How to pick the right paint when selling your apartment

By Lucy Cohen Blatter | December 4, 2014 - 1:59PM

Chances are you're familiar with the advice to keep your wall colors neutral if you're putting your apartment up for sale. But if you've ever stepped into a hardware store you've probably noticed that there are about a thousand shades of white.

White paint veers either toward yellow or gray, but when choosing a shade, veer towards the latter. Dingy-looking yellowish whites like Benjamin Moore's Linen White have been "the default rental apartment color for the past 30 years in Manhattan, " color consultant Debra Kling tells the New York Times—not exactly the kind of thing that's going to woo buyers. Instead, she recommends crisp, gray-ish whites like Distant Gray, Decorators White or Pure White , all from Benjamin Moore.

You may also want to pick a different shade depending on the natural light in your apartment, Manhattan designer Sara Story tells the Times. If you're lucky enough to get a lot of sun, Pratt & Lambert Seed Pearl will keep things warm. Otherwise, try Farrow & Ball's Wevet, Story recommends. (Be sure to bring the color samples home and try them in the room first.)

And if you really want to keep your colorful walls? They can make dark rooms seem even darker, so pick and choose where you deploy the hues.

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