2. Design Elements to Make the Kitchen Special
2016 research from Zillow discovered that kitchen walls painted with a creamy or wheat-colored yellow can add as much as $1,360 to the selling price of a home while an off-white or eggshell paint color can actually decrease a home’s value by $82.
According to the 2017 U.S. Houzz Kitchen Trends Study, however, homeowners renovating their kitchens aren’t heeding Zillow’s findings, as gray is their top paint choice, at 26%; followed by beige, 24%; white, 17%; green, 9%; and yellow, just 6%.
The Houzz study also found that white is the primary cabinet color, at 42%, with a medium wood finish second at 16%. Gray was third, at 8%; however, it was the top choice among adults 25–34, at 12%, but less so among adults 55+, at just 7%.

3. More Choices for a Luxury Master Bathroom
Those participating in the 2016 U.S. Houzz Bathroom Trends Study made it clear that paint is their top choice for bathroom wall finishes, at 68%, with gray the favorite color among 29% of study respondents; followed by beige, 20%; white, 16%; and blue, 12%.
Although cabinets/vanities were an upgraded major feature in master bathroom renovations, at 83%, it was 8th on the list. An interior door was 10th, at 45%, and window(s), 12th, at 28%.
White, at 34%, was the dominant color choice for bathroom cabinets, twice that of dark wood, at 17%; followed by medium wood, 13%; gray, 10%; and brown, 8%.

4. A Season of Colors
The Zillow research cited on page 1 also found that sage green is a wall paint color, especially in bedrooms, that can boost a homes’ selling price by $1,332.
Benjamin Moore and Sherwin-Williams were the big winners in the J.D. Power Paint Satisfaction Study. Benjamin Moore was first in interior paint brand and exterior stain brand while Sherwin- Williams was first in exterior paint brand and paint retailer.
Consumers participating in the J.D. Power study said they are more likely to be highly satisfied when the salesperson listens carefully to understand the needs for the job and when customers receive help selecting paint color.

5. Stylish and Convenient Cabinetry
According to the J.D. Power Kitchen Cabinet Satisfaction Study, 66% of consumers participating in the study were first-time kitchen cabinet buyers, with 51% of purchases for full- kitchen remodels and 39% for partial remodeling projects.
The salesperson’s thorough explanation of the ordering process and cabinets delivered as ordered were the most important customer satisfaction factors. Of those customers very satisfied, 69% said they “definitely will” repurchase the brand.
Thomasville had the highest customer satisfaction ranking, or 821, on a 1,000-point scale, with SEKTION (IKEA) second, with an 805 score; followed by American Woodwork, 804; KraftMaid, 796; Hampton Bay, 794; and Aristokraft, 793.

6. Windows and Doors Welcome the World
According to Window & Door’s Industry Pulse, a survey of manufacturers, suppliers and dealers, 44% of manufacturers’ sales and 62% of dealers’ sales are for window-and-door- replacement products.
Of all three industry groups surveyed, 46% said their 2016 sales forecasts were fulfilled while 20% said they increased and 34% decreased. They attributed a larger decrease than 2015 on the presidential election, demographic changes and warmer fall weather.
Manufacturers, supplies and dealers have a more positive outlook for 2017, with 76% expecting sales to increase moderately; 13%, increase greatly; 6%, remain the same; and 3%, decrease.

7. Advertising Strategies
As mentioned on the Additional Analysis page of the Profiler, help paint (as well as cabinet and door and window) dealers to maximize their use of manufacturers’ co-op advertising dollars.
Seminars/workshops are excellent promotions to attract would-be DIYers and homeowners in general to any home design products dealer. Invite manufacturers’ experts to conduct the workshops and provide samples, special discounts and refreshments. 
Spring is the perfect time for home design products retailers to refurbish/refresh their store’s layout and merchandise, creating highly attractive displays and combinations of products and tools that can be offered as discounted bundles.

8. New Media Strategies
Because the salesperson’s thorough explanation of the cabinetry ordering process is so important to consumers, make the process a series of blog posts and/or a series of videos for the store’s Website and social media pages.
Suggest stores access the page on The Paint Dealer’s Website with the paint manufacturers’ 2017 colors of the year and feature each color’s description as a blog post and/or ask customers who buy those colors to post photos/videos of their use in their home.
Home design products dealers have an excellent opportunity to donate and/or volunteer employees’ time to local community project, such as Homes for Humanity, and post photos/videos of the project to generate goodwill among the community and consumers.