Painting the inside of your house is one of the easiest home improvement projects and can be one of the most fulfilling, changing the feel of the house drastically and making the new rooms reflects its purpose and its occupants. If you’re looking to do some interior painting, there are a few things you need to consider. Here are 10 things you’ll need to know before tackling this project.
add-some-interior-color-paintingKnow what type of finish you want. High-gloss paint doesn’t do much to hide wall imperfections, but it’s durable and easy to maintain. Flat paint covers up wall flaws but is harder to clean.
Consider if you want an accent wall. Painting one wall a separate but complementary color from the other three is a common technique to shake things up a little and keep the primary color from being overwhelming.
Figure out how much paint you need. Typically, a gallon of paint will cover 350 square feet. However, are you painting over unpainted drywall or darkly painted walls? If so, plan on painting two coats.
Know how to keep yourself safe. Short-term exposure to paint fumes can cause eye irritation, lung irritation, and headaches. Look for paint with low- or zero-VOC to avoid the toxic chemicals released in those fumes.
Get the right tools. For a typical room painting job, you’ll need painter’s tape, a drop cloth, sandpaper, a sash brush (for painting corners), a sash brush, a paint tray, and a paint roller with an extension pole and roller cover.
You can usually get small samples of colors. It’s hard to visualize what a color will look like on your wall. To avoid the cost of an entire gallon of paint, ask the manufacturer if you can get a sample can to help make up your mind.
Know where to get your paint. Avoid the cheaper stores, as cheap paint will often feel slightly sticky long after it has dried. Go to a home improvement store to check out their selection.
Plan what happens to the furniture. Are you going to cover everything with drop cloths or move everything out of the room and then back in when you’re done? Both require a little planning, so make sure you’ve decided.
Texturing can make a huge difference. You don’t have to be an artist to texture your walls. Achieve texturing effects with a specialty roller cover, such as the floppy roller, a bag roller, or a rag roller.
You may have to prep the walls before you start. If your wall has imperfections, it’s going to be harder to paint. Make the wall as flat as possible before you start.
Got all these things figured out? Then grab your tools, get to work, and transform your house by giving it the look you’ve always wanted!