Top 12 Tips for Painting the Interior of your Home

Painting the interior of your home looks easy, but it’s more difficult than many expect.

Fortunately, with some basic painting tips and preparation, you can master your interior home painting project.

We’re highlighting some of the best interior home painting tips, tricks, and strategies for your next project.

1) Consider Light Versus Dark Colors: Your first step is to pick the right color for the room. Lighter colors make a room look larger. However, some find lighter colors too boring. Others use bolder, brighter colors to add energy to a room. Some mix and match, using a light color on one wall and a complementary, bolder color on the other wall. Check room designs online to find one you like.

2) Spread the Paint and Test It First: Many beginner painters make the mistake of immediately painting after picking their color. Instead, paint your color on a test area – like an empty board or a section of the wall you plan to paint. Observe how the paint changes in sunlight and how it looks under different conditions. You may be surprised how different paint looks after drying, or what type of sheen it develops three days after application.

3) Take the Time to Prepare: It’s another common beginner mistake to avoid preparation. A little bit of prep work today can save you hours of hassle in the future. Prep work is time-consuming, but it’s a vital part of interior painting.

• Some prep work you may need can include:

• Washing walls

• Removing switch plates

• Sanding

• Taping

If you don’t take these steps right now, then you’ll notice imperfections at the end – and you’ll need to fix those imperfections anyway.

4) Use Primer: This tip is obvious, yet many people avoid doing it anyway. Primer helps the new layer of paint stick to your wall. If you don’t prime your wall, then your interior painting will look bad. Take time to prime the surface before you start painting.

5) Buy the Right Brushes: It’s easy to find cheap brushes or old brushes around your home. However, you’ll want to use the appropriate brushes based on your paint. Use nylon bristle brushes for water-based paint and natural-bristled brushes for oil-based paint. For intricate work and finishing touches, use foam brushes.

6) Invest in Quality Paint: It’s important to invest in quality brushes, and it’s even more important to invest in quality paints. Spend a little extra on paint today to avoid hours of headache in the future.

7) Use a Large, Sealable Paint Bucket for All your Paint: Maybe you purchased four separate gallon jugs of paint. That’s fine. But consider mixing all gallons together in a single, large, sealable bucket. You may be surprised to discover small changes between two different gallons of paint. Two batches might have the same color – but they look slightly different. To avoid this issue, mix all your gallons together into one bucket, then seal it as needed.

8) Budget More Time Than You Think: If you’re new to interior painting, then even a small room can take more time than you realize. Stop watching the clock. Give yourself more time to complete the project – especially when you consider prep work.

9) Leave the Room Empty for 1-2 Days After Painting: You may be tempted to return all furniture to a room after you finish painting. However, we recommend waiting for 1 to 2 days. Let the paint dry. You don’t want wet paint on your couches.

10) Don’t Wash or Touch the Walls for About 2 to 4 Weeks: Similarly, you should avoid touching the walls or washing the walls for 2 to 4 weeks after your interior painting project is complete. Let the paint cure.

11) Save Extra Paint for Later Fix-Ups: You’re not a professional painter, and that’s okay. As the paint dries and cures, you may notice trouble spots emerge. Sometimes, you painted evenly – but certain spots are more exposed to sunlight than others. Save extra paint for a later date. Consider placing it in a jar and labelling it. Keep a room in your house with all of your extra paint.

12) Other Interior Home Painting Tips: Painting the interior of your home is trickier than you think. Some other tips to ensure the smoothest possible home painting process include:

• Always apply primer to untreated or raw wood, new drywall, and walls that are about to have a drastic change in color (like light to dark or vice versa). On other walls, you may be able to skip primer.

• Study the color wheel. The color wheel provides more information than many people realize. Maybe you haven’t looked at the color wheel since elementary school – and that’s okay. Choose complementary colors from the color wheel by looking for each color’s ‘cousin’ on the other side of the wheel.

• Be extra certain when choosing strong colors. You may think you like a bold color when you see it on Instagram or Pinterest. It might look great at the store or on a test board. However, once you paint your room a dark black color, you may start to regret your choice. If going with a bold color, be extra certain of your choice. Consider picking a lighter shade.

• Fix holes in your wall while you go. If painting your walls, it’s a great time to fix holes, cracks, and other imperfections. Use spackling compound to fill cracks, holes, and splinters. Press the spackling compound into the imperfection, then paint over it.

• Use mild dish soap and water to remove dirt and scuffs. If you leave scuffs and dirt on your wall during painting, they’ll show up in the finished product.

By following these tips, you can make interior painting easier than ever – even if you have zero painting experience.

For other painting tips, attend a virtual painting class with Paint and Sip LIVE today!

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