Besides buying a wooden bed for your bedroom or an elegant wooden bookcase for your home office, one of the easiest ways to freshen up a room and give it an instant new look is by painting it. Unfortunately, many homeowners absolutely dread interior painting. Fortunately, if you know what you’re doing and how to paint in the most efficient manner, painting the inside of your home isn’t that difficult. The next time you attempt a painting project in your home, be sure to follow these tips to make your project run more smoothly.

1. Don’t attempt to prep the area and paint it all on the same day.
This will only leave you feeling rushed, which more times than not will lead to a bad paint job. Rather, set aside one day where you concentrate on prepping the space. For seldom-used rooms, this can even be done a few days ahead. Room preparation should include tasks such as taping the walls, laying down a drop cloth, moving furniture, and gather any painting supplies you might need.

2. Never try to paint over damaged walls.
Before you even try to paint a room, it is essential that you carefully look over the walls and fix any cracks or holes you find. With some sandpaper and a drywall kit, you can easily fix any cracks or holes. This needs to be done at least a day before you paint so that the drywall plaster can dry. You also need to set aside some time to sand down the area as well.

3. Select the best brushes for the paint job.
For oil-based paint, go with a brush that has natural bristles. On the other hand, for water-based or latex paint, synthetic bristled brushes are best, as they will give you an even coat. Foam rollers are the most efficient way to paint a larger space. You’ll also need smaller brushed to paint around the windows and trim.

4. First use a primer for a more professional look.
Primers are great, because they just make the paint go on so much more even and also help avoid the possible tainting of the color from a previous wall color. You can even have your primer tinted to match your base coat color. This will often allow you to avoid having to put a second coat of paint on the walls.

5. Don’t forget to use painter’s blue tape for any areas you don’t want to get paint on, such as doorway frames, trim, and windows.

What’s great about this tape is that when you apply it to a smooth surface, it doesn’t allow the paint to seep into the areas you don’t want it to go. After the paint dries, simply remove the tape. The nice thing is, you don’t have to worry about any of the paint coming off with it.

6. Keep plenty of old rags around for any mistakes you might make.
Mistakes are an inescapable reality of painting. Eventually, you are going to drop some paint on the trim, or your brush may hit something it shouldn’t on the wall.

7. Use even strokes when painting to get an even coat.
Just be sure you have plenty of natural light in the room. This will help you to see where you are painting, as well as any areas you might have missed.

8. Keep any leftover paint for future touch-ups or fixes.
If you don’t have the space to store a large paint can that only has a small amount of paint, then pour the leftover paint into a glass jar with a tight lid and store it that way. The jar then needs to be labeled with the exact color of the paint, the date, and the room you used it in.

Interior painting projects are never as scary as they seem. By simply following these easy tips, you can be well on your way to changing the décor of your home.

Trackback URI | Comments RSS