For the love of white woodwork
Millennials prefer a pale palette and a paint job has become a sales tactic
When Somia Mourad first walked into the home that she would buy, much of the main floor had darkstained woodwork mixed with white. In the kitchen, three different wood finishes fragmented the room.
So, before she and her family moved into the1891-built threestorey, painters were summoned. The fireplace mantel, centrepiece of a gracious living room, went from a dark-oak stain to white-enameled paint to match white bordering shelves. Beams in the ceiling got the same treatment. Wood panels in the adjoining, open dining room also got coats of white paint.
Like many of today’s home buyers, Mourad prefers the sleek, clean look of white enameled woodwork.
But their tastes also speak to the dilemma of sellers considering whether to paint in order to sell a house more quickly and for a better price.
Mourad said she fell for her house the moment they walked in. “The entryway was so warm — just stunning — with intricate carvings on the wood banister at the staircase; I didn’t want anyone to touch it,” Mourad recalled. She kept that nod to the history of the home, even as the painters set to work on other parts of the house.
Sometimes a home shows best when it remains true to character. The oak beams and other wood accents of Craftsmanstyle bungalows, for example, help make those homes distinct.
“You wouldn’t change the colour of a classic car, even if it’s a little funky, and sometimes you shouldn’t paint the woodwork of a house,” said Ruth Whitney Bowe, a real estate agent with Coldwell Banker Burnet’s Minneapolis Lakes office. In mid-century modern homes, wood panelling and other details can warm up the clean lines. In Victorians, intricate woodwork can speak to the home’s original era while also being expensive to paint.
In addition to the style of the home, competition is another factor.
“If a home is in an area surrounded by other homes with wood cabinets in the kitchens, there may be no need to turn the woodwork white,” Bowe said. “But most often, white woodwork helps a house sell.”
“Millennial buyers want white woodwork,” said Jayne Morrison, of Morrison Interiors, who helps people stage their homes for the market. “If we are staging for a young family in a neighbourhood of young families, it is advisable to have woodwork painted white.”
That’s especially so for owners of homes built in the 1980s with the era’s golden oak woodwork.
Morrison is also seeing a generational shift among home buyers.
“Baby boomers love woodwork,” she said. “Millennial clients say they want an estimate for painting everything white. It is quite pricey, but often they go ahead and do it. They want that total white woodwork look.”
The decision to paint is often based on “that bad word that starts with ‘b’: budget,” Morrison said. For those who choose to do the painting themselves to save money, she suggests they start in one room and see how it goes before tackling the entire house.
Painted woodwork is a fresh look, she notes, and it’s been going strong since 2010. In recent years, she has seen the white moving into a warm grey. When Mourad remodelled her kitchen, a designer suggested she paint the centre island grey as a contrast. Mourad declined, preferring to keep the look cohesive. Plus, she said, “I knew I would never tire of white.” And she hasn’t. “Now when I walk into the house, I feel peaceful, uplifted, happy. There is a lightness and a calm,” she said. “It is amazing how much woodwork impacts the feel of a home.”