Painting made easier
Doing painting yourself can save you a lot of money and spruce up a tired home in no time. However, painting can be one of the most excruciating activities if you don't know the tricks. There are three secrets to painting:
- Plan
- Prepare
- Transition
Plan
As you are likely to be looking at whatever you've painted for some time, make sure you think about colour and contrast. Paint can make a room look brighter or darker, larger or smaller and welcoming or oppressive. Take a bit of time to test out colours before you spend a lot of money on colours you end up hating.
My personal favourite for lightening rooms and giving them an updated feel is the colour, Barley White.
Prepare
Preparation can make or break a painting project. Make sure that you take extra care during this stage of the project. My advice is to think of 3 things:
- Take extra time to prepare the walls. Fill any hols with filler and sandpaper smooth. A tube of wallpaper adhesive can be invaluable to re-attaching loose wallpaper. Use sugar soap to wash off any residues and a vacuum cleaner can help you suck up dust and paint chips.
- Use masking tape to cover all edges of window, door, outlets, etc. This will ensure that they don't get paint splatter and will give you neat and tidy edges. It's worth taking extra time to make sure you get the edges straight.
- Use plastic sheeting to cover carpets and furniture. This will ensure that paint doesn't soak through and make an unpleasant legacy. A tip is to use masking tape to stick the sheeting to the skirting boards and you will be sure to keep your carpet and skirting boards clean.
Transition
Many painting projects take more than a day to complete. This means that many people have to clean their paint brushes and other equipment time and time again to avoid the paint drying out. Well, here is probably the most valuable painting tip you will ever be given... use cling film or a plastic bag to cover your brushes, rollers and paint tray. This will ensure that everything is ready to use the next day and save you all the hassle of washing everything. We painted 3 rooms over the course of 4 days and only cleaned everything once at the end of the job.
Painting doesn't have to be a chore if you know the tips. Most people think it's all in the technique, but as I have shown, it's preparation and transition that makes all the difference.
Happy painting!