Once you have decided on your color choice, go your local paint or hardware store with that particular color and have enough paint mixed to cover your entire room. Latex paint should be your first choice for painting your walls. The most common paint sheen for walls is flat, eggshell and satin. Flat finishes will hide flaws in your wall much better than eggshell or satin finishes, but will not resist dirt as well and is harder to clean. Eggshell or satin would be a better choice for high traffic areas. If you will need to paint the trim in your room you will also need to purchase your trim paint. The most common color for painting trim is white, but you can paint it any color that you choose, just be sure that it complements your wall color. Trim paint is usually semigloss or gloss, both of which form a hard shell when dry and holds up very well to wear and tear.
There are some tools and materials that you must have in order to complete this project. You will need drop cloths or tarps, paint roller, paint tray, a paint brush, screwdriver, putty knife, wall spackling and a household cleaner.
1. To begin, move all furniture away from the walls and place the items in the center of the room. Next, cover all of your flooring and furniture with drop cloths. You can also use disposable plastic covers to place over your furniture instead of drop cloths if you choose. Remove all electrical switch plates and outlet covers. After removing the switch plates, replace the screws so they will not get lost. Remove all pictures and any other items hanging from the walls.
2. Using a cleaning solution, clean the walls thoroughly. Rinse off with water and allow to completely dry. If you have any stains such as smoke or water stains you will need to prime these areas using an oil based primer. If you do not prime these areas first, the stains will penetrate through your new paint.
3. Using wall spackling and your putty knife, repair all nail holes and any other blemishes in the drywall. Once the wall spackling dries, lightly sand the area using fine grit sand paper.
4. Begin painting by trimming around all doors, windows, baseboards and the edge where your walls and ceilings meet. If you are not going to paint the trim, you may consider taping the edges of the trim using painters tape before you paint.
5. Using your paint roller and paint tray, begin painting the wall from the top corner and working your way down the wall with the paint. Apply the paint in small sections, usually an area approximately 4' x 4' can be covered with each roller refill. Begin each new section beside the previous and then blend the paint edges together while still wet.
6. Work quickly and don't stop until you have completed one wall or have reached a break such as a door or the corner of the room so that you can maintain a wet edge.
7. Allow the first coat of paint to fully dry and then determine if you will need an additional coat of paint.
8. When painting trim, do the tops of windows and door frames first and work your way down so you can remove any runs as you go. Paint your baseboards last.
Allow the paint to fully dry at least a full day before hanging your pictures back on the walls.
Take your time and good luck. The benefits that you receive from interior painting is definitely worth the time and effort that you invest.
Copyright (c) 2008 Smoky Mountain Painting
I am often asked by homeowners planning interior painting for their home, if it is correct to paint the trim in a particular room a different color than the trim in the rest of their home. Many times the issue arises when they are planning a particular color, on account of a color they have seen in a magazine or while visiting a friend's home. Maybe they're trying to match colors in a particular fabric they are planning to use in that room. Anyway, the problem arises with what to do with the trim for that room. How do you work it into the existing color scheme of your home?
While there is no absolute rule about trim color, that if broken, would cause you to be arrested by the color scheme patrol, there are some things you should consider.
1. The trim and ceilings of your home are what establishes a unified look and feel throughout your home. You can change your walls to any color that you like, or that fits with the theme you have planned for the interior of your home. The use of one color on the trim and ceilings will give you a smooth transition between wall colors as you travel throughout your home. Without this consistency, your home takes on a feeling of disunity.
2. White trim and some off-white colors will go with any wall color. That is why it is so popular. It gives you much greater flexibility in interior color coordination and design. If you decide to paint all your trim a color, you will limit your options; however, I have seen some marvelous color co ordinations while using more color for trim.
If your interior painting plans are to change the color for a specific room, try to get a feel for how it will impact the rooms or halls adjacent to that room. Will it be completely separated by a door? Will the door be closed most of the time? If the room is open to other areas of the house that are easily seen, how will that impact the color theme for the other parts of your home? You don't want to put a lot of time and effort into painting a room if in the long run you're not happy with how it makes the rest of your home look. Test the color on a door jamb or baseboard and then stand back and get a feel for what it does for unity of passage from other rooms to that room. It would be a good idea to wait a few days to see if you grow tired of the transition between colors. Often what we initially think looks good, loses its appeal over time.
Both Tony Evans & Nicky Taylor are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
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