It's up to you- color the walls or not?

Everyone has an opinion on choosing paint colors. One school of thought that holds that you should stick with neutral, unobtrusive colors because they give a home a greater resale value. The potential buyer can more easily picture his or her belongings in a neutral room. And it's true that a plain background accented with a few colorful and/or unusual accessories for punch is a great look.

But why should you be stuck with bland if you don't intend to put your house on the market in the next few years? What if you yearn for lavender walls with aqua trim? Or maybe one deep pink accent wall in an otherwise white-walled room?

What's your primary goal here? Is it to create a cozy, personalized room for yourself or another? Or is it to de-personalize the space to make it more appealing to the real estate resale market? Both goals are valid, but not necessarily compatible.

If you absolutely loathe the idea of prepping and painting the walls and cannot wheedle, order or pay someone to do it for you, and you intend to put your home on the market in the next year or so, you may be better off with a good washable paint in a light neutral tone. Express yourself with accessories for the time you remain in the house, and then just give the walls a good cleaning to spruce them up for resale.

On the other hand, if you detest plain white walls and the work involved in painting doesn't scare you off, I say, "Go for it!" Enjoy your colorful world while you live there. When the time comes to allow the buying public into your life, cover your walls with a good quality primer and a couple of coats of basic whatever. It may help your house sell faster, and then you'll have the opportunity to color up another home.

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