Painting Tips

Painting Tips

Wall Colors

It is time to talk about wall colors. This seems to be such an immediate and important decision to make.

First of all, what will remain permanent in the room you want to decorate? For instance, are you going to change the gray bathtub in your bathroom? What about the cabinets in the kitchen? Will you be changing the carpet in your living room? Will they stay? If you have things in rooms that will not change, choosing colors that will complement the permanent fixtures is an important factor to consider.

Color selection should be done during a sunny day, in the room that is to be painted. Florescent lighting is the most common lighting in stores. That means that colors and fabrics and tiles, etc. will all take on a yellow hue. Lighting plays a huge roll in color selection. That is why final selections should take place in the room you are going to paint.

Once you find a color you like that will complement your permanent fixtures, you can use two or three colors on that same paint chip for depth and subtle changes from room to room. But, don’t forget at least one other color, and 2 more colors is even better, to complement the original color selected.

Now it is time to choose colors, in your home, and on a sunny day.

Let’s say you have existing carpet that is staying and it is time to paint. Match the carpet color first. Let’s say that the carpet in the living and dining rooms matches Benjamin Moore paint color IVY LANE-523. We can choose to paint the living room walls 209-BUENA VISTA GOLD because there is not a lot of light. And, the dining room, which is a little brighter, can be painted 210-LEAP OF FAITH. The foyer that connects the two rooms can be painted 524-HIKING PATH. Then, the kitchen can be even another color, like 042-BURNT RUSSET and the ceiling could be 205-SIMPLY IRRESISTABLE. Finally, the powder room could be 525-SAVANNAH SHADE. Warmth will exude from these colors.

What if you are working in your bathroom and the bathtub is Benjamin Moore color 1038-EVERLASTING. You can paint your walls 1469-EAGLE ROCK and paint your ceiling 1039-STONE HOUSE. This will be a neutral bathroom that will still make a statement.

These are only a couple of color selections. Have fun…and remember, a foolproof way to choose colors is by purchasing fabric and matching the colors already combined for you.

Staring And Finishing A Painting Job

Creativity can come from so many places.
A picture can inspire us.
Nature can inspire us.
There is inspiration everywhere.
What inspires you?
What gives you joy and peace?
These are the things and the colors that you need in your home.

Once you’re inspired, let’s begin with your walls and let’s learn how to paint.
If you are not a seasoned painter, do not feel like you need to start and finish a room all at once.
If you have small children, do not feel as if you need to start and finish a room all at once.
In fact, let me tell you some easy ways to start and stop painting without it being a huge undertaking.

Choose a wall or two to begin and finish.

The day before you are going to begin, fill in holes with spackle and prime the patches…after you sand them, of course.

If your trim is painted, caulk where the wood trim has pulled away from the wall.
Buy paintable caulk.
As you apply the caulk, with your finger, smooth the caulk into the crack.
Tomorrow, you will be ready to paint.
Tape off the wood trim.
I am very picky about this step. The ends of the tape must line up with each other…otherwise, once the paint dries, you will have uneven lines.
THE PAINT JOB IS ONLY AS GOOD AS THE TAPE JOB.
Also, make sure the edge of the tape is secured on the baseboard and the other wood trim…not on the walls. If you allow the tape to be on the walls, even a little bit, there will not be paint on the walls in those areas…then, it takes even longer to finish the walls because of the touch up that you will have to do in order to make the job look good.
Pull the tape off while the paint is wet.

Trim the walls and ceiling out with an angled brush…buy a good one. You will realize how much easier it is to paint when you buy a good quality brush. You will have less problems and your end product will look so much better. If you are a beginner, may I suggest buying a 2” angled brush…AND, If you go to a paint store…not a home improvement store, you can ask the salesman for a good “cut brush” and he will pick the right one for you. Also, make sure you leave no gloppy messes on the walls. Brush everything smooth. Paint will dry as it is on the wall. So, if you drip, smooth it out with your brush. As you trim by the taping you have completed, paint with a “dry” brush. That means, brush off paint on the wall away from the tape and move into the tape when there is little paint left on the brush. That way, paint won’t “leak” under the tape, as it could if the brush were too full of paint.

Now you are ready to roll the first coat of paint.
Again, purchasing a good roller sleeve is worth the investment.
If you are painting with eggshell or satin paint, use a 3/8” roller sleeve.
If you are painting with flat paint, use a ½” roller sleeve.
Eggshell paint is easy to wipe and clean. Hard to touch up.
Flat paint is hard to wipe and clean. Easy to touch up.
Eggshell will show imperfections in the wall.
Flat will hide imperfections in the wall.

When you fill your sleeve with Paint, roll the paint off in the middle of the wall, not close to the edges. Roll the paint to cover a portion of the wall that is about 4 feet wide. Make sure you have covered it well. Then, put more paint on your roller, start in the middle of the wall and go all the way up, and keeping the roller on the wall, roll it straight down to the base of the wall…up-down…all in one motion. Then do that again and again until the 4 foot portion has been covered with the up and down motion. Too much paint will leave a texture on the wall that you don’t want and not enough paint will not cover well enough. Follow this procedure until the wall is complete. Do this same thing for the second coat.

Article courtesy Pam Geallis
Personally Yours: An Interior Decorating Firm
Color Consultation, Window Treatments, Painting, Faux Finishing
815-823-5151