This Retro Color Could Add $2,277 to Your Home’s Value (Another Could Cost You $18,000)

For years, crisp white walls have dominated interiors, but according to the latest color trends, this is shifting toward warmer, darker tones. And now, we also see a shift in colors that add the most value to your house (and which color to avoid at all costs).

According to Zillow’s latest paint color analyses, warmer moodier shades are proving far more appealing to today’s homebuyers. And it’s one retro shade that adds the most value to your home.

According to Zillow’s 2026 Paint Color Analysis, homeowners who paint their bedroom in a rich chocolate brown could see offers increase by an estimated $2,277 compared to a home with white walls.

It’s the highest-performing interior paint color in this year’s research and signals a major shift away from minimalist, all-white interiors.

Chocolate brown may be the standout winner, but it’s far from the only shade attracting higher offers.

In the living room, pale blue and charcoal gray both outperformed white, while bedrooms painted in charcoal gray and sage green also earned higher valuations. The data suggests buyers are increasingly drawn to spaces with personality rather than blank canvases.

Zillow found it was the only paint color to rank among the best-performing shades in every room of the home, including bedrooms, the living room, and bathrooms.

While it didn’t top every category, it consistently appealed to buyers, making it one of the safest choices for homeowners looking to refresh their interiors before selling.

Its versatility isn’t surprising. Sage-green works equally well in modern, traditional, and Scandinavian-inspired homes, pairing beautifully with natural wood, stone, and warm metallic finishes.

Charcoal gray kitchens generated the highest offers in Zillow’s study, potentially adding $1,373 to a home’s value. Dark plum also performed well, reinforcing buyers’ appetite for rich, sophisticated color palettes in the heart of the home.

The kitchen also proved to be the room where paint colors matter most. According to the analysis, the difference between the best and worst-performing kitchen colors was nearly $8,000, making it the highest-impact room for homeowners considering a repaint.

Ochre yellow consistently ranked as the least appealing choice across kitchens, living rooms, bedrooms, and bathrooms. Zillow estimates that using the shade throughout the home could reduce offers by up to $18,164!!

Bathrooms painted bright fire-engine red also performed poorly, while pale pink landed among the lowest-rated colors in every room, particularly kitchens and bathrooms.

Rich browns, earthy greens, and deep charcoal shades create a sense of comfort that resonated with buyers looking for homes that feel inviting rather than sterile.

It’s a trend that’s been gaining momentum across the design world (we can also see that in the home tours shown on The Nordroom and in our color trends report), with chocolate brown emerging as one of 2026’s biggest comeback colors.

Once synonymous with 1970s interiors, the shade has been reimagined in contemporary homes, often paired with creamy neutrals, natural oak, and layered textiles for a sophisticated, timeless look.

Paint remains one of the most affordable ways to transform a home, and, according to Zillow’s latest research, one of the few updates that could also influence what buyers are willing to pay.

For homeowners preparing to sell, choosing warm, nature-inspired colors over stark white could help create a stronger first impression both online and during viewings.