I wouldn't stencil. I think most buyers will look at it and assume they will have to repaint. It's a nice bathroom as is. Maybe hang some towels in a light blue color?

Good point sjhockeyfan. And blue towels would probably be better than blue walls. I don't know if I'm relieved to hear that or not; I'm not looking forward to painting over the shower and cabinet again. lol

Actually, I like the grey-blue, so I wouldn't necessarily repaint!

I don't think you have to connect the bedroom and the bath, necessarily. The blue in the bath looks better (at least in the picture). And since it is a light blue, it is not a sharp contrast with the antique white in the bedroom. Maybe use antique white towels!

When my grandmother had to sell quickly, we painted everything antique white, except the bedrooms were painted blue (to go with the carpeting) and kitchen yellow. It sold really fast...I hope your house does, too. Have you started looking in town, yet? Let us know...love to see house ideas :)

I stenciled in my kitchen, and love it, but it was just for me.

Bathrooms don't need to match anything else. My bathrooms are dark browns and greens, which I don't have anywhere else in the house.

Not every room needs to be the same. You can leave a bathroom blue. You can leave some color on a bedroom wall, though I would not recommend a dark color.

Don't stencil.

And personally, I think a darker beige then the antique white is nice. Not every wall needs to be so white.

Don't paint; don't stencil.

Agree. It looks nice as is. Pick some nice towels and pretty accessories and call it a day.

Ok, it's back to the gray blue color. I liked it in the bathroom, especially the way it looks with the counter and the wood. It's the pictures I have that don't look great with it, and it dawned on me while I was painting that I could always repaint the mats on those pictures and they'll probably look fine with it.

{{!gwi}}

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LL, I haven't looked at any actual houses yet but I've been looking online. So far, I haven't seen anything I like in the areas we would like. Told Mil the other day that I'd like to move to a town about 15 miles away but it would be harder to get over to see her and she said she'd move there too. I'm not as familiar with neighborhoods there, but haven't seen anything yet. We need to sell our home and buy two smaller homes, yet in a nice neighborhood. Not easy.

I agree. It is nice as it is. Don't stencil. Keep it simple and clean.

Before we put our house on the market I took off all of the wallpaper (awful job!!) and painted all of the walls the same color. I read every tip online and applied their advice the best I could. The first couple made an offer and couldn't get the bank to finance that amount. The second couple we showed are living there right now. I really think the experts know what they are talking about.

That's why I thought I should paint every room the same color Faux68. That is what I read most. But this house had wallpaper in the kitchen, baths, and foyer when we moved in. We took it all down. I would like to do something in the foyer, but haven't decided what yet.

Marti8a, maybe it is just my computer but the paint looks the same in all of the pictures . . . if it is as close as it seems then I think you can leave it instead of painting.

Seriously, wasn't it awful getting all of that wallpaper off?? I used a "recipe" from a contractor that takes off wallpaper and it came off in tiny pieces. I also used a steamer. There was one wall in the whole house that came off easily. UGH! I just had to vent a little. I will never have wallpaper in my house again even though I see some beautiful wallpaper out there.

All different shades, although all in the first 2 tiers of their color chips. The Antique White and Glazed Pears were close, but the Antique White has a gray tone and the Glazed Pears a yellow tone.

Yes, I'll never have wallpaper again either. I'll faux a wall or stencil, but never again will I have wallpaper. Whoever put ours up didn't use sizing or primer and it took off hunks of sheetrock paper. What a mess.

It seems (to me) that the depth of color is what matters. Because they are in the first two tiers I think you are ok . . . that said, I really felt that it was important to make sure I did everything right because we wouldn't get a second chance. If the paint, for example, bothered a buyer we wouldn't get a chance to re-do it. They will not be back. So, I tried to do everything. So, I think honestly I guess my advice to you above isn't what I really would do.

Another big big big thing is to make sure everything from the front curb to the back of the property is clean and clutter free. Rake the leaves, wind up the hoses, put every single thing away. No one would buy a dirty shirt and no one will buy a dirty house. Try to make it look like no one lives there so they can imagine themselves there. Think details: make sure your clothes and towels are folded neatly, make sure your bedding looks great without stains or holes, get the dirty rag and drier rack out of the sink--just go beyond normal and make sure it is clean, stain free, organized, and smooth. When there is a showing bring your dirty laundry and dog dish with you (some people will check off a house simply because of pets). Your house looks clutter free--if it isn't pack what you don't need in you everyday life and store it somewhere. You are moving anyway so get ahead of that whole process (not a fun thing either!!)

And, the funny thing, both you and I bought houses with wallpaper!! When I prepared our house for sale I often questioned myself about why I bought a house that experts seem to agree is hard to sell.

Well, I did buy my house 18 years ago, when wallpaper wasn't being done, but was still in homes.

Before this house, my dh painted all walls in our houses white. That was just his personal preference even though he was in the paint business and saw lots of color going on walls. It took me years to break through his color reserve and he's still not color crazy.

My house is not clean or clutter free at the moment. Disasters, even small ones, tend to turn every room into a chaotic mess.

But we sold our last home in 10 days, so I'm not worried about how to declutter or keep it clean so it shows well. What I am more than a little worried about is presentation. So many people watch all the buy it sell it shows on cable tv and they want what they see there.

I can rip out walls and put up new ones and love the way it turns out. But I can't put furniture and pictures in a room and have it look any better than a photo on craigslist taken at a storage locker.

Dh could care less, it looks the same to him arranged well or arranged badly. But I can see that it doesn't look right when I do it and that frustrates me.

I think your paint looks very nice.

One thing to consider. We recently moved, and painted all walls, and removed all art from the walls and patched all of the holes

When staging, lean a few pictures, but don't hang many (we didn't rehang ANY).

Fresh paint is an asset. Fresh paint with holes to patch if the new owner wants different size art is work.

One good thing about fresh paint is that the holes are easy to fill and touch up.

When we sold our house a couple years ago, we painted and decorated everything, and since we happened to be professional decorators, it turned out very nice. We also hired a designer (friend) to give us some extra advice. We had lots of stenciling done in our house, painted ceilings and used designer furniture. We basically 'staged' entire house, making it look like something you'll see on HGTV, cozy, inviting and classy, then professionally photographed it and created slideshow on Flickr. We placed the link to that slideshow in our listings. (We did a free listing, which was a great thing!) Our idea was that a prospective buyer will fall in love with the pics before they even see the place. It totally, completely worked! In fact, there were a few people instantly interested, and the house sold in 2 weeks above asking price with all the furniture. The truth is, most people don't have the decorating vision and like to buy what the see. White walls are not attractive or inspiring to most, and definitely not cozy. So if it looks good, they will be thrilled. Tastefully done place is very attractive to buyers.
So yes, while painting everything white is definitely one way to go, it will not give your home any character or advantage over other homes on the market.
I would say: definitely stencil, paint, decorate and especially stage to the best of your abilities! it's fun, and you'll be proud showing off your house to buyers. use Pinterest, Houzz and designer magazines as your guide, and avoid crazy intense colors. And here's a great source for inexpensive stencils: Cutting Edge Stencils, just in case you go the stenciling route!
Best of lick with your house!

Here is a link that might be useful: Cutting Edge Stencils

The post above reads like an ad.

Malbaec, my walls are a smooth version of knockdown (not the typical knockdown) can I stencil? I have read that I can but I am apprehensive.

Not to necessarily endorse malaec's post (though I've heard good things about Cutting Edge Stencils) but I could see the logic in staging a home. If homes sold more when they were empty and devoid of personality, then model homes would be presented like that. It makes sense that staging a home would help sell a home.

Staging homes is even done as business! I know a couple people who do just that: stage homes for sale. Lots of people like to buy "turn key". Also, rooms always look bigger WITH furniture, not without it. Any designer will tell you that.
To Faux68: yes you can stencil on knock down, but you might get some paint bleed, depends on your texture.

I have stencils in my master bath and in a small powder room. In both rooms the stenciling is very subtle and random. I love the fact that you have to actually look around the room to find them.
This is not the greatest picture but you should be able to see three of the stencils in this shot
{{!gwi}}