Don’t you just love looking through the real estate listings to see what homes are for sale? I love looking through the slide shows to see how the homes were staged and decorated.
Not every home is perfect I know and every Designer or Stager does it differently but I came across a home and had to comment on it. I saw a staged home and wanted to scream! It’s death by orange! Orange cabinets, orange floor and orange paint throughout? Are you kidding me? This is highly unusual for a staged home that’s supposed to be “neutralized” for sale.
***** I had a photo here but had to remove it because I didn’t have permission from the photographer which is fine. However, since I can’t show you the picture of the room I can still show you a similar color that was chosen. Here it is.
It really appeared to be a beautiful home but I just can’t get past the color. Do I love the color? Well yes, I even had a similar color in my office but there is a difference in color choices when you need to stage.
If I were interested in that home because it’s in a great location and has really nice bones, I would be looking at a hefty dollar to repaint. This is what I refer to as the “Dreaded Orange Kitchen color.
There were other rooms with yet more orange tones. Even the artwork contains the same hues. Having worked in the South Charlotte area for seven years, this is the color that I usually remove from the home and bring in the very desired coastal color palette.
Can you imagine starting your day with such intense color in the kitchen? Yes, this color was echoed throughout the home. There is not one space in the home where there is a neutral. That’s a lot of hue! Also at the end of the day, the sunset hues will be reflecting back into the West end room and guess what hues they are?
Most of the furniture and the woodwork in the home all had the same orange tone. All the same color family. What really disturbs me the most other than the house looking like one big piece of Carmel candy, is that there was a green room on the right that was just so bright! Pretty color but still wondering if these hues belong in a staged home.
Many people struggle with open concept homes and usually choose one color for the entire home such as they did here rather than properly defining the space. You can have color in larger homes but it has to be the RIGHT color. You can have several colors in the home but they have to relate and transition well from room to room.
The role of the Stager is to choose a color palette for the home to bring out its beauty and architectural features not to have the potential homeowners wanting or needing to paint even before they buy the home. That is a huge expense.
I know many years ago when these saturated colors were popular a client had them in her home and loved them, however, it took her over a year to sell the home and it was because of her colors. She didn’t neutralize the home because SHE loved the colors.
Keeping in mind that you HAVE to choose a very specific color palette for staged homes, this is what I would have done.
I know there is a buyer for every home and I know the families that will love this very spicy color scheme which is awesome. It would be boring if all our homes were painted the same or if all staged homes were beige so in a way, it’s refreshing to see this Designer taking a strong stance on color but it was a risky one.
Decorating by Donna • Intuitive Color Expert 
Hi Donna! Im in dire need of color advice. Do you do consultations?
I do! Look at the top of this blog for information 😉
Hi Donna. Just looking back through some of your previous posts today. Had to share. My daughter’s family recently moved to a new house, but because of title problems, they did a rent-back for a couple months. SO … no painting. It’s a late 2000’s build so yes, orange cabinets. They DO have nice door fronts though, but the entire kitchen dining area is painted a gold-ish orange too. At first everyone (them included) went “yuck” but have to tell you, it grew on most all of us and with a little smart accessorizing, looks warm and inviting. They’re leaving it … for a while anyway. Listening to “mom” and living there a bit before bringing out the paint brushes. 🙂
Always enjoy your posts.
There’s nothing wrong with all that orange and gold but it does get warm after a while. I even had too much gold in my home because I love the color. I recently switched to a cool minty green.
Donna, love all the colors you chose above…who makes them?
These colors exist in just about all paint companies. If you want them in Sherwin Williams or Benjamin Moore I can give you a quote for a Virtual Consultation.
These colors exist in just about all paint companies. If you want them in Sherwin Williams or Benjamin Moore I can give you a quote for a Virtual Consultation.
My color palettes can be designed to any main paint company
I thought the same thing immediately when I viewed this staged home here in Seattle. They obviously spent a lot on that full staging so to keep those colors is confusing to me. As a stager I know owners can dig in their heels and refuse to change their colors which happens occasionally but good agents usually step in to help convince them of the financial risk. I fully agree that a pretty coastal palette is much preferable over everything painted out the same shade of beige.
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Really like these colors. Question: when you have a kitchen and family room with open concept, do you paint them one color? If not, where do you divide the color?
Sometimes those spaces need to be one color but sometimes the home is so big that color will help define those spaces. It really depends on the layout. I always like to try to break spaces up with colors that transition LIGHTLY from space to space.
I thought the color sea salt would be pretty in my bathroom and after I painted the walls I don’t like the color. I really want a that want bite me but a color that makes me feel good when I enter the room . Can you help me ??
Sea Salt is a decent color but it teeters between blue, gray and green. Try working with the lighting in your room before giving up on it. If you still don’t like it, try using a more saturated color like Rainwashed, Hazel or Tradewind.
Cindy, does it look too green? I am in the process of buying a house and thought sea salt might be my color choice for the hall bath and one bedroom ;p
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Thanks for tthis
You’re welcome