Trying to sell your home? This designer says a splash of colour could make a difference

With buyers still standing on the sidelines of the Toronto real-estate market and several properties sitting in the market, it is the details that could make a difference between selling a home or not. 

As the usually busy fall market approaches, sales have remained low in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). According to the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB), sales have dipped by 2.1 per cent in August compared to last year at this time, while average selling prices have fallen below $1 million for the second time this year, after remaining above it for about five years. 

These numbers reflect a slower real-estate market trend over the past year, with sales and prices constantly dipping over the last months. 

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In a more difficult market where buyers appear to remain cautious, there are details that could make the difference between a property selling or sitting in the market. One of these details is how a property is presented, including its exterior and interior designs. 

Now Toronto spoke with Red Barrinuevo, the principal designer and decorator of Red Barrinuevo Home, about how incorporating colour into a property can make a difference in the current market. 

What is the importance of colour for selling? 

When thinking about what makes a property attractive, the property’s size, price, and amenities are common features that come to mind. But as explained by Barrinuevo, the design and colour of the home might help make the home feel more inviting to prospective buyers and encourage them to picture themselves living in it. 

Making the home look inviting can also help improve the promotional photos of the home, which are used in online listings. These photos are also an important part of what could drive buyers to actually consider that property. 

“Buying a property… is very emotional, right? It’s like an achievement, you aspire to have something beautiful, and everybody loves beautiful stuff, right? So when you see something like that, you get motivated,” Barrinuevo said. 

“[Photos are] the first thing that the buyers are seeing when they check it on their phone or online, right? Those photos are what drives them to the front door to actually see the property,” he added. 

Neutral colours are not always the best pick

Who doesn’t remember the minimalistic home styles with few furniture pieces and neutral grays or white colour that was everywhere 10 or 15 years ago? 

As mentioned by Barrinuevo, although this neutral style was very popular then, sticking to these colours might no longer be the best decision for every home, and will definitely not help your property stand out. 

“Everybody’s using it, right? So now, you’re not different anymore because everybody’s using beige and grays and off whites and browns; one house after the other is the same… It works to your disadvantage if you don’t put a little splash of colour,” he said. “It gives it little personality.” 

However, that doesn’t mean sellers should go crazy and incorporate intense hues and unexpected combinations. In fact, the expert says adding extremely bright or different colours or combinations that don’t usually fit together can be distracting to buyers and have the opposite effect: making the home less attractive. 

Barrinuevo mostly recommends staying away from neon or very bright colours, instead choosing warmer or softer shades. 

“Bright pinks, the neons and bright reds, those are just too overwhelming sometimes. If you want to go with pinks, then go with more pastel, softer shades of it. Or if you want to go [with] red, maybe go deeper, like almost burgundies or like wine-ish red, but not the birthday party, kids party’s red and yellow and blues,” he warned. 

Staging a home is different from renovating for yourself

Coming home to a well-decorated home that fits into your personality or expressing yourself through your home’s design can be very satisfying. However, when preparing a home to sell, sellers should keep in mind that their personal tastes don’t necessarily match what prospective buyers are looking for. 

Barrinuevo said that when helping homeowners design their own homes, he recommends they dive into their personal styles and rely on their favourite colours to create the most inviting results. 

But when it comes to staging properties, it’s important to consider current trending movements, the location of the home, and even what specific prospective buyers might be looking for. 

“Although you have to add a little bit of personality through colour, you have to consider the colours that everybody will like… because the goal is [for] everybody to fall in love with that property,” he said. 

“It’s supposed to elevate the space, and it’s supposed to speak to the location and design of the property. That’s how you can effectively use it.” 

For instance, Barrinuevo said that properties located in the waterfront might benefit from colours that contrast the blue of the lake, such as browns or wood-like shades. 

On the other hand, a luxury home in the downtown core tends to attract more buyers when it is covered in sophisticated hues, including burgundies or deep golds and dark greens. 

In addition to colour, the expert said including other elements throughout the home that bring pops of colour or personality, such as artworks, textured pieces, or rugs can also help to elevate the space. 

“It looks like a shot from a magazine, which is very attractive to buyers because sometimes you imagine, ‘Oh my God, this is going to be mine, and I’m going to live here.’ It might not necessarily be like that when they move in, but at least they’ve seen the potential and they’ve seen that they can do [with] that,” he explained.

How to stage on a budget 

Although staging a home with colour or different elements can help sell it, it can also become expensive. However, Barrinuevo says there are cheaper strategies sellers can use to make their properties look more appealing. 

Firstly, the expert says decluttering the property before photographing it or showing it to buyers can help make it look more organized and inviting. 

“Most of the time we accumulate so much stuff that you don’t even realize, right? Especially for homeowners who’ve been there for 20 years, 25 years,” he said. 

“I always advise them to go back to basics. Anything that you don’t need or anything unnecessary, get rid of it.” 

Another recommendation Barrinuevo usually gives buyers is to best arrange their existing furniture. Although homeowners can grow used to how their home is arranged, that doesn’t necessarily mean the arrangement is the most functional for all buyers. 

“Even if you have the best and the most beautiful furniture, the most expensive, if you’re blocking the traffic, or if it’s not put together properly with the right layout and how people will function and will move every day, then that’s going to be a problem,” he said. 

Smaller elements such as adding curtains or hanging them a bit higher can also make a big difference in the look of a room. 

Fall colours to watch out for

With the fall market right around the corner, incorporating popular colours that reflect today’s market might be a big help to sell. 

For sellers that are now looking to stage their homes, Barrinuevo explained that over the last year, buyers seem to be looking for a more relaxing feel to their properties, including more earthy tones. 

“These colours give comfort… It’s not like the hotel feel or something like a showroom that you can’t even touch,” he said. 

“I think we are gravitating more and more [toward] relaxed colours like terracotta. I see a lot of greens, sage greens, and burgundies, and I see off whites are still there because it’s going to be a staple.”