Last week the VP of Burnet Realty invited me to come along on their office’s Property Evaluation tour to give my opinion why some of their old listings weren’t selling. Hello, Coldwell Banker Burnet in Burnsville. What a great morning with a wonderful group of realtors!

I want to comment on a problem I saw that morning and see so often at home consultations—neutral colors that clash with other neutral colors. Many people think that neutral colors are all the same. And because they’re neutral, they go with every other neutral color because they’re well—neutral. Not so. Most of the time, red-based neutrals—those in the beige—taupe family just plain look like crap with the yellow-toned neutral colors in the cream—tan family. Where I see this most often is in the clash between walls and carpet.

You can avoid this by matching your walls to your carpet—not vice versa. Snip a few carpet fibers and attach them to a piece of tape and bring them to your paint or home improvement store, they will help you find the right neutral paint color for you.