Painting: What to Do vs. What Not to Do

    Painting rooms in your house can seem daunting. A lot of people may hire professional painters to do the job for them. In this post you'll find tips and learn what not to do when painting your house yourself. Save money on labor- and paint yourself, all while making it look like it was done professionally!

                                               Painting Interior Rooms in Your Home

      So the time has come to repaint. Whether you just moved in and want to make your new house a home, or its just time to upgrade to a new color, painting is no small job.
      We recently painted our dining room, living room, and kitchen. I realized so many flaws in the painting that the people who lived here before us had done. While painting the kitchen, there were so many dried drips, and even some areas they didn't bother to paint! As a painter's daughter I was shocked at how poorly a job they had done, but quickly realized that I grew up knowing ins and outs of professional painting. And many other people didn't have that, and therefore don't know things to do while painting to make it look professional.

    So what should you avoid doing while painting rooms in your house? What should you do instead?

            -Most importantly- Don't leave drips! Keep a super focused eye on where your paint is going. Drips will dry and you wont be able to fix them later unless you sand them down and repaint that section of the wall, which is just an added hassle. If you plan on keeping this paint color for a while, watch out for drips.

            -If you don't have a super steady hand, use painters tape around any molding and edges that you don't want to get paint on. Blue painters tape lets you be messy on edges in order to get the paint coverage on the wall you need- without getting paint in unwanted areas, like cabinets, or window/door casings, or the edges where your wall meets your countertop. Even if you do have steady hands, sometimes its better to let the blue paint create those edges for you, just in case your fingers slip.

             - Take off all of your light-switch or outlet covers. Please. We had a couple that we had to put in special solvent to get old paint off of, because the old owners of the house didn't bother to remove them while painting. And to avoid getting paint on your outlets or light-switches, use blue painters tape to cover them up, as well.

            -If you have popcorn ceilings, try as hard as you can not to get paint on the ceilings. It'll be super noticeable, and you cant easily remove it. You may end up having to re-paint your ceilings, which is extremely hard to do with popcorn ceilings. Since popcorn ceilings can easily come off when wet, you have to move very quickly when painting them. And don't even get me started on the paint that could drip all over your floors and furniture. To be safe, just try to be extra careful around your ceilings.

            -It can be easy for you to lose control over a paintbrush, or even to get cramps in your hands. To avoid these from happening, hold your paintbrush like you hold a pencil. Imagine you're going to write on the walls, just with a brush. This helps you keep steady control of your brush.

            -If you have holes in the wall that you're keeping, like if you are hanging the same pictures back up after you paint, don't be afraid to just paint over the holes, so you know exactly where they were after. You only really need to patch any holes that you wont be using after you finish painting. Remember, whenever you patch holes, sand over that spot when the joint compound dries before you paint, so you don't have any rough bumps on your walls.

           -Like a puzzle, do the edges first. The edges are where you need to be most careful with, and if you're doing a big wall, you'll roll the rest. So do the edges with a paintbrush, and paint about 3-5 inches from the edge, so you have plenty of room for your roller to not get close enough to hit any other walls, or the ceiling.

           -Paint/Primer combos are okay. You don't necessarily have to prime separately. It all depends on the type of paint you buy, but believe me when I say it pays to get more expensive paint. It'll cover better, and look better. Most likely, if you get the cheapest paint you can, you'll end up needing to use more coats of it, therefore spending more in the end from possibly needing to buy even more paint.

         -Same can go with paintbrushes, most of the time cheap paintbrushes are, well, cheap. We used some cheaper ones and the bristles kept coming out as we were painting, and if we didn't pull them out of the wet paint, they'd dry to the wall and we'd end up having to fix it later. We went back to the store and got brushes that were a little more expensive, and you guessed it, no more worrying about loose bristles! Investing in more 'expensive' supplies, can really pay out for you in the end.

        -Don't 'cut corners'. The people who lived in our house before us painted the kitchen twice. First, yellow- then light blue. When we pulled out the stove to paint behind it- we found that they only painted around the edges and top and left the rest of the wall without paint, simply because it "wouldn't be seen". Don't be lazy when you paint, paint the whole wall, wherever you can. Because if you don't paint behind something now, and then in the future renovate that room, it'll need to be painted. and most likely, you may not remember the exact shade of paint you used to begin with. So don't cut corners or get lazy. If you can pull it out and paint behind it, do it.

        -Fix any 'seams' in your walls with drywall tape and joint compound before you paint. With problems like this, joint compound alone will not solve it, it'll show up again. use drywall tape first, then patch over it.

          -Plan ahead. For dark rooms you're covering with lighter colored paint, or for rooms that are big or have a lot of walls, you'll need more paint. Make sure you take that into account. Keep your color code and sample handy just in case you have to run to the store to pick up some more.


I hope these tips helped! If you have any different, more specific questions, feel free to contact me.
                                                                                                                        -Lauren Hazard