Painting a Room
Sometimes, you need to change up your space. Many people did it in 2020 when the pandemic caused us to work from home. Now, you may be rethinking the Fire Engine Red paint and the 12 motivational posters you hung up to get you through 2020. This will be the first of 3 blogs in a series focused on updating your space.
Where are we starting? Right at the surface: wall paint.
What you’ll need:
- Paint
- 2 Paint Brushes (one small, one medium to large)
- Roller
- Roller cover (I recommend 2 per roller)
- Roller tray
- Painters tape
- Stool
- Drop cloth (optional if you are feeling dangerous)
Paint calculation:
1) Length x Height of Wall = Surface Area (in feet)
2) Surface Area / Coverage per gallon = gallons needed
- Estimate 400 sq feet of coverage per gallon
- Plan for 2 coats
Step 1: Choosing your paint. You can’t go swimming without the water, and you can’t paint without the…paint. Having walls is technically the starting point but we will assume you have that covered.
Paint style is a matter of taste of what type of finish you want in a room. The higher gloss, the greater the chance you will see some surface imperfections in the wall. My recommendation is to keep it simple with an all-purpose Flat Latex.
As for deciding whether to choose a primer, it is really a question of the color and surface of the wall you’ll be painting over. Keep it simple: get a base primer.
Color: again, my recommendation is to keep it simple. Light yellows, blues, greens, and beiges will be easiest to cover over later if you desire, and these color categories have been shown to have psychologically calming effects. I’ve got a color called ‘Morning Tea’ in my dining room and I achieve Zen as soon as I walk in.
Step 2: Wash your walls. Often forgotten, but this helps with coverage of the paint and final look. You can use neutral dish soap and water, or a simple wipe with a damp cloth.
Step 3: Tape everything off. This step is time-consuming and tedious, but you will appreciate it after the fact. Anywhere that requires a hard edge should be painted. This includes door and window frames, ceiling/floor wall corners, outlets and switches. If you can take off the outlet and switch covers that is ideal.
It’s also best to use a putty knife or edger to press the tape into the corner or on the edge to make sure you have a clean seal. Painter’s tape tends to pull away from the wall to cause paint leakage or even impromptu party streamers.
Note: The next steps should be used for priming and painting (prime first, paint second). Depending on the wall, you may want 2 coats of primer before painting. Although if you spend on a good primer, you can get away with one.
Step 4: Cut in. Now we paint the edges of your painting surface with a brush. You don’t want to have to drag your roller too close to a wall corner or at an awkward angle so the brushwork gives you a buffer from a wall corner, ceiling, or floor.
Step 5: Sectionalize (a word?) your wall. Paint in 3x4 foot sections. This will likely cut your wall almost in half unless you have high ceilings. It’s best not to try and do too much at once so you can end up with a nice even coat. For technique: load up your roller and use a “sawtooth” zigzag pattern. Reapply for each 3x4 section. Also, you can get a decent amount on your roller. You don’t want it dripping paint, but you also don’t want to have to muscle the paint onto the wall.
Here’s an example of how to section off your wall. If you have taller ceilings, just make your painting section smaller.
Step 6: Coat two of the paint. As soon as you finish coat 1 in a room, you shouldn’t have to wait long before applying the second coat. If it’s a small room, you may want to wait a bit. Also, if you are in a hurry you don’t need to cut in a second time…but it’s not a bad idea if you do.
Tips:
- Try and do an entire room at once: aka don’t do one wall and then walk away for 5 hours and do another wall
- Best to let the primer dry an hour or fully dry to the touch before starting in with the paint
