This Unexpectedly Bold Kitchen Paint Color Will Boost Your Home’s Value, Study Says
If you need any more proof that the all-white kitchen has come and gone, a new study from Zillow now finds that an unexpectedly vibrant paint color is becoming more popular in kitchens around the country — and could make your home quite a bit more valuable.
The Zillow study took a look at the paint colors that’ll give homeowners the highest rate of return when they’re selling their houses. In addition to finding that painting your home is one of the easiest ways to raise your home’s value, Zillow’s data found that buyers might be willing to offer up to $2,590 more for houses that have an interior paint color they gravitate toward.
The real estate marketplace surveyed over 4,200 recent and potential homebuyers around the United States. People were randomly shown different photos of a home painted with one of 10 potential colors. They were asked to score the home based on their interest in buying, how much they liked the space, how likely they would be to tour the house, as well as what they’d be willing to pay — and the results show that a contemporary color might be a better choice than a stark white paint job for getting you a higher price.
Potential Homebuyers Want an Olive Green Kitchen
Zillow found that an olive, earthy green is particularly desirable on kitchen cabinets. According to the findings, people could pay about $1,600 more for this kitchen feature. Sue Wadden, director of color marketing for Sherwin-Williams, calls the hue “a timeless, grounding color that evokes a sense of calm and sophistication.” Zillow isn’t the only one saying this — 10% of designers and stagers in Fixr.com’s 2025 Interior Design and Color Trends Report also recommend the contemporary-yet-muted hue.
This Divisive Dark Living Room Color Could Raise Your Home’s Value by $2,600
Apartment Therapy already covered the news that dark charcoal gray is buyers’ first choice when it comes to the living room, which was a surprising find for those who are so tired of millennial gray. Plus, going dark in the living room can raise your home’s value up to a whopping $2,600.
Despite having a reputation for being drab and dated, dark gray also performed highly in a separate 2023 Zillow survey. In this latest survey, Zillow also found that this smoky hue is a good alternative for olive green in the kitchen and navy blue in the bedroom.
Paint Colors to Avoid in Your Home
Zillow’s findings challenged the idea that neutral paint colors are best, as the survey found that whites as well as lighter shades of green and blue didn’t bring in as much money as the bolder options.
The data also revealed that certain colors can detract from your home’s value, with Zillow finding that people would pay $3,915 less for a home that had a bright yellow kitchen or $3,891 less for a home with a bright yellow living room. Bright red was also an unpopular hue among potential homebuyers, who said they would pay $1,820 less for a home with a living room or $1,987 less for a bedroom in the vibrant colorway.
To learn more about which colors brought in the most value per room, you can check out Zillow’s full study here.