White painted walls living room refresh with Glidden and Why should I paint before I sell a home?

I’ve had the awesome opportunity to work with Glidden paint recently, and I wanted to share our living room completely refreshed with a living room paint makeover with white painted walls! I also wanted to answer a very common question I get with my design business, “Why should I paint before I sell a home?”

This post is sponsored by Glidden

It’s amazing how paint can change your entire space! Paint trends change just like any other trend. Many people make the mistake of picking one color and keeping it for 30 years. While that is fine if a homeowner is planning on staying in a house that long and they really love it. However,if they are thinking about selling, it’s normally time for a color refresh on the walls.

Many of the homeowners I do interior design and redesign for want to know, “Why should I paint before I sell a home?”

After all, aren’t the new homeowners just going to paint it colors they like better themselves? Well… maybe? But, that’s actually not the reason fresh paint can be important. The real reason is simple marketing. The idea is to make what your selling appear in the best possible light,and make it look bright and open, and  fresh paint can help do all of those things, even on a tight budget.

For example,between the two bottom living rooms, which looks more appealing  and relevant to today?

This first one?

Or the second one?

Both of these are actually my living room! The first one was from 2008. The second one was from this fall.

Big difference, right?Even though my style has changed, painting it  a lighter color made a huge difference. It was a hard change though for me when I started going lighter,and I thought it was too bright at first. What I normally tell my clients is to live with a new color for about 3 weeks, before they make a major decision to repaint if they don’t immediately love it. Sometimes, it’s just a matter of getting used to it.

Needing a paint refresh, and wanting an even brighter and cleaner palette,I used Crystal Clear White in Glidden’s high endurance paint. I know white walls are not for everyone, but I wanted to go really bright so I could add color and texture. This room gets really dark sometimes, and I wanted it to be as bright as it could be, even in the morning when the sun is on the other side of the house. I picked Crystal Clear white because I loved this color when I saw it, and I couldn’t wait to put it on the walls.

And let me tell you…Not all white paint colors are equal. I painted the bottom of our walls in a creamy white color 6 years ago,thinking it was so bright, and I couldn’t believe how yellow they had gotten and  how some high traffic areas had gotten so dirty, and how that creamy white is so dark in comparison to the Crystal Clear White!

It’s almost embarrassing how bad they were and how the new paint made everything look so much better. And of course in true blogging nature, I am sharing my shame with you.

The paint went on nicely, and was quick drying so any additional coats could be done quickly. It only took us about 4 hours to finish even with a second coat.

The other thing I liked was I am a bit of a messy painter and at one point I stepped in the paint and then tracked it across the wood floor. I actually cleaned up with soap and water very easily and it was very low odor as well.

Having cleared the room and then bringing it back in made for a great opportunity to mix the furniture placement up a little. So, I shopped my house and used what I already had. I changed out the mirror, and swapped out the curtains. I actually had them in there  a few years ago! I also brought up the coffee table from downstairs.

I love how bright and fresh it looks and in the morning, it’s even brighter than it was before.

Because a coat of paint can make all of the difference! I just love sitting in here. It feels so calm and restful!

And it has such an easy feeling. I think gone are the days of white painted walls feeling stark.

Simple touches of color and texture now make a huge impact.

I love how our vintage sign hubby found for me a few months ago pops against the white painted walls and brightened up the entry way. I have a slight thing for vintage signs.

 If you’re considering selling,or even just a room refresh, paint can transform your space!