You may be happy with the furniture in your house and the beautiful 5-inch plank walnut floors you've chosen from Anderson's Vintage collection. But if something in your home design looks out of sync, consider changing the wall color. Re-painting a room is one of the least expensive, but most effective ways to breathe new life into a room.
Before you dip your brush into a paint can, take steps to keep your room free of splatters and get your equipment lined up for the best use of your time and energy. It will save you from possibly damaging furnishings and beautiful hardwood floors that you love and make cleanup a breeze.
Prepare carefully
Start by layering large plastic sheets along your floors, taping them to baseboards with blue painter's tape. The low-adhesive on blue tape holds securely during the painting process, but will remove more easily than masking tape once the job is finished. Covering the floors completely will allow you to handle buckets, brushes, rollers and other equipment without fear of spilled paint.
Clean the walls thoroughly and use blue tape to also shield any areas adjacent to the walls - cabinets, ceilings, wood trim around windows - so you'll end up with a clean, professional finish.
Choose the right brush for the job. Smaller brushes are ideal for precision work in tight areas near corners or edges. Larger brushes work best for more expansive painting, such as cutting in or creating a border along the edges of a wall or ceiling. Rollers allow you to spread the largest amount of paint with the greatest ease, so large walls and ceilings are best tackled with one of these.
Paint evenly
Don't think that adding more paint to your brush or roller will save time. Overloading the paint will likely lead to uneven coverage and leave a trail of drips along the way. Rather than saturating the brush with paint, use only enough so that you can ensure good coverage without the brush sliding or dripping excessively.
Whenever you dip your brush, make sure to remove the extra paint along the edge of the can or by dragging a roller through the roller pan a couple of times. Once you begin painting, move along the surface with even strokes to avoid splotches or paint lines.
With careful preparation and precise finishing around windows and doors, the result will be freshly painted walls that's sure to give a lift to your room design.