Every May, the marine layer rolls in over Oceanside and sits there until lunch. If you live west of the 5, you know the light I mean. It's soft and flat, a little blue. It's lovely on a walk down The Strand. It's hard on a living room painted cool gray.
I see the same thing in listings every spring. A seller repaints in a pale gray with a blue undertone, because that's been the safe choice for a decade. The listing photos get shot at 2 p.m. on a clear day, and the rooms look crisp. Then the showings start. Most of them happen on weekend mornings, right when the overcast is heaviest, and that same gray turns into the inside of a filing cabinet. Buyers never say "the undertone is wrong." They say the house felt cold, and they move on to the next one.
Honestly, I think staging for the photos instead of the showings is one of the more expensive mistakes sellers make here. The photos get someone in the door. The room in person is what gets the offer written.
Here's what works better in coastal Oceanside light:
- Warm whites or a soft greige with a yellow or red undertone, not blue or green - Warm bulbs, around 2700K to 3000K, in every lamp and fixture (mixed bulbs make a room look patchy under gray skies) - Lamps on and blinds all the way open before every showing, even at 11 a.m. - At least one warm material in each main room, like a wood table or a jute rug, so it isn't all cool surfaces
None of that takes a remodel. New bulbs cost less than dinner out. Repainting a main living area runs a few thousand dollars, and with buyers having more choices right now, I'd rather a seller spend that up front than take a price reduction three weeks in.
If you're buying, turn this around. A house that felt gloomy at a June showing near the harbor or up in Fire Mountain might just have the wrong paint. Cold-feeling homes get passed over, and that's exactly why they can sit longer and leave you room to negotiate. Ask yourself whether you disliked the layout or the light. A layout is hard to change. Paint takes a weekend.
If you're getting ready to list and want a second set of eyes on your colors before the painter shows up, email me at mayra@blacklabelrealty.com. I'd much rather look at swatches with you now than at listing photos later.