How To Paint A Home’s Interior

Interior painting is a great way to give your home a fresh new look, whether you’ve deciding to paint your entire kitchen, a small accent wall in the living room, or give new life to old paint in your now-adult children’s bedroom. One thing is for sure when it comes to painting your home’s interior: you have to do it right or the result will look sloppy and amateur. Let’s take a closer look at how to paint your home’s interior the right way.

Step One: Preparation

The first step in painting your home’s interior is to prepare the area that will be painted, such as the wall or ceiling, completely and thoroughly.

In order to prepare the surface that will be painted, you need to start with a clean slate. This means you need to ensure that the wall is as smooth as possible. You will need to fix and fill any holes, dents, cracks or other imperfections that may have built-up over the years. This may involve sanding, patching, scraping, and filling. If you don’t, then your paint job will look sloppy due to scratches, dents, or other issues with the wall itself.

Step Two: Prepare the Primer

Before you can actually paint, you need to apply a primer to the entire area that will be painted. Primer should only be applied after you’ve fixed and repaired the wall to the fullest extent. While you can use primer-all-in-one paints, separate primers have better longevity.

Step Three: Prepare the room

You will need to move or remove furniture that may be in the way during the painting process, such as couches or beds that are typically close against the wall. Then, you should lay down canvas drop cloths on the floor to ensure that the floor is safe, not slippery, and most of all, won’t be stained with paint. If furniture is still in the room, cover it with canvas to ensure it doesn’t get stained.

Step Four: Get a roller and paint grid

Rollers are best for painting walls and larger surface areas. You can use paint trays with rollers, but the best option is a paint grid; a paint grid attaches to the brim of a paint bucket, and is much easier (and cleaner!) than using a tray.

Step Five: Paint!

Now that you’re ready to paint, it’s time to actually begin the job. Remember to start with the corners and outer edges of the wall and then gradually ‘cut in’ the rest of the wall with your paint. This will ensure smoother lines and a less risk for wavy strokes. If the wall is high, get an extension pole for your roller so you won’t have to use a ladder any more than necessary.

Step Six: Store your paint properly

When you’re done painting for the day, you need to make sure that your painting tools do not dry out overnight. The best way to avoid drying out overnight is to wrap them tightly in saran wrap and stick them in the fridge. Make sure that you close your paint bucket securely and keep children and pets out of the room in the meantime.