Saturday, May 14, 2011

Purple Dining Rooms Look Good To Me

I’m frustrated because I have a bunch of people who’d love to buy this place but they can’t because they have to sell their place first and it’s slow-going. The only one who was not encumbered by having to sell a house couldn’t get a mortgage because of the agricultural zoning and “the income producing nature of the property.” Meaning she could give riding lessons. Oh no, can’t have that. Can’t have someone making a few bucks to help out with the mortgage.

My place is in pristine condition. It has never looked better. Those words came right out of Pearl’s mouth. That’s because we don’t stop working on it. Every time we fix or clean something, we look around for another bug on a windowsill or cobweb to sweep. Short of tearing the whole thing down and starting fresh, there’s nothing more that we can do.

My friend, the real estate agent, suggested that I repaint it in neutral colors. I know. I watch all those shows too. Designed to Sell, The Unsellables, and Get It Sold.

This was on AOL Real Estate this morning:

“It's not that unique features aren't fabulous, it's just that leaving too big a personal imprint--the koi pond filled with rescued sea turtles--can be an impediment in this buyers-rule market. It doesn't matter whether you're a celebrity or Joe Normal trying to sell your tract house: Experts say this is no time for purple dining-room walls and computerized toilet seats.”

I disagree. Unless you don’t know how to decorate.

Here is the living room in my house in Jackson.
Not quite red. More like Snooki self-tanning orange. (I call credit if Sherwin Williams comes out with that color.)

I sold that place in one month for close to the full asking price.

Here is one of the bathrooms in my house in Oklahoma.
In my defense, I didn’t have a lot to work with—unless you’re going modern, there’s not a lot you can do with grey fixtures.

I sold that place in two weeks for the full asking price to a cash buyer with no contingencies, no appraisal, no inspections, nothing, and could have had a bidding war if I didn’t already shake hands with the guy. It was the second highest priced property on the market in the county in a depressed area. Not bad for a FSBO.

Here is my purple dining room they advised against in the above article.
It’s purple. Not plum. Not lavender. True purple. Country Living magazine wanted to do a spread on that place but I sold it before they had a chance to. That one took a little longer. About two months. Granted, I didn’t get near the asking price but I had other issues going on there. It was next door to the Evils’. I couldn’t wait around. But I was happy. I bought it for $195,000 in 2004 and sold it for $365,000 in 2008.

So, no. I’m not painting the office in this house.


I admit it’s not going to appeal to the largest common denominator. (I sold the one with the purple dining room to a witch. No kidding. Serves the Evils right.)

But I think it’s fair to say my red office is not ugly. And if someone thinks it is and they don’t have the smarts to know they can pick up a couple of gallons of off-white for fifty bucks, then they don’t have the smarts to know that this house is a phenomenal deal and they’ll probably drive me crazy nit-picking uneven floor boards and dead bugs on windowsills.

I see a red door and I want it painted black
No colors anymore I want them to turn black
I see the girls walk by dressed in their summer clothes
I have to turn my head until my darkness goes
—Rolling Stones

Update: Since writing this, I have received two offers on the house.

20 comments:

Peggy said...

I like the purple dining room! Beautiful shade. I'd love to see all the furniture in that room painted high gloss white. :)

How was the feng shui in the red office? I keep reading that I should add some red to my home. Planning a post about that.

I've watched those shows, they usually get on my nerves since there is no possibility I'll be a homeowner any time soon. But I know what they are saying, people have a hard time seeing their own stuff in a place when there's too much stuff around. Really the color in a home is not so much a distraction as clutter. Much better to keep clutter to a minimum and let the buyer decide what color they want.

Christina said...

Paint is easy to change anyway. I have read and heard some of the advice the "pros" give. PFFFTT! Not so much.

I like your house.

Gail said...

I like all your rooms. I would say you know what you are doing.

Thanks for stopping by to visit, I could not reply to your comment.

Greener Pastures--A City Girl Goes Country said...

Peggy, I made a mistake with that purple dining room picture. I just put another one up that you might like better. It's got white pumpkins in it. And since then, I've painted those chairs glossy black. That whole color scheme started because of the antique coffee urn that's on the sideboard. Don't know if you can see it. Try clicking on it to make it bigger but it's purple with lemon stripes. Reminds me of a circus. I want to do something with the lemon when I get to my new house.

Not sure about the feng shui in my office. I face windows and a beautiful view of horses in a pasture but Kurt's back is to you. I do all my writing in it though and it flows!

Thanks Christina and Gail!

Motley said...

I'm down with the Stones - Paint everything BLACK! - hahaha

Tammy Vasa said...

Your home is gorgeous.

Offers? Offers? Holding my breath. Is the other house still available in Jersey?

Grey Horse Matters said...

I love a house with color. And your purple dining room was great and so is your office. And by the way my kitchen is red.It's hard to live in a blah house. My house has lots of different colors and everyone who comes in loves the flow of the the rooms and the different strong colors. I know it sounds bad but it's really not. Good luck with the people who are interested.

Anonymous said...

I love the colors!!! the brighter the better!!! and u truly have a talent for decorating-dont listen to anyone else. now..whats the story about the evils and a witch? im crackin up..its like a disney cartoon...hehe

Greener Pastures--A City Girl Goes Country said...

Anonymous, it was no Disney cartoon. It was more like a horror movie! lol That was when I lived in a town called Ferrum, about five years ago. We lived in a really cool old house but next door to people commonly referred to as "the Evils." Long story short, they attacked us for two years. Their attacks included vandalism, robberies, assault, stalking, the killing of my dogs.... Someday I am going to write about it. I keep trying because all my blog readers are dying to know the story and I'm dying to get it off my chest, but I can't get it out now. I have writer's block about it. I actually think I have post traumatic stress syndrome. I'll get to it one day.

The witch is actually a very nice person who practices the Wiccan religion. She bought that place from me. She is a strong woman who has given the Evils a run for their money--they have not been able to attack her like they attacked me. I hated leaving that house because I loved it, but I always felt like she was meant to be there and I was right.

Grey Horse, I bet it looks great!

Thanks for the compliments everyone. Yes, I got two offers--one is a little better and we're going to take it. Too paranoid to jinx myself and talk about it too much now.

Grey Horse Matters said...

Fingers and toes crossed for you with the offers. No whammies!

Sloan said...

I love the colors you picked! Those people who say to paint it neutral don't know how to decorate! You keep selling the house. You're obviously doing something right! Come over and do my house next.

Ms. Shypoke said...

I like those colors too:).. I do sortof think that neutral is best "over all".. but a few sparks of color can definitely be welcome. I did have a neighbor once who said her house would resale for "so much more than others in the neighborhood" because of her decorating.. but she had "ducks in a rowed" (decorating shop) that place to death.. all wallpaper with coordinated window treatments. etc.. you would REALLy have had to had her exact taste in decorating to like it.. and good luck hoping your furniture would match..haha

Cynda said...

That doesn't make any sense the mortgage co. wouldn't give them a mortgage because they could make money giving horseback riding lessons! Its like you're getting penalized for your house being too good! Your house looks better than ever and I love your colors! You should be on one of them decorating shows!! What's this about the offers?

Leonora said...

Looks good to me too! Color is one of the easiest things for a buyer to change if they want. A realtor told some friends of ours that they needed to install granite countertops to make their house more sale-able. They went ahead and did it! At quite a cost.

Greener Pastures--A City Girl Goes Country said...

Leonora, a realtor friend of mine told me to put pavers in the driveway. First of all, my driveway is a city block long. Second of all, it's newly paved and this is a FARM. People feel lucky when they find a driveway around here with gravel instead of dirt. Blacktop is like hitting pay dirt, no pun intended!

Well, briefly, because I'll probably write about it and also because I'm afraid to jinx the deal, but I got two offers. Both were close to asking price. One of them was a little better regarding the terms so we're going to take that one. However, we're still waiting for the earnest money deposit so I'm keeping my options open until I have money in hand and a contract written. Keeping my fingers crossed.

Thanks everyone for all your nice comments. Looking forward to doing more crazy colors in my new place!

Sweetflutterbys3 said...

Awesome colors! Leave them cause they are so inviting. I dislike white walls and love seeing colors to see the potential in any home I buy. And already painted, yeah! The less I have to do, the better.

Horses Are Our Lives said...

I love that red...not just bright red but an earth tone red.

The purple suits that room!

yes, go with your gut feeling. I think more people need to do what they "feel" they need to do!

Hope things go better for you!

CountryDew said...

I think it's all good. Wishing you success.

Gilly said...

Oh I do hope you sell your place soon. Its so demoralising having to hang about waiting on people who don't know their own minds anyway!!

And I love the red office!

Beth said...

So happy to hear about the offers, Debi...I do hope one of them works out. It would certainly be easier to move to the winery in warm weather, right?

I think your house is utterly charming. And, obviously, with all the interest you've had in it, other people must think so, too.