4 Paint Colors That May Be Lowering the Value of Your Home

It's no secret that certain colors make a tried-and-true design statement: Black and white rooms never go out of style, red rooms command attention and green spaces are practically guaranteed to help you put your feet up and relax.

But according to a report from Zillow Digs, there are four paint colors that make real estate pros nervous – and for good reason. When the real estate site evaluated more than 50,000 photos of recently sold homes, it found that houses with rooms painted certain colors fetched less than their estimated prices.

Perhaps most surprising? Buyers disliked off-white and eggshell rooms. In fact, homes with kitchens that were painted in either shade sold for $82 less than the predicted estimate. White may seem like a safe bet, but small spaces (say, a tiny kitchen) can look "dead" or "flat" when painted the color, designer Emily Henderson told Time Money.

Since designers can't stop talking about how much they hate Pantone 448 C – a.k.a. the world's ugliest color – we're not shocked that it appears on the list. Bedrooms painted in this color fetched $236 less than the expected price, and bathrooms in the hue fetched $469 less. Whoa.

Buyers also are less inclined to pay up for spaces with a terracotta shades: Homes with terra cotta living rooms sold for $793 below Zillow's expected price.

Surprisingly, certain shades of grey fare better than others when it comes to real estate. Homeowners with slate grey dining rooms ended up losing $1,112 when it came time to sell, but when the living room was painted dove grey or light grey, the house's selling price increased by $1,104.

The more you know.

(h/t: Design Taxi)