This One Paint Job Could Make Your House Sell for $1,400 More

An unconventional kitchen color is making a comeback.

paint

iStock/TinaFields.

If you’re thinking of putting your house up for sale (or if it’s been sitting on the market for a hot minute), maybe it’s time to hire a painting crew. A recent study by Zillow Digs goes against pretty much all realtors’ advice ever, revealing that painting your kitchen an unconventional color could actually make it sell for a whole lot more — but not just any color.

Ready for a curveball ? After looking through 50,000 sold homes around the country, Zillow Digs found that houses with yellow kitchens sell for nearly $1,400 more than homes with traditional white kitchens. Who knew a sun-soaked kitchen could make buyers dig that much deeper into their pockets?

Want to test out the study without committing to a paint job across the whole kitchen? Try adding yellow as a pop of color to a small area of the most important room in the house, like painting the base of the breakfast bar or adding new sunny subway tiles as your backsplash (although a coat of paint on the wall or inside a few cabinets might cost less in the end).

The study also found that mauve in the dining room, dove gray in the living room, and sage green in the bedroom can also positively impact how much homes are sold for. Huh.

Realtors, don’t get in a tizzy just yet. The study revealed that some paint colors deter buyers and could actually make your house sell for less — but they’re not the colors you’d think. Off-white kitchens will kill potential buyers’ vibes, as well as dark gray in the dining room and terracotta in the living room, the study found.

Next time you’re thinking about repainting your walls before a big move, make sure to consult this list first!