Homeowners spend an average of $60,400 on home renovations.
If you’d like to keep this figure down, you can go down the DIY route. Make sure you have YouTube tutorials on hand and some tools and away you go.
When it comes to painting a room, as you might expect, there is more to it than having a brush and an idea. In this article, we’ll discuss some of the most useful home painting tips to keep in mind before you pick up a paintbrush.
1. Clean the Walls Thoroughly
Before you even begin mixing paint or picking out the perfect paintbrush, you need to thoroughly clean the area you’ll be painting.
This is no easy task as it requires some serious elbow grease and a heavy-duty cleaner.
If your walls are oily, sticky, dirty, or grimy, the paint will simply fleck off just a few hours after it’s dried.
Choose a product which is intended for the purpose of cleaning before painting. Even though it may be a little more expensive, the final paint results will last for much longer.
2. Prime Your Walls Before Picking up a Paintbrush
If your walls have never been painted before, prime them before you do any painting.
The reason for priming a room is to ensure the surface of the wall is sealed so that the paint sticks to just the surface. If you don’t prime your walls, expect your paint to soak into the wall and appear blotchy and unprofessional.
3. Start with the Trim of the Walls
After you’ve sufficiently prepared your walls for painting, it’s time to get started! Make sure to put down plastic and newspaper as to not ruin the flooring of your home.
It’s then recommended that you begin by painting the trim of the room first. You should start by taping off the trim, then you can ensure the result is neat, without having to worry during the process.
If your trim paint gets on the walls, this is no problem as the next step is to move onto the ceiling, then the walls.
After you’ve finished painting a few layers onto the trim, leave it to dry thoroughly before attempting to remove the tape.
4. Ensure a Consistent Color by Buying a Large Bucket
You’ve been to the shop and bought multiple tins of paint in the same color. Great! But, what happens if one tin is slightly off color?
To avoid this happening, get a large bucket and mix several cans of paint into it. This way, you can ensure the final resulting color is consistent and there aren’t patches where you used an off-color paint tin.
It’s definitely worth investing in that large bucket!
5. Whatever You Do – Avoid Lap Marks
When painting your own home, it can be easy to feel great about your work before stepping back and noticing horrible stripe marks.
Luckily, these lap marks can be avoided. All you need to do is roll halfway over each roller stroke you make.
Sure, it may seem nonsensical and take more time, but the result is a professional finish which avoids lap marks.
Getting frustrated by this process? It may be worth hiring a professional interior designer, such as Paint Works, to help.
Home Painting Isn’t Easy… But Practice Makes Perfect
Home painting can take a lot of effort and there is a steep learning curve. But, if you can live with imperfect walls now, you can learn a lot and ensure you do it right the next time around!
Need inspiration for your interior design project? Check out the go-to trends for 2019.
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