Best Interior Painting Colors to Paint Your Rental House

When renting out a house, the interior colors can have a very strong influence on how easy it is to attract new tenants. Many homeowners make the mistake of deciding to paint every room in the home bright white as a way to refresh the living space. Although this can hide previous damage to walls and can make the interior of the home feel brand new, it can also feel stark and empty. An empty feeling house does not appeal to many tenants and can hurt how easy it is to rent your home. It is difficult for a tenant to picture themselves in a space that is entirely white, almost sterile. Adding homey furniture can help, but it is best to make the effort to choose the best colors possible that will appeal to many different types of tenants. Painting the interior of the home entirely in your favorite color is also a bad idea since it can alienate potential tenants if they do not love the same colors as you. Below are a few tips for repainting the interior of your rental home.  

Neutral Tones

Modern homes tend to include lots of grey. Although grey might sound drab and depressing at first, modern paints offer a variety of grey tones that are exceptionally light and bright. Some of these light greys have a touch of color, such as a hint of yellow or blue, that can really bring a room together. By choosing a neutral grey with a hint of color for the interior of your rental home, you are sure to be appealing to a wide variety of potential tenants and you will add a modern vibe to your home, regardless of the home’s true age. It is an excellent idea to paint most of the home’s interior the same color so that when touch-ups are needed between tenants, it will be easy to have extra paint on hand. When it comes to accent walls, bold colors or patterns are best to be avoided. Not only are they likely to look sloppy without a professional, but they are also dated for rental properties and can cause some tenants to be put off.    

Excellent Combinations

To accent the grey tones that you have chosen for your rental property, adding white trim and painting doors and doorways a crisp white can accentuate the subtlety of the grey tones and can make a small rental home feel brighter and more spacious. Choosing matte or shiny paint products in these tones will have a similar effect. In some cases, choosing a matte main color can look excellent when the trim is shiny or vice-versa. When painting kitchens and bathrooms, there is a bit of room for creativity when it comes to the cabinets and counters. For example, if the kitchen is painted a pale, neutral greyish blue, then a dark grey or blue-grey color is an excellent choice for cabinets. On the other hand, if the cabinets are kept more in style with the walls, a bolder counter color can be chosen as a way to make the room feel like a home instead of an empty rental. In addition to neutral tones being modern, they also tend to match even the most outdated of flooring types. Even a vintage shag carpet can look good with pale grey walls and white trim.  

Tenant Requests and Professionals

When you have successfully attracted a tenant, it is possible that they will request repainting the interior of the rental home. This is especially true for tenants who have a large family or those who intend to stay for an extended period of time, such as five years or more. In general, your tenant should be able to explain their painting plans to you before getting permission to start any kind of painting project. Will they be hiring a professional to carry out the work? Are they choosing colors that may not appeal to future tenants? It is important to consider that if the paint job is not done by a professional, it will likely need redoing before the next tenant arrives. Also, if you hired a professional painter the first time, the paint should be quite durable and attractive and will likely remain in good shape the entire time that the home is rented. In which case, repainting once a tenant is already moved in is likely an unnecessary expense for any landlord and a tenant wishing to carry out such a project should agree to hire a professional to have the home repainted to the same level as it was provided so that it will still appeal to future tenants.      

To sum up the best interior colors for a rental home, choosing a basic white without any touches of style is always a poor choice. Not only will the home look bare, but every fingerprint and scuff will be painfully obvious once a tenant moves out. Choosing any of the lighter grey tones, whether the grey has a touch of color or not, will make a home look cozy and livable. Adding white accents to every room is an excellent way to make a light grey color or shade look classy and expensive. When a pop of color is required, it is best to stick to the kitchen or bathroom cabinets instead of accent walls, as this will appeal to many tenants.

If you’d like to know more about our Orlando, FL interior house painters, feel free to contact us here or call us directly at 407.256.8610.