, rich reds, and warm chocolate browns for winter, and swap them for tranquil greens, cool blues, and coral pinks in summer.
“The over-riding consideration, however, must be whether you’re happy with the colours you choose because this will reflect in the character of your home - which will almost always have a positive influence on buyers,” she said.