Actually, I really love the mural, don't paint over it! What is to say that a buyer will like the color you cover it with? Painting a wall is an easy fix, I think the mural is far more valuable than a neutral wall. (I've never planned to keep any room the color it was when I bought a house anyway.)

Tell potential buyers right from the start that the house can be delivered with the room repainted in their choice of color. That way they know they have at least one room freshly painted exactly the color they want, or they can keep the cute mural if it suits their purposes.

I can see where in many cases it would be better to paint over the mural (for instance, the rather amateurish one in my daughter's room!). But NOT this one! Keep it! If the house is still hanging around after a few months, reconsider, but something as beautiful and well-done as this only adds to the feeling that the house is full of love, which is a very good feeling for a potential buyer to tap into.

I think you should keep it. It shows the potential of the room.

You might have to get a temporary storage spot to de-clutter. Some friends I know just brought extra toys to their neighbors house before open houses.

Keep it! If I were moving into your house and had a child, I would decorate around the mural. I think that stating you are happy to paint room upon request is a good way of going about it. You could even put a sign up that it was a finalist in the contest!

You should keep the mural. Everyone is clever enough to figure out how to paint over it if they would like to make the space their own - and your beautiful mural will show any potential buyer how deeply loved and cared for your entire home must be!

The mural is lovely, I agree, but I would paint over it. With the mural, you are limiting your potential market to people who are willing to live with or paint the room. Buyers looking at a white room don't think about painting until they've bought the house, but buyers looking at a mural are thinking about how much work it will be to deal with it, either to paint it or to decorate with it. You don't want the mural to be the deciding factor for why a buyer didn't buy.

Ask your real estate agent; a forum for decorating with children will probably be a little biased toward keeping it.

oh, tough call because it's such a beautiful mural! honestly though, i would suggest repainting it. i know, i know. but you have to look at it through a different lens... not all potential buyers want or have kids, nor do many of them want to add to their list of things that have to be changed when they purchase the home.

we sold our house this fall, with a one year old and a 3.5 year old and it was ALOT of work. but it's not impossible! one thing that helped me alot was to temporarily downsize the toys and normal kid clutter. it got tossed into rubbermaid tubs and neatly stacked away. this helped alot on show days as there was simply less to clean up. as for cleaning (around kids), we spent more time when we could just maintaining order and basic cleaning... that way when the realtor called and said, "can we show your house in an hour?!" we didn't have that much more to do before we had to get out of the house. wipe down the counters, put toys and clothes away, maybe run the vacuum and we were out of there.

good luck!!!

I bet it depends on your market. If families will be looking I'd be all for keeping it, but if your home size and neighborhood are more for singles, hipsters or retirees, etc., you should probably follow the standard advice.

Not that it isn't a fantastic mural, but to a couple without immediate (or any) plans for children, it looks like a lot of work. It probably looks like a lot of work to new parents who would prefer to fully customize the nursery to their specifications, as well. I would paint over it.

If you think a family si buying it leave and and offer to deliver the room painted white (but not painted to their specific choice, that could be expensive. The mural looks good and many don't.

This particular mural is remarkable, so I'd keep it, but I like the suggestion that you will deliver the room painted (or at least primed?) for the next owner. A note to that effect might be placed on the wall or door of the room (on realtor letterhead). Also, if you have any "before" photos of the room, make those available.

We just went through a year of having our playroom-free house on the market, with a four year old and two working parents. You do get into a groove of straightening up at night and in the morning before work; you get used to what needs to be done so it goes quickly.

But a few things we did that worked well: (1) we put most all non-toy clutter in storage. Extra small bookshelves and books, for example. So there was more room for the stuff that mattered to our son, but less stuff overall. (2) We bought lots of big Rubbermaid containers. When we were having a showing or open house, all toys went in those, and got stacked in the garage (or in your car, perhaps, if you don't have a garage). (3) We perfected our toy storage systems so that the toys that were there were (mostly) neatly contained.

Good luck with your sale!

I agree with traceyelise -- keep it but let them know it can be painted over. I also think it would be less traumatic for your kids.

I viewed a condo that was fully kitted out for a baby, and I loved it. It showed me that the house was cherished, and the owners considered it their home. I mean, if they put this much love into the decorations, hopefully they kept up with the plumbing, the roof, and the wiring, no?

As for the kids, the toddler might like "campouts." I was not great at keeping my room clean, especially making the bed! I slept on a sleeping bag on the floor and then rolled that away in the morning. A neatly made bed is such a distractor from the clutter shoved underneath it!

With the market the way it is, I definitely would NOT paint over it! You have to live there after all and you don't know how long it will take to sell (hopefully not long). I agree with the other posters about offering to paint over if you get an offer but I would hold off. Painting is the easiest change to make for new buyers. Also, we sold our house last Thanksgiving and I had a 22month old at the time. We packed away a lot of the toys and made sure they could be hidden away quickly...if you don't have one, I would invest in an expedit from ikea and the baskets to go with it. You can shove a TON of stuff in there and it looks clean.

No, no, no, no, no! Don't paint over it! When we were house hunting we LOVED rooms that had hand painted murals! And if there was one we didn't like, we would just think "well we can paint over that". If anything, it adds value: someone that doesn't like it would probably be repainting rooms anyway, and someone who does, well they have a kid's room all ready to go!!

Plus when we sold our condo, we had decals on our bedroom wall of a forest (actually fairly similar to yours.. even though we're not kids!) and not only did we leave it up, but the buyer specifically requested that we leave it there!

My husband and I bought our home complete with a kid's bedroom mural. We have no children, and if we did we'd repaint because it's not our style. The mural/paint job is decent--white wainscoting with blue sky, a sun, a few V-shaped birds, and balloons in the corner.

The sellers offered to paint it neutral. Why didn't we accept? 1) We couldn't guarantee they'd do a decent job redoing it or pick the exact color we wanted. 2) They spent a lot of time painting their kid's nursery. Why paint over if it doesn't bother us? 3) It's a great coversation piece when we have friends over. We have lots of pictures of friends "holding" the balloons.

So please, don't paint over it. You never know who wants to buy your house and if that's what's keeping someone from buying (even if you offer to repaint) they're probably a jerk anyway. Personally, having the mural would be a huge reason TO buy the house. Custom, contest-winning paint work? Yes, please!

Go to Sherwin Williams or one of those other sites online, where you can upload a pic of your room and then try out different paint colors for it. Print out a few options for your broker to show potential buyers..."Here's what this room would look like in beige, in white, in fire-engine red, etc."

Paint over it! Even it your potential buyer has kids, it might not be their style, it may not suit the gender, etc. It will be viewed as just another home project they need to handle. And even if you offer to paint over it, they may worry you won't do a good job or it will be sloppy. Just paint it a neutral. Selling your home isn't a time to let emotional ties to your decor rule your decisions; you're leaving the room anyway, so make it work to sell your house.

As others have said, I would leave it as is and make it known up front (before each showing/open house) that you are willing to paint that room if the buyers want.

My son is 2 and we just recently moved to a new state for my husband's job. He started the new job and lived in a hotel in the new location 150 miles away during the week while my son and I were at home trying to keep a house neat for showings. This went on for 6 months, so I know your struggle!

My best advice would be to try to schedule showings to coincide with the times your children wake up (especially the older one), so that you can tidy up while they are asleep, and then whisk them out of the house before they can make a mess! If you have spare bedrooms/bathrooms, clean them well and then ensure they stay off limits to everyone in the house for the duration of this process. Just nice not to have to revisit every room each time, if you can avoid it. I also agree with others that some toys and things need to start getting pulled out of the rotation if possible. It will make your life easier if you limit the number of things that need to be tidied up every day. If worse comes to worse, you can always stash things in the trunk of your car if you have to!

It always cracks me up to think of househunters willing to make the biggest investement of their lives... but daunted by the thought of *gasp* painting a room! (Seriously people, putting a mural UP is hard work; painting over it couldnt be easier!)
... but such is the world we live in. I've not read or seen a single real-estate source that wouldn't recommend painting over your mural, Personally, I think wisdom lies with compromise. Make it clear that if ia buyer wants the mural can be replaces with white or "contractor's beige" a real go-to-neutral.

I really wouldn't paint over it, but I would offer a paint allowance (and make that clearly known to any potential buyers) so they know it could be painted over if needed. We looked at one house while we were house hunting that used Cat in the the Hat for a nursery theme and the thought of painting over bright red and bright blue colors really turned me off the house, even though they offered a paint allowance. Your mural would be much easier for potential buyers to envision painting over than that.

My husband and I bought a house a year ago where both of the kids' bedrooms had murals on the wall. The owners said they'd paint over them with the color already on the walls if we wanted and we did. Seeing the rooms with the murals didn't distract us from the rooms or make the house any less inviting!

We left out child's room with her mural, and we left it with lavender paint looking very girlish. It was a beautiful room and we kept our house impeccable, so it wasn't a problem. We had multiple bids on our house and got tons of complements on the room.

My point? Don't paint over it. I think lots of people will love it. Just make sure you keep your house spotless and uncluttered.

Quirky touches are often appreciated in children's rooms! Leave the GORGEOUS mural!! Whenever I go to a "Homeorama" type of home tour, all the new-build houses are fully decorated and the children's rooms are one of the best parts. They always have the most color, the most personality and personalization.

I would keep the mural! It's lovely. BUT I would make sure to tell potential buyers that you would be happy to leave the mural up, or paint the room at your expense. People like having control & choices!
Wonderful room. I hope you'll be able to find a bigger house to decorate!

FWIW...my husband and I bought our current house right after we were married; we didn't have kids and didn't plan to have kids for a while. During the house hunting phase, we fell in love with this house despite the mural in their kids' room. It wasn't nearly as cute as yours, but it didn't bother me because I knew we'd be painting anyway. Plus it was not a room we would use right away (like a master bedroom or the kitchen), so painting over it wasn't a huge priority.

I kind of liked seeing the potential of the house - it was really well kept up and obviously very loved. So anyway, it didn't deter us as a childless couple; I think you'd be fine with keeping it and, as many have suggested, offering to paint it.

no offense, but paint over it. even though repainting a room is the easiest thing for a potential buyer to do themselves, the idea turns people off.

Well I guess I'm the minority. I DO have kids and I wouldn't like to see a room with a mural. I wouldn't keep it no matter how much I liked it - that would feel like wearing someone else's clothes every single day. Just uncomfortable in some way. So it wouldn't add value. And I know I'm perfectly capable of painting over it myself but it helps me get a better feel for a place when I'm not distracted by thinking about it.

We were trying to get out of a lease and the Realtor was flipping out because we had blik on the wall. We were like it can be removed w/ no damage! Chill! That being said, this is a lovely mural (obviously more unique than blik) and personally I would likely keep it.

We sold our last house with a very personalized master bedroom... I had painted the words to the song "Truly Madly Deeply" on one wall - as my husband and I had hiked a mountain and then married at the top... anyway, the new buyers (we offered to paint over) fell in love with it. They still have it that way... in fact they liked the fact it was bold - different - the wife said she would never have the courage to do that herself, but loved it. It actually helped sell our home... so in a nutshell, depends on your buyer. Some may love, some may not!

I'd leave the mural, if someone really loves and wants a house, things like paint never, ever matter.

Don't offer to paint it! You're not renting, it's not necessary. Moving is so stressful, especially with kids, don't make it harder on yourself.

We bought a house in which the teenage daughter had been given free reign with her bedroom walls... there were paintings, writing, drawing, sticky-tape marks and glue. But we loved the house anyway, and a quick lick of paint when we moved in sorted it out.

I wouldn't paint over it, and I *have* sold a house in the worst market in the Bay Area ever.

Someone who truly wants the house will not care about one mural on a wall that can easily be painted. Of all the things to inspect and care about, a cosmetic paintjob . . . would bother someone truly nitpicky and silly.

It's lovely but I think you should paint over it. Ask your realtor. People with or without kids know what kids' rooms look like and they don't need to see a mural in order to know that a room can be used for a child. Not everyone has the same tastes after all. If you decide to leave it do not offer to paint it before you leave. Why do that work when people will be painting when they move in anyway? Just keep the toys as organized as best you can. By that I mean as long as you can walk around to look in all the rooms then toys are fine. Good luck with the sale.

I'd leave it, I think it's something that could differentiate & honestly it's not like it's a broken window that should be 'fixed'.

Our house had no murals, just foul colour choices for flooring & benches, they are hard to fix. The orange 'feature wall' was gone within the week of settlement, it didn't stop us buying the home we loved or even affect the offer price which we based on the local market.

I recently came across a study that involved painting one of the rooms of a number of houses in a subdivision pink, and leaving the same room in a number of other houses painted white. (This was in a subdivision where the houses were otherwise largely identical). The houses with the pink walls sold for significantly less than the "non-pink" houses - the difference was much more than the cost of hiring someone to repaint them.

I think that most people have a tough time imagining changes to a room/house (and peoples' reactions to a house are largely emotional, rather than rational). [It seems that people with an interest in/ talent for decorating - such as readers of this site - seem to be better at imagining potential changes in a house].

(My parents recently sold their house - it had a couple of "quirky" renovations that they offered to undo at no charge to potential buyers. The house sat unsold for months. They finally went ahead and made the changes - and had multiple offers within days.)

I do love the mural!!

Don't paint over it. Its only a kids room and people expect to repaint rooms like that. They may make it into a boy's room or office. Or perhaps they may love it. It appears charming and in good condition. Its only one room not the whole house so it won't affect whether buyers buy the house or not.

Totally depends on your market. And how eager you are to sell. Its beautiful, but if you are decided to sell then you truly have to think of the house and already sold and not yours. My parents are agents. Paint everything white...rent a storage unit and move out a lot of your stuff. Keep only 2 or three beautiful baskets of toys that can be displayed...Think of the "Christmas" joy your kids will have when they get them back after the move! We'd like to think people have imaginations...but they don't. Not everyone is reading design websites! Have you seen design/house hunting shows on TLC? People go into a place and say stupid things like "Oh I love this house...but, oh well, that color carpet is hideous. I guess we'll pass." Like, wha-?!??

If you really want to keep it I like the idea of having a print out of the room with neutral colors available for buyers to see during an open house. What about a blown up poster on an easel for the open houses/showings with Ohdeedoh's webpage and a headline "This room was featured on___". Might catch the eye of designer wannabes etc!

Keep it! It's gorgeous. Do people really spend hundreds of thousands on a home and then refuse to spent $50 on paint? Even if I hated it, it looks really easy to paint over.

While I'm sure every realtor would tell you to paint over it, I like the idea of keeping it, with a note highlighting that it was a design contest finalist and the offer to paint over it if the buyers choose.

BUT, I would NOT include a pic of it in any of your online listing photos. It's a beautiful mural, but in pictures people are much more likely to be distracted by it, more likely not to be able to appreciate it and somehow those real estate websites always seem to do a number on pictures. A picture won't do it justice, but in person, people should be more able to see the value of it, even if they don't want it.

We bought our house with a cloud mural covering all of the walls in my son's room. I actually only saw the pics before we moved in (long story, cross country move, house bought when I was very pregnant). Based on the pics my husband too, I had planned to paint over it. But, after we moved in, I ended up liking it b/c it was well done.

If you have ever seen "Sell This House" or "Designed to Sell" or any of the numerable other shows on the subject you know that your best bet is to paint it. Many people have a hard time visualizing their own things in a home that's already customized to the current owners taste. That's why realtors recommend that you neutralize your decor.

I think it also depends on the mural. If it were some cutesy too-pink and too-yellow mural of, I don't know, baby chicks and baby rabbits, or something really personal (ie religious or political themes)... then, yeah. But this is a more neutral mural you've got. It doesn't exactly scream "infant".

I'd say, leave it, and offer to paint prior to closing if the buyer prefers (but specify the color you'll be using -- as in, "soft white" or "soft cream" so there's no closing-day fussing). Me, I might not keep the mural, but I wouldn't tell you to repaint. I'd probably say, "just give me a $200 credit for my expenses taking things back to white," and then deal with the color-choosing on my own.

Plus, some buyers like me are bad at distinguishing houses. Having something distinctive lets us get a handle when we're talking to spouse/family about the options. Believe me, "the house with the mural" is a much more positive way to remember than "the house with the quonset hut" or "the house of damian" or "the house with the short-circuiting electrical panel".

(The "house of damian" had six, I kid you not, SIX religious icons in EVERY room. Including the bathrooms and the foyer. Six!)

When you sell a home, you want the potential buyer to imagine themselves living in the property.

Super clean and non-personalized homes move fastest as the general population (unlike Ohdeedoh's design-oriented readership) lacks imagination.

are you people ALL parents? it sounds like it.

good grief. paint it.

there are about a million professionals, surveys, home magazines, real estate magazines, etc etc etc that say keep your house neutral. de-personalize. de-clutter.

if your house is amazing. and can sell without any of the above. a real estate professional better have told you that. just becuase you think something is great in your home. doesn't mean it is.

my parents had a beautiful house. huge. great value. but people still walked away from a finished basement because of the awful paint treatment.

take a picture. archive it. spend a whole evening staring at it.

then paint it

Our house was on the market for almost 5 months. The office was painted a rich brown, and the guest bedroom was a deep blue. The rooms were beautiful. Then one day I painted over them with an almost-white light green in the office and an almost-white light blue in the bedroom. The colors looked terrible, but the house sold immediately after that. Coincidence? I don't know, but I think most people like boring s**t.

I love your mural, though, and hate to recommend painting over it.

Best of luck to you!

I hate to say this, but people seriously have no imagination when it comes to buying their homes. I would argue the people who read AT can see beyond painted walls and imagine the space as their own, but the majority of buyers CAN'T see past the paint and see the potential.

Long story short: Paint over the mural to avoid the risk of turning buyers off...even in the slightest.

I sometimes wonder the same question about if I ever sell this apartment I'll have to paint it some boring colour, knowing that the new owners are gonna want to paint it anyway so what's the point?

your mural is actually quite pretty, high quality, and a popular style. I don't think you would have a problem. In fact, I kind of see it as a perk.

in my parent's condo, they installed cheap hardwood floors, painted the whole thing in ugly beiges and browns, and even added a stripe down the walls which really exaggerated the warping of them.

Also, my room had a bright yellow rag finish, and my sister had a little mermaid mural on the wall with an ugly sun and moon painted on the popcorn ceiling... patches of which flaked off during the process so it kind of looked diseased...

Absolutely no problem selling the place. If they can sell a decor disaster, you should have no problem selling a decor marvel.

We had a situation in Dallas, TX which reminds me of your case. We hung a 20" x 24" mirror in the kitchen which had a wooden frame that was painted, with cutouts, like shutters (sounds corny but it was charming). We painted a trompe l'oeil vine around the mirror/window and when we sold the house, left it as it was over the kitchen table. The house not only sold with no problem but the buyer placed the condition in that we leave the mirror and small mural. I had the wooden mirror frame copied and left the excellent copy.
If I were a buyer with a kid, I'd love the mural! But I like the idea of providing photoshop images of a plain wall and the offer of payment for a paint job.
Good luck!

don't do it!

I'm a single girl with no plans for children ever, but that mural would probably sell the house to me. I would make it an office or guest room or art studio or something, I don't know, but I love it!

I agree that you should leave it, or offer to prime it before the new buyers take possession. I guess it also depends on the market though...If it's a seller's market then buyers won't be picky or scared off by a simple paint job if the rest of the house is in relatively good shape.
We bought our house from a family with two young children. One room was a baby room, painted baby blue with a wallpaper border around the room. The other room was pink and green, with a flower stencil around the whole room and the ceiling was purple (it was cute, although my description might not sound like it!). The rest of the house was pristine, completely move-in ready. In this neighbourhood, most of the houses are very dated, so we knew we had come across a real gem- the thought of a little paint wasn't going to put us off in the least!

But then again, I'd most likely paint any house I moved into, regardless. So my opinion might be biased because I like to paint :)

That mural is beautiful though...and it might already be sad enough for your kids (and you!) to leave, so why make it sadder by covering it up?

For the love of all things holy, do not paint over that beautiful mural! If it were a mural of the ocean, or of Spongebob, I would say yes... definitely paint over. But trees are very popular in home decor right now, the mural is well done, and the colors are neutral enough that they're not distracting. I would just leave it as is and whenever you're (or whoever is) showing the house, throw in that the mural can be left if requested but that the room will be painted in the color of their choice upon purchase.

We just purchase a house and one of the reasons we bought it is because of the mural in one of the bedrooms. My daughter loves the mural. I think that you should keep it. A new buyer can always paint over it.

Wow! Thanks for all the comments (and diversity of opinions). For those who’ve ask, our house is located in a suburb of Boston, so lots of young families looking to buy into a good school district.

While I’m a little sad about painting over the mural, it wasn’t that difficult to create, so we can always make another one in the next house. But I had not considered prior to posting this question whether it might be somewhat traumatic for my toddler to see her mural painted over (she loves her “twees”). Might have to weigh that choice.

When we sold our last house the buyers offered full price if we would paint a mural similar to the one in our daughters room because they had two girls and they were fitting over who got our daughters room.
I should add we had multiple offers so obviously the murals didn't matter.

Paint the room white.

I think leave it, focus on decluttering hard, particularly with toys and storage. If you are really worried, put together a neutral mood board for the room.

I have sold 2 houses with removable decals in the kids room and was only asked once about the paint being damaged.

We recently bought- I painted the entire house as yellow and navy blue aren't my things- I painted over the hall which was repainted by the vendors on advice of the agent- total yellow was considered too much. I just factored the painting into the price that we paid.

We saw undone houses- all the agent did was add mood boards. So long story short, paint isn't a big issue- clutter, smell, and an unfenced pool is.

I know all the real estate agents say paint over it but we just bought a house last year and I admit that I absolutely hated all the white/beige rooms. I am a design freak but in a lot of the more suburban homes (which I admit I am predisposed to wrinkle my nose at) I hated it. It made them all the look the same.
If you don't paint over it at last people will remember which house was yours. Not that I don't think it has a lot more going for it but it can get really bland out there.

Paint the mural and sell the house!

I'd say don't paint over it! It's so unique, and could possibly be a selling point for a family. Plus it's easy for a new homebuyer to just paint over anyway, since most likely they'd be painting over white walls anyway.

I vote not to paint over it. The advice about neutralizing spaces to sell is more complex than people seem to think. It's not just about beige and having no charm - it's about being clean and clutter free with neutral enough spaces that the buyer can visualize themself living the life they want to lead there.

There's room for a little whimsy in a child's room. Plus, this mural is a lovely, professional looking and rather neutral mural - it isn't gender specific or even age specific - it could work for adults or older kids. (It's not a rainbow with a pink princess, unicorns and castles or a Nascar themed horror)

Keep it. Offer to repaint it the wall color if the buyer wants. And I like the idea of pictures of it with different neutral schemes.

It's such a lovely room that it would be a shame to spoil it.

Leave it. It's rather neutral as far as murals go, and wouldn't be out of place in an adult's room or a study.

I say keep the mural. FYI - I don't have kids and don't plan on having any anytime soon. When the husband and I were looking at houses ~1.5 years ago, we were turned off by murals or pepto bismol pink paint on the walls in kid's rooms. It just seemed like one more hassle to deal with when moving in. But if you offered to prime and / or paint the walls for a future buyer, I'd say that's reasonable.

But I really really like your mural though. The murals I've seen are usually pretty bad i.e. lots of pink and purple with pictures of princesses and horses. But your mural is rather simple and modern looking - something I find very appealing. I would actually see that mural as a positive vs. a negative. And I would have wanted to turn that room with the mural into my craft room if I were to buy your house. Your mural has a lot more potential to it compared to crappy painted unicorn in garish colors.

I'd remember that house and probably lean towards buying it simply because of that mural. It would lodge itself in my memory as the "bird house." I wouldn't paint over it unless the buyer wanted it

I think it's beautiful I wouldn't change it but if the decor in the room is also bold I'd tone it down so they aren't overwhelmed by your personality. Saying that though this may help your house stand out and someone may really fall in love with it.

Paint over it.
You want to appeal to the widest range of buyers possible and not all of those are going to be parents.

The colors of the mural is not too kiddy-like and it's so lovely it will be a wow factor , I'm confident the potential buyer if they have kids or plan to would be glad to keep it. If they don't they'll have a lovely backdrop for a home office or a dressing room.

I don't have kids, and I think you should keep it. It is gorgeous!!! The buyer can choose to paint over it. When we bought our house I didn't care what color the walls (or any of the walls in the many other houses we saw) were. It certainly was not a deciding factor for us!

I would recommend painting over it unless this is an "extra" room. Although I love to paint and have done so in every house I've purchases, I know lots of people cannot see past something like this and will see that as a "kid's" room and how could it possibly become an office. People are very literal. Also, lots of people do not paint themselves, might be concerned at how difficult it would be to cover up the mural and well, given the housing market right now, do you need to turn even one potential buyer off?

The bottom line here is that you could lose a buyer because of this. It's stupid, but true. Someone will walk into the room, see the mural, and right off the entire house because they can't see past their immediate emotional reactions. In my opinion that person is a moron, cause the mural is absolutely lovely, but that moron is the one you want to buy your house.

Sorry for the double post, but I just thought of a better way to think about it:
How much of your asking price is the mural worth to you? If you knew it would only cost you the price of painting over it? what about $500? $1000?

One thing we loved about our condo when we bought it was the offer to "paint bedrooms in a color of your choice" (though we were limited to Home Depot paints). They'd already fixed up the rest of the place, and I didn't have to cover up a jarring maroon wall in the bedroom.

The mural is beautiful and tasteful... and as one hyper tuned-in to your question, having just sold my own home, I would say it's a shame to paint over it. It won't make or break the sale. In fact, someone - just the right buyer - might love it. Let your daughter enjoy it while you're still living there. You could put in the listing, or your broker could tell prospective buyers, that you're willing to paint that room if they wish - easy enough.

Do, however, try to keep whatever else you can uncluttered, neutral, light and clean. Showing a house is a pain with kids, so make sure everything has its place and is put away, and put the overflow that you're not using regularly in storage (those big plastic boxes are helpful). In the house, large toy wooden toy boxes are great for just throwing the kids' stuff in at the last minute before a showing. Good luck!

My husband and I (plus baby and dog) have been house shopping for the past few months now and have seen it all! If you're expecting a lot of young families to come through the house, then there's really nothing wrong with toys and a room that is clearly for a kid. Think about new tract developments and their show houses: the living spaces are fairly neutral but they will stage smaller bedrooms for kids, even making them overtly gender specific and this mural is beautiful! Heck, I'd be prone to keeping it even if I didn't have a child, would make a fun craft room or office. Plus if the rest of the house has a plain, fresh coat of paint, the idea of having to paint one room isn't going to scare most serious people away. Set aside a couple of extra gallons of the paint you use in the main living areas and let your agent know it. Bedrooms are usually the rooms people will paint anyway.

As for keeping the place up for showings, really the clear presence of children isn't frightening, it's the clutter. We've seen living rooms that had piles (really, PILES) of toys in the living room and all we could see was that mess! There's no easy answer with little kids, you unfortunately have to be the clean meanie until the house is sold, no 2 or 5 year old I've ever seen can keep a room clean for more than 30 seconds. My best advice is invest in a decent sized storage bench or ottoman for the living room. In a pinch a room littered with toys can be throw into a single bin in less than five minutes.

a lot of people don't realize that painting isn't a big deal. my husband and i purchased a house last summer with a mural in one of the bedrooms that i couldn't wait to paint over - but i actually like painting, i am kind of weird like that. if you have a good realtor, you should consult them. you could possibly put the house on the market with the mural intact and state that you are willing to re-paint that room if they want. hopefully you can get a few showings, and get some feedback. if people were really put off by the mural, then you could decide to paint over it later.

I like the above suggestions of keeping the mural, but offering to paint over it if the buyer wants. When I was looking at houses to buy my mind-set was that everything was getting re-painted anyways. It was also surprising how many people lived with white walls all over their house and no artwork (to me, anyways). Many people, I'm sure, would love a pre-customized wall.

In general, though... less is more when you have to show your house!

I would paint over it. It is a lovely mural, but what if the new house buyers are looking at that room for a teenage boy? An occasional adult guest room or as a home office - maybe even destroying it entirely to join the a room next to it? You're asking someone to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for a place to live THEIR lives - with the housing market so down, do you want to give anyone an excuse not to buy your house because of a can of paint and YOUR sentimental feelings?

Personally, I have a little girl who would love it, but I'm not purchasing your house - you don't know who will and why they want your house. A can of paint can save you a lot of trouble over, really, a can of paint.

I would paint over it. When I was looking for houses, even though a lot of things could be "fixed" easily enough with paint, it was much easier to envision a room for how *I* was going to use it if it were painted a neutral color. Also means I don't have to rush to repaint when I'm busy unpacking.

I like the mural, but you'll do better in the market if you make it as appealing to every buyer as you can. Also, some families may not want someone else's mural in their child's room, not matter how cute and well done it is.

I don't have kids, but I do watch HGTV. After even a few episodes (or a few open houses with a realtor saying 'good bones - paint can be changed') I would expect most buyers to be ok with a pretty mural.

Honestly, if I was touring your house, I'd love the mural. I suck at painting and it would add character to my home office.

I agree, however, with adding a note about willing to prime the room when sold.

Don't paint it! You'll be sad you did when you can't sell the house and end up living there much longer than expected.

I think the mural is fantastic, and I would be charmed to see it. To me it would make your place stand out in a good way. If your house is at all marketable to families, I would leave it & just depersonalize/declutter. Offer to prime or give a paint allowence for unimaginative folk. Store bulky toys at Grandmas or get a POD for your declutter items. Keep only the most versatile/beloved toys/baby paraphenelia and have attractive storage for what is left behind. Do a big cleanup/declutter when you list, tidy up every night, and do showings by appt on days when you can give yourself an hr to wipe/dust in the morning. Good luck!

Love the mural, but paint over it. I would never keep a mural up that belonged to a previous owner even if it was perfect for my decorating scheme, murals are so personal. I agree that it puts just a twinge of "ugh we'd have to repaint" into peoples' minds and that's not what you want. best of luck!

Don't paint it! Leave it! When we listed our house a couple of years ago when our son was 18 months, we painted our whole house a beautiful neutral white with a hint of blue (arctic ice). It was so light and airy it made me not want to move after all! Anyway, despite painting neutral like everyone advises, the buyer came in and painted almost every room anyway -- in garish, bright colors. The whole house was painted two times within five months -- how wasteful!! It was hard to witness. So ... I don't think your beautiful wall will be enough to put someone off, and whoever comes in will paint anyway, no doubt. And if your wall does put someone off, you won't want to sell to them anyway! Offer a paint allowance up front ... that seems like a reasonable thing to do! Good luck ... selling a house is difficult no matter what, but extra hard with little kids.

I don't think it has to do with a lack of imagination on the part of the buyers. I am an artist, and if I had created that particular mural (which I think is wonderful) I would document it, and then paint over it at selling time. A clean, neutral room says "Welcome- this space is ready for someone new to work their own magic. I have no ties to this location, and am ready to sell. Please make an offer."
That said though, I doubt leaving it will make a big difference in the end, and might make someone very happy. There is never an easy answer!

I don't see any benefit in repainting as opposed to offering to repaint, if desired. Those who don't like the mural can get their nice bland color, and for those who do like the mural, it may be a positive influence. I turned the second bedroom in a RENTAL into a blue and white sponge-painted office, and several prospective tenants liked it so much, they asked if I would sell them the furniture, too.

I know that's a rare occurrence, but the bottom line is, I'm never influenced by anyone's choice of paint, carpet, light fixtures, etc. when buying a new place. I go in with the assumption that I'm going to want to change them - doesn't everyone wind up doing that anyway?

I would normally say to paint over it instantly, but it absolutely charming! Keep it , with the hope that the next buyer will love it as much as you have ....... But also offer to paint over it if they don't like it.

Lovely as the mural is, it's more like to detract from value, not add to it. For someone who likes it, it's unlikely to be the deciding factor (or increase what they're willing to pay) and for someone who doesn't like it, you may lose a potential buyer.

While it can obviously be painted over, real estate advice seems to suggest that most people are not good at envisioning that. Buyers will get hung up on a bad colour or overly personal design choice, even though they could get rid of it.

Can you take one more comment? :) It seems readers are torn and frankly I am too but here's one more thought. Do you have a trouble free home or will this be one more thing new owners will have to deal with? If you have a problem kitchen, an ancient furnace, one tiny bathroom etc. the mural in the bedroom could be another nail in the coffin. If your house has a great floor plan, new applicances, mechanicals in great shape etc. then when they get to the mural they will be more forgiving if it turns out to not be their cup of tea. A realtor should be able to tell you if it's adding to the list of negatives instead of just one possible negative.

Just really declutter and clean. That makes a HUGE difference!

use mahjong paper, and masking tape and makeshift cover it up. easy to reveal underneath if need arises, too.

My gut feeling is to tell you to leave it. If you have extra paint go ahead and offer to paint over the mural to match the other walls but I doubt anyone will take you up on it.

We did a ton of work (renovating and staging) getting our house ready sell last spring but the one thing I refused to change was the nursery (not that the Realtor even asked). Knowing that we would be selling in the future I had chosen to use wall decals rather than paint a mural (so we could tell people they peeled right off) but the bright green and blue paint wasn't exactly neutral. We even left our son's name up on the wall over his crib which I know you're not supposed to do.

By having a clean, bright, uncluttered home we were still able to sell our townhouse/condo while every other unit in our development sat unsold. There are some things that can kill a sale (our direct competition had much nicer finishes and hardwood floors but the wall you saw as you walked in was covered in rough hewn wooden slats on the diagonal, yuck!) but I don't think this mural is one of them. Also, fwiw the woman who bought our house was a single retiree so I'm pretty sure she didn't plan on leaving the nursery as is.

My advice for selling with small kids in a small house is to put as much stuff in storage as possible. We were lucky because my in-laws lent us half of their garage but we could easily have rented a storage unit. Pack up as much as you can (the standard advice is 30% but I think we put closer to 50% of our stuff in that garage. ) and put it in storage. If your daughter is having a hard time parting with her toys consider splitting them into two or three "sets" to be rotated at predetermined intervals (a week, two weeks, a month, however long works for you). Leave one "set" out and pack the others up in carefully labeled boxes that go in the front of the storage unit. My sil did this with all of the toys when she ran an in-home daycare and it worked really well.

We only had one living space in our old house and we kept the toys in a storage ottoman. You can also invest in some storage boxes for toys that you can put in the trunk of your car to get them out of the way during a showing.

As far as keeping the house clean goes the first thing is to get in the habit of cleaning/putting things away immediately or at the very least before you go to bed every night. Also, take it easy on the cooking; I made as many one dish meals as possible to reduce cleanup. Invest in cleaning wipes and keep them all together in a small bag or tote. I usually use rags to clean but the wipes were invaluable for quick cleaning right before showings because I could walk through the house cleaning as I went and then just toss them in the trash.

Good Luck!

The paint choice is a "new neutral" (pale color), and it's tasteful and attractive. I'm not sure it would make a big difference. I do agree that renting a temporary storage space is a great idea for while you're showing the house so you can de-clutter (make the house look bigger!) any extra toys, etc. Good luck!

I currently have our house on the market- and yes. You should. It's a gorgeous and very tasteful mural, but there are just SO many homes on the market- and giving a potential buyer just one tiny reason to keep looking is a bad idea. You have no idea how many realtors I've spoken with who's buyers won't even look at a house if it even has the smallest issue.

Plus- from the looks of the other homes on the market- very few people of the general population have good taste.

our family just had to go through a similar debate. BOTH of my children's rooms had custom murals. perhaps i followed my heart to our detriment, but i did not paint over either mural. we knew we were limiting our market, but we also knew our townhouse would be appealing to the young family/starter home sector anyway. we deliberately listed lower and sold in 60 days...to a young family with kids who kept the murals.

it worked out for us.

as for living with kids while your house is on the market, ours were 1 and 3...we limited the toys to a few favorites and put them away before showings. it was not easy keeping the house "show ready" with young kids. just remember, it is only a short time!

We once sold a house on the strength of the mural I had painted in the bedroom. The buyers loved it!