Room painting tips
A fresh coat of paint is often the easiest and least expensive home improvement you can make. Painting an average size room costs about $50 including paint and materials. With its low cost and ease of application, it’s also one of the most forgiving projects. With a little planning and the proper equipment, a gallon of paint can give a room an entirely new look in one day.
The first step is to determine how much paint is needed. Calculate the square footage of the room to be painted – for example, a 10 X 20 room with 8 foot ceilings has 480 square feet to be painted. The label on the paint can will show the coverage amount, but in general one gallon of paint usually covers about 400 square feet. Two coats are usually needed, so you’ll need twice that amount.
Then, decide which type of paint is best for your project. There are several varieties of finish available – matte, flat, eggshell, satin, semigloss, and high gloss. The higher the gloss, the better it will resist stains and the easier it will be to clean. Lower gloss paints are better at hiding imperfections. Latex, water-based paints are easier to clean up than oil-based paints. It’s usually better to spend a little extra for higher quality paints – they’re more durable, will provide better coverage (sometimes requiring one coat instead of two), are thicker in texture and splatter less. Choose low-odor varieties for sleeping areas so you won’t have to camp out on the couch till the smell clears away.
The next step is choosing a color. Visit the hardware or home improvement store for paint swatches. Cover or cut off the other tints on the color card when viewing them in your home. Some stores even have booklets that will help choose a color scheme, offering designer color combinations and color wheels that help show complimentary shades. You might also choose to buy the smallest possible quantity of a few paint shades and apply them to small areas of the wall to see how they look when applied; they can easily be covered later. Keep in mind that a paint color always looks different when dried than in the can.
Before you make that final trip to buy the paint, check to see if any preparation needs to be done to the wall before paint is applied. Are there any holes or cracks that need patching first? If you will be painting bare drywall or plaster, wood, or areas with water damage, smoke damage, or other stains, a coat of primer should be applied first. Allow this to dry before the regular paint is applied – another coat of primer may be needed if the stain bleeds through the first coat. Apply patching material as needed over holes or cracks, let dry, and sand smooth.
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