To sell. Help? WWYD?

[auroraloo]

Hi. I've lurked forever and posted occasionally. We are building a new home, and so of course getting our current home ready to sell. This wall is in our basement, and someone suggested to me that we paint it white, since shiplap is "all the rage" right now. 

I've not hopped on the shiplap train, so it never occurred to me. I kind of always liked the warm wood tone. Plus, all the cabinetry and bookshelves around it are black. 

Thoughts? We are still several months out from listing, so plenty of time if necessary. 




(We are getting the carpets cleaned tomorrow, so please excuse the pile of crap that is usually a pile of crap on the floor)

[mrs.jacinthe]

IME, it depends on your goals for the house sale. If you're going for the best possible price (versus the fastest possible sale), I'd probably paint it. Do it right, with shellac primer first to seal the knots.

[OG Jo]

I, personally, would leave it. Shiplap is a trend that not everyone is aware of, and it would be a lot easier for a new buyer to paint it white than to take it from white back to natural wood if that's what they wanted.

[momin2013]

I'd leave it as is. Particularly because it's the basement, I don't think you'd really get enough return out of the time you'd invest in doing it to make it worthwhile. Plus, like PP mentioned, it would be a pain to get it back to natural wood if that's what a potential buyer preferred.

I'm sure you know this, but it's much more important to declutter as much as humanly possible.

[dr.girlfriend]

How "finished" is the basement otherwise? If it's clearly a living space, like a whole living room down there, I would paint it, just because it makes it look 100% bigger. BUT, like others said, it's a HUGE time commitment to do it right with shellac primer so I wouldn't necessarily take it on as a project unless you were sure it would increase value. I had traditional up-and-down paneling but here's the before and after -- we also put in hardwood and recessed lighting, but the room itself looks amazingly larger. We used Benjamin Moore Sand Dollar.

Before:



After:

[auroraloo]

Jul 13, 2017 9:28:36 GMT -5 momin2013 said:

I'd leave it as is. Particularly because it's the basement, I don't think you'd really get enough return out of the time you'd invest in doing it to make it worthwhile. Plus, like PP mentioned, it would be a pain to get it back to natural wood if that's what a potential buyer preferred.

I'm sure you know this, but it's much more important to declutter as much as humanly possible.

Oh yeah. The basement is almost empty. Just a couch and the bookshelves. 

[auroraloo]

Jul 13, 2017 10:15:48 GMT -5 artichokie said:

Can you share a picture of what the rest of the walls/room look like? 

this is super old, but these are the walls. 


eta: OMG, nope. that was like, move in day. One sec. The carpet guy just left so I snapped some pics. 

[auroraloo]

[hbomdiggity]

I would paint. Some may think its shiplap but I would say the majority of the buyer pool would prefer it painted (esp in the basement to help lighten it up) than natural.

ETA: I see you added pictures of the rest of the room. I may change my mind - while I still say most would prefer it painted, I was expecting much more of the paneling. 

[auroraloo]

Jul 13, 2017 11:39:59 GMT -5 dr.girlfriend said:

How "finished" is the basement otherwise? If it's clearly a living space, like a whole living room down there, I would paint it, just because it makes it look 100% bigger. BUT, like others said, it's a HUGE time commitment to do it right with shellac primer so I wouldn't necessarily take it on as a project unless you were sure it would increase value. I had traditional up-and-down paneling but here's the before and after -- we also put in hardwood and recessed lighting, but the room itself looks amazingly larger. We used Benjamin Moore Sand Dollar.

Before:

It is 100% finished. It's this living space, a 3/4 bath, and guest room. 

Thanks all for your help. I am ready to be done with this house As much as I love it, I'm ready for a new house with fewer projects.

[lavender444]

I would paint it. But its a nice space, so I don't think you can go wrong either way.

[simpsongal]

I'd paint it, I think most buyers would prefer it and it will make the space seem lighter/bigger.

[Deleted]

I know I'm in the minority here, but I'd leave it. My husband and I both like the look off the natural wood grain, and are sad that previous owners painted the wood in our house.

[TBM]

It's a hard call.
I don't think the wood is a bad color, and I would probably want it left as is, but the current wall colors, the carpet color and the wood altogether are a bit drab to me and somehow seem kind of dated.

I think changing the wall color (to something not so tan/brown matchy to the carpet and wood) would make the room seem more fresh and updated, and would be much easier than shellac-ing and painting the wood.

[dr.girlfriend]

Meh, if it's only in that one small spot I don't think it'll make or break anything, so it's not worth the hassle.

[thatgirl2478]

Jul 13, 2017 17:54:15 GMT -5 dr.girlfriend said:

Meh, if it's only in that one small spot I don't think it'll make or break anything, so it's not worth the hassle.

This is where I'm at.  It's not like THE WHOLE basement, it should be fine. You never know what a buyer will like, and they can always paint too.
Save

[andwhat]

I love that the split is exactly 50:50. To me that means you can't go wrong either way.

[OG Jo]

Jul 14, 2017 7:06:50 GMT -5 andwhat said:

I love that the split is exactly 50:50. To me that means you can't go wrong either way.

That means that the less work option should definitely win!

[auroraloo]

Jul 14, 2017 7:06:50 GMT -5 andwhat said:

I love that the split is exactly 50:50. To me that means you can't go wrong either way.

There's no wrong answer! I win. 

Thanks everyone, i think I'll leave it. 'Cause I'm lazy. 

[lilac05]

I think it would look really nice painted, but whether or not I'd do it pre-sale would depend on how many other things we had to do.

I think your area of the country has an impact on this, too. In coastal CA, I'd definitely paint it. In the Northwoods of WI, I'd leave it as-is. Ask your realtor for advice on what might be best in your area.

[Susie]

I'm in the "leave it" camp, mostly because it's a small enough space that I don't think it is worth the effort to paint, the impact just wouldn't be that great. As a secondary reason, you can't be SURE that the buyers would prefer it painted. If you're going to paint anything, I like TBM's suggestion to repaint the tan walls.

[penguingrrl]

Leave it. While I don't care for the color of the wood, it's a small amount of space and having it like that versus painted wouldn't change if or how much I'm willing to offer for the house.. it's too small a detail to factor into a home purchase IMO.