Tips On Painting Your Own Home
Recently I had a chat with the lovely Anna Daly on Newstalk’s The Home Show on how to go about painting your own home. Is that something you’re thinking of now that the days are getting longer? Here are some tips that should help you on your way.
In the Newstalk studio with Anna Daly for The Home Show.
1. Research your style and decide the look you’d like to achieve.
Look at interior magazines and newspaper supplements, Pinterest and Instagram for inspiration and start saving images of rooms or spaces that you’re drawn to
Don’t be drawn into trending colours unless you actually like them. You are the one who will be living with them so you want to choose colours you enjoy
Don’t be afraid to go bold with colour if that’s what you’re drawn to, but bear in mind that you will probably tire of bold colours more easily than neutral colours
Credit: Paula McCarthy Interiors
2. Choose your colours carefully.
A room’s aspect, or how much natural light it gets is really important when you’re choosing your paint colour
Paint can look drastically different in a north facing room versus a south facing room, and equally it may look different in the morning versus the evening so I usually advise clients not to paint their entire house in the one colour
Once you have a shortlist of colours or an ideal colour that you want to go with, get a tester pot of the paint first and paint a box on the wall of the room – even better if you paint the tester on a couple of the walls. Some paint brands have A5 sized colour cards or peel and stick samples that you can put directly onto the wall. Look at it at different times of the day, and during sunshine/rain as it will look different in various lights
If you want to use white, go with a soft or slightly off white rather than a true white as it will look very clinical
Don’t automatically succumb to white skirtings and white ceilings, do something a little more interesting – e.g. colour drench the room which means painting everything the one colour, paint the ceiling anything but white, use painters tape to create clean lines such as a border around the top of the wall. It’s paint, be adventurous!
Credit: Colour Drenching example by Colourtrend
3. Buying your paint and materials.
Work out how much paint you need – a lot of paint brand websites have a paint calculator, or go into your local paint shop and ask their advice. Just give them the square metres of your space and they should give you a good indication. Take into account if you are putting a dark paint over a light wall or vice versa – you will need more paint than if you are painting a similar colour to your existing walls
Shop where the pro’s shop. If you see painters vans outside, that’s where you want to be. The staff specialise in painting and paint materials, so don’t be afraid to ask their advice on your particular project
Make sure you have all the materials you need such as brushes, rollers, paint tray, masking tape, protective covering for furniture or floors, wet cloth for little spatters or spills, sandpaper, sugar soap or white spirits. If you are using water based paints, cleaning the brushes in soap and water should be enough
A roller is a must for larger spaces as it spreads the paint at a quicker rate, but use a brush around the edges. Also invest in a “cutting in brush” if you can for the edges – a gamechanger. Use a roller with a long handle for ceilings. Don’t be a martyr with a brush!
Choose your paint finish - do you want your walls to be washable if you have small kids or is wipeable enough? Do you prefer a matt finish or a low sheen finish? Choose the finish that you want on your woodwork such as eggshell or satin. Different brands have different names for their paint finishes e.g. eggshell in one brand may mean something different in another brand so make sure you know exactly what you are buying
Credit: Stillorgan Decor
4. Get painting.
The painting process is almost ALWAYS going to take longer than you think so set aside plenty of time if you can. If you don’t set aside enough time, you’re going to have to clean up and restart multiple times. Even better if you can get people to help
Prepare the walls or woodwork – sugar soap is great for cleaning walls, especially in older or very busy houses. If there are any holes or blemishes in the wall from picture hooks, sellotape etc, use a wall filler and then sand that down when it’s dry so it’s completely flush with the wall around it.
Use masking tape or painters tape to protect areas where the wall meets the windows, doors, skirting, light fittings etc.
Some gaps may need to be caulked e.g. if you have new skirtings or wooden mouldings/panelling, you need to caulk around the edges so there is no gap between the wood and the wall
Move furniture out of the room if you can as it will speed up the painting process
Make sure you mix your paint well before you start. Some of the most used paint colours are available already in off the shelf tins, but a lot of colours are mixed on site by the paint shop when you order them. On the odd occasion, they may not be mixed enough and end up going on the wall as a different colour so mix well
If you have multiple tins of paint you can mix them together in a bucket to ensure you have exactly the same colour throughout the room
You may need a primer coat, especially on freshly plastered walls or new skirtings, doors, raw joinery etc.
Don’t over-drench your brush or roller as it gets really messy with drips and blobs, but don’t use too little either as you will end up having to do an extra coat to get the right coverage
Wipe spills up immediately so they don’t dry
Make sure you have good ventilation in the room during and after painting. If it’s damp or very cold outside, it will slow down the drying time
If it’s a warm day, the paint will dry quickly so make sure you paint a wet edge on the wall – each stroke overlaps the last stroke slightly so you can see more clearly what’s been painted
Ensure each coat is fully dry before you do the next coat
When you’re finished with a brush for the day, let it soak even if you’re still painting with others. It’s much easier to clean them when they are still wet
Don’t forget to enjoy your handiwork!
Credit: Unsplash