Not gray!!! Okay that's just my opinion, but I personally don't like gray, it looks dirty when it's clean. Really stick with something more neutral when you're putting in carpet -- your likes really don't matter if you're selling! The buyers likes are what matters if you're only putting the carpet in for resale purposes. You need to appeal to a broader range of buyers and the broadest range of buyers likes beige/tan.

As for pictures on the wall. You have to strike a balance between your white walls looking too sterile and/or them looking too personal. You're right in leaving off all family photos. A few nice paintings or prints will make the house seem more like a home and less sterile like an apartment etc. Just don't go over the top. Also don't worry about a few holes in the walls, you need to be concerned with presentation and putting a few holes to make the house seem warm and inviting is a very very small price to pay.

You might not be a beige/tan person, but you hopefully won't be living there much longer. It's time to stop thinking about it as your home, but as something that needs to appeal to lots of people.

Grey is not the way to go.

When I repainted before selling I did not put anything on the walls. I too disliked the idea of holes in perfect walls. I sold an empty house though.

Please do not go grey carpet. I'd also stress that you do not go too light. Our living room had new white Berber carpet when we purchased a year ago. Let's just say that due to the dog we'll be ripping it out soon and replacing with hardwood. Anything very light will show dirt. That is your problem insofar as showing the house. You donÂt want to clean the rug constantly. I'd recommend you put down those ugly plastic runners. Inform the world it is new carpet, and people will understand why they are down.

Hi Gang,

Thanks for all your input.

xamsx...good idea about the runners. Gives the impression that I care about keeping it clean...which I do.

I guess I'm the only one here who likes grey carpet. I will be going down to the paint/carpet store on Monday...I'll check out the tan/beige.

I tend to like warm colors, so, lacking any other info, I'd pick beige.

But, before you pick your carpet color, look at the other colors in the home. If the exterior is grey or a cool color, a very soft grey carpet might make more sense. Are your interior features like countertops, vanities, tiles, etc. all grey or cool shades? Would tan/beige look good with these items? You certainly don't want to pick a carpet that fights everything else in the house. There are buyers for houses done in grey; don't feel all alone if your house screams for grey not tan.

Although light carpet is harder to live with, it lightens rooms and seems to sell well. I'd go fairly light.

I'd put up some artwork on those fresh walls, but try to keep universally appealing.

I also love grays more than beige/tans but unfortunately it is a minority opinion so for selling I would recommend a beige tone. If your home has cool tones then you can find a cooler beige or vice versa for warm tones.

A few well presented pictures on the wall can go a long way to give a house a warm lived in feel--just stay away from anything that makes too much of a statement such as very bold colors or patterns. It is unbelievable how many buyers get sidetracked by furnishings and decor when viewing a space. Use the small picture hanging hooks when possible and there will be only pin size holes in the walls when they have to be removed which are easily repaired.

Consider a soft sage or light green for your carpet. It goes with many many other color schemes.
When we were selling our house, I faced the same situation as to putting holes in the walls. I used the 3M Command Adhesive hooks to add things to freshly painted walls that would otherwise have looked naked. Example: I used an open-weave small oblong basket with fake greenery to help on one wall. The CommandAdhesive hook was easy to stick into the basket. The key is to use lightweight art and wall decor. You could get innocuous "paintings" from places like Marshalls. With no glass, they don't weigh much.

I'd go with the standard builder's grade beige. When we sold my mother's house,I changed out the carpet to a plush beige and it looked nice and neutral. House sold in a week.

A lot of buyers don't like green or sage carpet (me included) likesdoilies -- the safest carpet choice is beige/tan, it appeals to more buyers than any other color.

I don't like sage/green either.

Pick up some carpet samples and see what looks best. The beige/tan is probably the most nuetral, but like someone else said, grey may match your house better. I know beige wouldn't have worked as well in my house because I had a grey brick fireplace.

Green or sage carpet is back in? Looks like my Grandparent's living room is "in" again (I always felt their carpet was going to be a selling liability).

Hey, nobody said sage was back "in." And I'm really suggesting a lighter shade of sage than what used to be popular. In the right shade, a light green can be a very good neutral.
Check out "silver sage" at Restoration Hardware; depending on lighting and surrounding colors, it can be anything from blue to green to gray. Check out Honeydew Green or Leaf Green at Pottery Barn, or Thistle Green at Neiman Marcus.
Beige is ugly. Just my opinion, of course.

I'm not a big beige fan either, but it's what the greater majority of buyers finds least offensive and more neutral. If you're buying carpet for yourself, do whatever you want in your home, if you're replacing it for buyers, go totally neutral which means beige/tan.

Hi Kids,

Well, my trip to the carpet store will allow me to see samples of all sorts of colors...I hope. I haven't picked out carpeting in several years...yikes...

I'm a winter/spring, so my personal colors are cool. My husband has the same coloring, as do our children. As a result, our home tends to reflect what looks best ON us and what we look best IN. I have no tan or beige in my house. I have soft wall colors that are light to the point of being almost nuteral. eg: one bedroom is soft fern, another is Man on the Moon...a very soft, light, almost not there, yellow. Another room is Lyllaby blue, a very light, soft blue/green. What ever carpet I get will need to be cool in tone. What ever I get, it needs to compliment the house, not fight with it. I hope the store has a good selection and some suggestions for me. All I want is for someone to walk into this house, like what they see enough to make an offer and hand over a big fat check at closing. What ever color carpet gets me to that point will do just fine.

The real kicker to all this is...once I finish with this house in CT, I have to turn around and do it all again to our house on Cape Cod. I look forward to being done with all of it! I need a vacation...

Thanks, Kids.

Sooey

Hi Sooey, i'm going thru the same thing as I hope to be putting my home on the market in the spring. Will be re-painting the same cream as it is now, although I *did* think of changing it to tan.

When I have new carpeting installed i'm going to look for a light taupe~sort of cross between a tan and a grey. I had taupe in my last home and loved it! It doesn't show the dirt(althought that won't be MY concern anymore)but IMO, gives kind of a 'designer' look to the home.

I don't like the idea of gray, but the tan doesn't thrill me either. ;o)

patty_cakes

ex-realtor here- Think about the demographic most likely to purchase your home. If you are downsizing then your buyer will likely be a young family upsizing. They will have "Pottery Barn" tastes and look for a "sisal" kind of look. If they are most likely to be first time homebuyers, then the cheaper the better. If they are empty nesters, then a nice, neutral easy to clean plush would appeal.

Hi p_c,

Taupe...that's not bad. I'll check it out. I also need to pay attention to price. I'll be honest about this...$$$ will be an important part in this decision. In the end, we can forget all about laboring over the color...we should be talking price! I don't need the perfect color...ok color will do. Bottom line!

Are we having fun yet?

Sooey