Prepare Your Home to Sell By Painting It

So you’ve decided to sell your home. Interior painting is an excellent way to stage your home and make a great first impression to potential buyers. By giving your rooms an eye-catching look you’re sure to increase your chances of selling your home at a fair price.

Consult the experts at your local True Value store for the right advice and supplies to start your paint project.

Step 1. Chose Which Rooms to Paint
Choose which rooms to paint first. Rooms where the walls are damaged or out-of-date are good places to start. Also consider repainting high-traffic rooms, such as kitchens, bathrooms and living rooms.

Step 2. Choose Your Paint Colors
Consider your market. Who will be looking at your house? A family with six young children will love washable walls, while a retiree may appreciate uniformity and sensible colors. Keep in mind that you're not painting to satisfy your personal tastes and aesthetics, but to make your home universally desirable. Your goal here is to ''depersonalize'' your home in order to make it seem like anyone could live there.

When painting interior rooms your goal should be to give buyers an idea of the room's potential. Rooms painted in bold or daring colors, though enjoyable, may detract from the room itself. Real estate experts advise using a pallet of light, warm colors such as beige and taupe to create an inviting indoor atmosphere.

When choosing colors, consider the size and dimensions of the room. A darker color can give an intimate feel to a wider room, while a lighter color can make a small room feel larger. Avoid using stark white, which can make rooms feel sterile and does not highlight features, like large windows and fireplaces. If you're painting to match other surfaces in your home, take advantage of True Value's color-matching service to find the perfect shade.

Step 3. Prepare Rooms
Cover furniture and floors with tarps or drop cloths. With a damp cloth, wash walls with mild detergent and water. Patch holes and wall damage as well as you can with spackling compound. Scrape off flaky areas of old paint using a putty knife. Cover outlets and edges with painter's tape.

Step 4. Prime and Paint
You don't have to apply a coat of primer before you paint, but doing so will make the paint adhere and wear better. Additionally, priming is advisable if your walls are stained or you wish to use light-colored paint over dark walls. With a brush or roller, apply True Value EasyCare® latex primer widthwise in 6-ft. square sections, using a zigzag pattern of overlapping ''W'' strokes. Move from right to left, then left to right, spreading evenly with horizontal strokes. Once dry, pour True Value EasyCare® latex paint into the paint tray and apply using the same technique as priming. If necessary, apply a second coat of paint using the same technique as the first. You don't have to let the paint completely dry between coats, but your results will be better the longer you wait.

Step 5. Clean Up
Thoroughly rinse your roller covers and brushes in water until the solvent runs clear. Store in plastic bags or hang them on nails or hooks to dry. Remove the drop cloths and pull off the painter's tape at a 45-degree angle to avoid removing any fresh paint.

Well done! You've taken an important step toward preparing your home for the open market. Visit your local True Value store to find out what else you can do to stage your home for a successful, timely sale.

For more projects, go to TrueValuePaint.com. >

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