Wow, this is one amazing color.
To be more accurate, today we are celebrating the color violet! The Pantone® color of the year is Ultra Violet, and that pleases me greatly. It’s just about my favorite shade of purple (as witnessed by my new computer glasses, which are very pretty, but weren’t made right and have to go back for retooling). And according to the Pantone lady, Leatrice Eiseman, it’s another of those things that the world needs now (in addition to caring, kindness, and empathy, which are MY favorites).
“The Pantone Color of the Year has come to mean so much more than ‘what’s trending’ in the world of design; it’s truly a reflection of what’s needed in our world today.” – Laurie Pressman, Vice President of the Pantone Color Institute. (quotes and image are from the Pantone Ultra Violet page)
Can we use it in “real life”?
Here’s a glimpse at Tina’s house. She was ahead of her time in choosing this color.
So, what are we Hermits supposed to do about the color of the year? Paint our houses that color? Perhaps not the ones we plan to sell, but we can include this color in our personal homes where it would fit in. And if it is YOUR house, of course you can paint it purple if the neighborhood allows. Our friend Tina, who worked with us for a while, did! She also has teal trim. Her neighborhood is one of those fun ones, which are many in this area.
Anita and I are seriously considering painting the front door at the Bobcat Lair Ultra Violet. We believe the neighborhood association would not pitch a fit about that (since you can’t really see the door from the road in any of the houses in the North Cat Villas, Land of Many Regulations. I already have a periwinkle colored bathroom. I’m hoping that since this shade of purple is the color of the year, manufacturers will make towels in that color, so I can replace the ones I have with nice purple ones. Most of the ones I see are lilac or some other more reddish purple that don’t go well.
While Lee and I do have a purple guest room in the Hermits’ Rest house, on the ranch, it’s a much more muted collection of purples. I DID find good towels for that room, but I haven’t seen any of the right shade since then. That’s why it’s hard to decorate in colors that aren’t currently “in”—you can paint that color, but finding accessories can be a real pain, unless you have people who can sew your bedspread, curtains, and such, like professional decorators do. I’m not one of those, even if I do know a few seamstresses.
When should we avoid it?
My trendy new glasses are cool. Too bad I can’t see out of them.
My guess is that it’s not a great staging color, unless used as an accent in a very neutral kitchen or bathroom. No doubt Carol will give us an “amen” on that. However, you need to consider the neighborhood, your target buyers, and the style of house when deciding to use a vivid color like Ultra Violet. It might be just the thing for an urban loft or a Victorian dining room. The possibilities are many!
So tell us, do you use Ultra Violet or one of its friends in your personal environment? Wanna share?
Hermann says please like and share!
Absolutely true, Sue Ann! One of the trends I’ve noticed a LOT in my ~20-years in this business, is that people who are in financial trouble who try to sell homes with heavily colored walls tend to have problems. They may have said when they painted the room, “Oh, it’s okay, we’ll just change it back when we go to sell it.” And it always seems they just don’t have the money or time to “change it back”. And maybe they think it’s a really pretty color and feel others will, too. But people who don’t spend much time with buyers don’t hear the feedback. I do. Trust me, buyers think it costs thousands of dollars to repaint a room and often don’t even get that far in their thinking. Usually they just reject the house outright and go on to the next one!
And, dear home owner, let me tell you, it’s a LOT of work to stage, declutter, pack up personal photos and knickknacks, to get a house ready to sell (especially if you really want (or NEED) to get top dollar on your house). If your house has dark blue, violet, orange or red walls, you seriously limit your market of buyers. I always recommend folks buy throw pillows, curtains, or accessories in the trendy colors instead of painting.
Paint colors aren’t just a matter of opinion. Notice that hospitals paint emergency rooms and operating rooms in soft, soothing colors. Can you imagine a more stressful space that could use less stimulus? Loud, bold and heavy colors are proven to actually cause your mood to change. If one already has a lot of stress (and it’s often stressful for buyers when deciding to FINALLY buy a home), why wouldn’t you want to make your home welcoming and soothing for them?
Buyers buy on emotion, and if a color elicits an emotional reaction in your buyer instead of being neutral (white, beiges or pale greys), it takes longer to sell the house. Thanks to the internet, they get to see it before they come out, meaning they often won’t even come out. That $30 can of paint might lose you $3000 or more in the resale. Do the math. That’s 1% on a $300,000 sale. It’s not a minor thing. Trust me, it’s painful when buyer after buyer REJECTS your home. Add up the monthly payments on a home that sits on the market, too. If your monthly payment is $2,000/mo. and it takes 4 months to sell, that’s $8,000 spent on a house you don’t want any longer. And that $8,000 on a $300,000 sale is nearly 3% of the sales price!
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