Painting your home’s interior walls is not something you do often but when you do, you want to make sure the job is done right.
Painting is a fun and fulfilling home improvement project. Changing the room color is one of the easiest and cheapest ways to transform the look of a room.
However, painting to achieve an excellent outcome is not an easy task. You have to follow a process for the paint to adhere to the walls, last longer, and achieve clean lines. Painting is actually the easy part. The time consuming part of painting is the correct preparation.
Painting can seem like a daunting task but if you follow the steps carefully anyone can do it. Allow yourself the whole day so that you don’t have to rush at any point.
Start by picking out your paint colors.
This means starting with a mood board. Your mood board should have lots of pictures with your favorite paint colors. You may be looking for living room paint color ideas, bedroom paint color ideas, or accent wall ideas. These images should suit your style and personality. I like to look into my closet for inspiration. You should not limit yourself to traditional choices for the different styles. Your chosen room color will be your base and everything else will stem from it.
Consult magazines, interior design books, Instagram, Pinterest, Houzz and pictures provided by different paint brands. You may not choose your exact favorite color, maybe a shade of it. If you have a favorite toss pillow match some paint swatches to that fabric. You may consider glitter paint for walls too. These paints give a three dimensional effect and are a great option for bedroom color for example.
Look outside for inspiration too, nature inspired colors are relaxing. Try lighter and darker shades of the same color.
Once you have picked some favorite swatches it will be time to buy some actual paint. I suggest purchasing three choices that look the closest to your desired room color, an investment worth making. One of the three should hopefully be what you decide on and the others can always be used in small spaces such as closets. The cost to paint the interior of a house in Roseville is approximately $1 per square foot of wall space, so painting yourself will save you money.
Paint some one foot by one foot patches on several walls around the space you are planning to paint. Look at these at different times of the day before you pick.
You will need to decide if you are painting an accent wall, painting the ceiling in the same or different color, and the colors of your trims and moldings also.
Now it’s time to gather your supplies. Here’s what you will need:
Paint can opener, plastic hammer to close paint can, drop cloths, cleaning cloths, sponges, sandpaper, plastic knife, paint brushes, paint rollers, paint roller tray, spackle, painter’s tape.
Start by cleaning the walls. If the walls are greasy or stained clean those using a bucket of warm water mixed with white vinegar and dish soap. If not, you can wipe them down using clean cloths.
Next fill in all the cracks and imperfections. You will start this after the walls are dry. I like to use spackle as it’s easy to use. You can follow the directions on the container. Use a plastic knife to fill in the holes and smooth the spackle. Once the spackle is dry gently sand the area so that it’s level.
This is a good time to prepare all your materials, place drop cloths where needed, and start masking. Place the painter’s tape where you will be creating lines, next to the ceiling, around windows, around cabinetry for example. Use a small angled brush or caulking to create all the edge lines first. If you are creating a line on a textured wall one trick is to paint along the painter’s tape in the original color of the wall and let it dry. This fills any air bubbles in the tape to avoid any seeping once you apply your actual color.
You are now ready to apply the primer. If you can get the primer tinted with the same color you are planning to paint this will help. The primer will allow the paint to adhere to the walls more smoothly, last longer, and show the true color better. If your original paint color is dark you can even apply two coats of primer allowing each to dry in between. You can consult your paint shop for the correct primer and paint type depending on what walls you are painting.
Now you are ready to paint. You can use a combination of rollers and brushes depending on the sizes and shapes of the walls. Apply two to three coats for a smooth finish. Make sure the previous coat is dry before applying the new one. You can use fans and open up the windows for faster drying and odors.
Layer on the paint and watch your room transfer! It will be a time consuming task but you will be proud of your work.
The final step will be to remove all the painter’s tape and do any necessary touch ups.
