Prep Like a Pro: 5 Essential Tips for Painting Your Home's Walls

Prep Like a Pro: 5 Essential Tips for Painting Your Home's Walls

Your home's interior walls can be painted, which is a tried-and-true method for giving an existing room a fresh look. While some homeowners work with professional painters, others complete the task themselves.

But if you're the DIY type, be aware that even a seemingly simple paint endeavor might go wrong. It could appear that all you require is paint, a ladder, a few rollers, and a paintbrush. In actuality, you must prepare yourself with the necessary tools and perform your research in advance to avoid wasting your time, money, and patience.

Consider these interior painting suggestions to assist assure the success of your upcoming painting project.

1. Use paint designed for the room

There is no one-size-fits-all wall paint. Depending on where they are and what happens there, various rooms require various types of paint.

Paint that is moisture-resistant may be needed in bathrooms and kitchens, whilst more durable paint may be required in high-traffic areas. Along with considering a room's purpose, you should select paint that complements your way of life.

If you have children, you need paint that is long-lasting, easy to clean, and can be touched up without leaving a mark.


2. You shouldn't paint your walls from the bottom up.

Always paint downward from the top. By doing this, you can avoid the unattractive paint drop marks that frequently result from painting from the bottom up. To make gravity your friend, you need first use a brush to outline all of the edges and frame the entire piece.

Brush markings will mix easier with high-quality paints because they level better.

3. Undertones matter

A paint color’s undertones can cause it to look one way in the store and a different way in your home.

To ensure you’re 100% satisfied with your color, she recommends consulting a professional at your local paint shop. These experts can explain each color’s undertones and how the color can change based on a space.

Paint a test sample on your wall—ideally a wall adjacent to a window. Alternatively, you can locate a staging professional in your area who can work with you on proper color selection.

4. Between applications, let the paint completely dry.

Painting walls requires patience. Even if you're eager to finish, if you don't give the paint adequate time to dry between coats, the final result could suffer.

Make sure you give the initial coat of paint adequate time to cure, especially in warm, cool, or wet environments. Your finished product may wrinkle or bubble if you don't let the paint dry completely. This is usually resolved by properly prepping your surfaces and making sure they are dry before painting. You might need to put up exhaust fans or install vents in this situation.


5. Don't utilize low-quality materials

Although it may be tempting, you should think twice before acquiring cheap brushes for DIY painting tasks.

Keep in mind that not all brushes are created equally, and quality is quite important. You can more evenly cover textured walls by using rollers that have a higher nap and can retain more paint. You should stay away from those because they could leave lint on the surface.

A good set of rollers and brushes will go a long way toward giving your walls a professional appearance.