Painting Your Kitchen for Resale

New paint is also the solution if your kitchen sports severely outdated colors. Buyers today will likely respond well to terra cotta shades and Mediterranean hues of delicate orange, peach or persimmon mixed with greens, taupes and golds, says Pelley.

Of course, you have to keep the overall decor of the kitchen in mind as you update, says Stephen Ingerson, color specialist for Hirschfield's, Inc., a full-service decorating center based in Minneapolis. "The color you choose should blend with or complement the cabinets, floor and counters, or you may want to paint the walls the same color as one of the accent colors from, say, a tile backsplash," he says.