how much do paint choices and fixtures (lighting, sink, bath) matter to buyers? (near NoVA)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ok- Just my opinion:

Brass aka gold-colored fixtures are awful and horribly dated. We bought a house and have been systematically removing all the brass from the early 90s, replacing doorknobs, light plates, shower and tub pieces, and light fixtures. Pretty sure the "gold" look was a huge turn off to most people who looked at the house. We have replaced at least 8 light fixtures which is NBD to us, but for most people an electrician would probably charge them a TON. Our neighbors seemed confused that we could do it ourselves. lol.

I think white walls are a huge turnoff as well.

I think a nice neutral wood cabinet will look a lot nicer and appeal to more buyers than white cabinets.

A small percent of buyers can look past the cosmetics, the majority will not.

I think this person maybe hasn't been in a house designed in the last 10 years?

"brass aka gold-colored fixtures" are indeed awful and horribly dated. OP is talking about the current brass/bronze trend that is very popular. Less 80s and more Hollywood regency glam.

Most people may not ultimately want white walls in their home, but a well chosen designer white (not builders grade white) will be very good for resale. As will a light (light!) grey or greige. This colors are neutral and allow people to envision their own finishings. They also make the house seem bigger, brighter and cleaner (assuming they are well maintained). 90% of home buyers will also want to paint no matter what, and will recognize that it is much easier to paint white walls compared to if the sellers had painted everything darker.

A nice neutral wood cabinet appeals to a good percentage of buyers, but a white cabinet will, in today's market appeal to more buyers. White is considered a very safe cabinet choice right now. Woods are starting to turn a lot more people off. Yes, some people are turned off by white. But less are turned off by white than by wood. Choose white for resale purposes.

I'm this PP. One more thing about the brass. I happen to love it. But I will note that a large percent of the buyers out there will not understand the difference between the current glam brass trend and the 1980s version (the PP being the perfect example). In two years, more people will probably "get it" but it's still open to debate. Just by way of example, my husband and I have designed two kitchens in the last 3 years (don't ask - multiple work transfers) and both times I proposed the brass look and my husband, both times, was adamant against it. He can't get past the 80s thing and doesn't get it. Of course, in 2004 I tried to get him to embrace a vintage 1970s glass/chrome side table I had "inherited" (my mom got it at a garage sale and let me take it after college), and my husband put his foot down back then because "chrome and glass was so 1970s". I thought it was a cool table at the time, and within 5 years, the world had fully been taken over by the glass chrome trend. My husband is just a late adopter and not good with "vision". But lots of your buyers will be the same! So long story short, I'd stick with chrome or wrought iron (if you're in a historic home) if you're selling soon.