Just go and find a SW color that matches Cool Platinum. Look through their color charts to find a match. They're mostly custom mixed anyway (although Agreeable Gray and Accessible Beige are probably premixed in 50 gallon drums since everybody and his brother is using them).

The question is: Why are you spending any money at all on this (unless it's in bad shape). You may end up putting in carpet that a new owner would just hate. Or a paint color. Then each of you is out thousands for a paint job.

I agree with Tatts. I would not paint or get carpet. If I was buying I would be changing it.....and offering a lower price because of it.

SW Agreeable Gray walls and Behr Bright White high gloss trim. A fresh coat of paint makes everything look cleaner and more inviting. You don't want to scare a buyer away because it needs just a fresh coat of paint. Good luck with the sale.

A fresh coat of light neutral paint will make a difference. When we bought our home 3 years ago, the buyer had recently painted everything in light neutral colors. The colors weren't something we would have chosen, but we were thrilled not to have to paint. Because the walls were neutral, they worked. I've grown to like the colors.

With most people choosing wood floors, I might give a flooring allowance instead of installing new carpet.

Yep fresh and almost white paint. If the carpet is nasty, replace with something economical, otherwise clean it and be done. Also the neutral colors the realtor suggests would be fine too, but its trending lighter these days.

You don't want it to be too sterile. And I would not paint to sell because it typically just adds a kickback to the realtor from the painter...every home is a canvas and if you just want to sell it and if it is in a high demand area you don't need to do favors for the new owners, they will buy it regardless and your parents get it sold sooner! Take the pics down shampoo the carpets, hire a cleaning crew to wash the walls, touch up the paint and Sold. Or show it staged,(that can be a great option) with basic to sparse furnishings in it and art where it hangs. New owners know what paint they like. You want their money, you don't have to be Santa Claus. Homes sell where is as is with cookies fresh out of the oven every day! I doubt there is much wear on the home that shampooed rugs in traffic areas and nice scent won't fix. The percentage of floor covering and all new paint to the realtor is just part of business. If there is an obvious issue in a room, paint one wall to match the other 3? Painters know how to blend tones. Just get it sold before winter slump sets in and clean, stage and sell is the best way. You only paint etc, if the home is in a low demand area or extremely dated inside...and than one does rarely get their money out, they just get out of the mortgage hopefully. Good luck with the Sale process!

Thanks for the feedback. The house is more than 20 yrs old and has the original paint and carpet. It definitely shows some wear, and evidence of past water damage from leaky windows that have been fixed. I think it will sell quicker and for more money if we freshen it up. It is in a beach community, so we are waiting until early spring to put it on the market. It will take us that long to empty the house. My parents have been married 67 years and there is a lot of stuff my sister and I need to go through.

Yes, new paint is worth while in most markets for most houses. Have the tile floors professionally cleaned before you finalize paint color. It may be a lot lighter and a lot less gray than it looks now. It's the floor tile and the kitchen cabinets with which you need to coordinate paint colors. I'd recommend an off white paint and a low-middle price range carpet. With pickled oak cabinets from the 1990's, the buyers may want to remodel the kitchen sooner or later. Agreeable Gray and Accessible Beige are quite dark. You don't want to scare off buyers who know they'll have to hire painters with scaffolding to repaint the two story rooms.

Take your time emptying the house, a spring listing sounds just about right. It's a lot of work but so much easier to do before putting the house on the market. A new coat of paint and new carpet will make it shine for the next family.

Consider accessible beige cut 50% with plain white paint.

Sparkling clean and move-in ready are what appeals to most buyers. Some may be looking for projects, but not most.

If your real estate agent has many years of experience and specializes as a selling agent in that neighborhood, I would definitely consider all of their recommendations. And if you have a question, like "isn't this color too dark?" feel free to discuss it and ask for other options. If you're not comfortable doing that, or they take offense somehow, then they are probably not the right agent for you.

Get the drapes cleaned, too, or replace with inexpensive neutral linen-look if they're not in good shape. It's amazing how those can hold on to odors and dust. And take away the tie backs. Push the drapes all the way open and let them hang straight down to let the most light in and make the windows look as large as possible.

Best of luck to you! :-)

If you would like comments on preparing the kitchen, please post photos.

Just paint in a neutral, nice & light & IF the carpet needs to be replaced, I would have something lower priced & neutral because the buyer will most likely tear it out anyway. My neighbors replaced all their carpet prior to selling, the buyers had everything ripped out before moving in . Fortunately , they found someone who needed it & gave it to them ( & was over 2,000 sq ft of carpet).

Learned lesson: don't "cut paint 50% with white." You have no idea what color will result.

A clean light neutral paint job is pretty much always a good idea. I agree you don't want to go too dark.

As to carpets, so much depends on condition. We can't really see or smell that the way you can. :-) If there are bad stains or "pet" damage then replacement may be mandatory. OTOH, if the problem is just wear and dinge then your area's best carpet cleaner can do wonders and may be able to make the existing carpet serviceable. I'd replace those curtains sooner than the carpet.

The OP plans to remove the curtains. Clean bare windows look wonderful when selling, especially in a beach area with lots of sun. In a vacant house, the privacy isn't usually needed, but if it is needed on a few windows, new white or off white cotton curtains from Target would be fine. If the old rods are those flat ones from the 1980's-1990's, they can go.

Accessible Beige is very light and great for sale!

Why not just clean well and go over with same light almost-white. It would cut your painting time in half - not having to fuss with taping off and making sure you get every little last pinhole covered And IMHO, it qualifies as a bright light fresh neutral color, one that would go nicely with any gray-textured carpet you might find.

I am afraid that those colors are too dark because the ceilings are so high that there is a lot of wall space in the living room

Colors that lean a little darker can be just what a volume of space like that needs to bring it in alignment with human proportions. The fact that the ceilings are so high and there is a lot of wall space would not be the reason to steer clear of either color.

Oops. Sorry I missed the detail about the curtains going already. Never mind!

And, I do think Lori has a point. With all the windows and light you have, I think it's worth testing the two colors your agent recommended in the space. Don't rely on just those little tiny store swatches.

Its such a cool space! Wish I could buy it and have a beach house. :-)

Fresh paint is worthwhile. (No, Realtors don't get any kickbacks for painting the walls.)

If the walls were painted 20 years ago, then a fresh coast of neutral paint will work wonders on your parents home. If the carpet is 20 years old, then replace with something that is neutral. Listen to your Realtor - s/he knows the market and what sells and doesn't sell. Saving the money on the paint job will cost you more in the sales price - even if your home is already discounted for painting. Fresh paint, spotless cleaning and organizing and landscaping are the most effective things you can do to prepare the home before selling. You will end up with a much better bottom line (usually) - unless the house is priced out of the market.