10 Things You Must Know About Interior Painting

If you’re ready to take on a new color inside your home, there are a few considerations. Here are the 10 things you must know about interior painting.

Sheen

Beyond choosing a color for your walls, picking the finish will impact the finished look as well. For high traffic or mess areas, pick a high gloss or satin finish. It will stand up scrubbing of dirty fingerprints or greasy messes. When preparing the wall, it’s important to remove as many imperfections as possible. Gloss will make them more pronounced. When dealing with walls that have dings and nicks, pick a more matte finish. It won’t handle harsh scrubbing, but the issues in the wall won’t be as pronounced.

Color

Picking a color can seem intimidating, which is why so many home homeowners end up with off white or cream as their color choice. Do not be afraid of colors. Some choices are even more calming and invigorating without getting into deep, vivid hues.

Samples

Have an idea of color? Good! Don’t commit yet. Test it out. Go to your local paint supplier and get a tester pint. Our pros suggest painting a posterboard of the color and moving it around the room. This allows you to test sight lines, different lights and color choice with a swatch before you commit and paint the entire room.

Math

You can save a decent amount on your paint job just by knowing the amount of paint to buy. Add up all of the square footage you are working with. Plan for multiple coats, or more if you are working with a porous or virgin wall. Tack on a bit of extra and you can feel confident you’ll have enough paint to finish the project without overbuying.

Prep

Plan to spend ⅔ of your allotted work time on preparations for painting. Between taping, cleaning and repairing, you’ll spend more time than expected. This will help you finish your project with a professional looking room.

Prime

For distinct color changes, virgin drywall and patches, you’ll want to invest the time to prime the walls. When you are changing the color dramatically, priming with a tinted primer can ease the transition and give you better overall coverage. Priming in general gives you a better adhesion from the paint you put up.

Cut in

Cutting in, painting at the corners and edges, saves you time and effort. By doing this first, you can roll the larger areas and get a good, even coating. It may seem like this takes more time but you’ll be thankful you did it in the long run.

Rollers

Purchasing the additional equipment for rollers may be a bit off putting, but the rollers will save you time in the end. By rolling the wall in an overlapping W shape, you’ll get a good coverage and less holidays.

Extension

Extension poles can save you physically in the effort you must put in. By purchasing an extension pole, you’ll save yourself all of the ups and downs on a ladder with messy rollers and paint. Reaching further keeps you safe on the ground for all of the rolling. These are particularly helpful with vaulted ceilings, or painting the ceiling.

Uniformity

Professionals recommend the technique called boxing. To avoid any inconsistencies in the paint gallons, pros use a large bucket to pour all of the gallons together and mix. While most stores are very thorough with their mixing, there is still the opportunity for slight color changes between buckets.

If this all seems too overwhelming, we’re here to help. Schedule a free, in-home estimate with our team today.