Painting the interior of your home is the best way to update any living space and make it your own. Just as long as you know what you are doing. Read the Do’s and Don’ts of interior painting before you try to hack it on your own. It will save you time, money, and embarrassment. Most of all, it will turn out aesthetically pleasing for you and your guests.
It doesn’t seem to matter what type of decor you place in your home or what your general style is. If you do not have the right paint on your walls your entire room quickly starts to look like a disaster. Which is a very sad sight to see considering painting the walls can be an inexpensive way to renovate your home. No demolition required, no need to hire a contractor. You just need to purchase a small paint brush, a paint roller brush, a canvas drop cloth, some painters tape, and of coarse, some paint. But before you purchase that paint, here are the Do’s and Don’ts you must know before getting started.
DO’S AND DON’TS OF INTERIOR PAINTING 1:
Do: pick a paint finish for the wall that is either matte or satin. Many people decide they want to paint their room a new color and then they head over to the paint store, hand over their chosen paint swatch only to be asked the question, “what paint finish would you like that color in?” That is correct, paints come in different finishes. Meaning some finishes are more flat and some finishes have more shine. You do not want your wall to be reflective and glossy. My preference is to go Matte for a flat finish. But if you worry about scrubbing your kid’s hand prints off of the wall, satin is a nice pick that has just enough shine to make a more slick surface for wiping down. I would not advise going any shinier than Satin for a wall finish.
Don’t: paint your wall with a gloss or semi-gloss finish. You will create a look that looks plastic and tacky. Just don’t do it!
DO’S AND DON’TS OF INTERIOR PAINTING 2:
Do: paint your trim with a finish that has more shine than your wall paint. Semi-gloss makes for the perfect trim finish. it is a bit more shine than a matte finish and slightly more shine than a satin finish. It breaks up the wall from the trim and is easier to clean off dust and those little cat foot prints from the window sill.
Don’t: paint your trim matte. Your trim has no texture but it does have some angles and curves. It is good to accentuate your trim a bit. However, you also do not want to paint your trim with a full-on gloss finish. Again, this will end up making your trim look like cheap plastic.
DO’S AND DON’TS OF INTERIOR PAINTING 3:
Do: paint your trim an Off-white. Unless you are living in a cabin in the woods, dark wood stains are outdated! The fastest way to update your living space is to paint that trim. Try not to be too shocked – the change it will make for your interior wall will be night and day!
Don’t: only paint your walls and not your trim. Only painting your wall is going to leave you feeling like you spent hours trying to update your space without the significant change to your room’s over-all look. getting rid of that dark stained trim is a must!
DO’S AND DON’TS OF INTERIOR PAINTING 4:
Do: pick out off-white colors instead of basic white colors. You want your home to look warm and inviting. You do not want your home to look sterile like a hospital. This goes for painting your interior walls, your trim, or even the exterior of your home. You can opt for white walls and you should opt for white trim. Just make sure you are looking through off-white and creamier white color swatches, and not picking out a white that will make your wall look like a blank piece of paper.
Don’t: paint everything the same color of white. You can have a white wall with white trim if you like a light and bright room. However, whatever off-white color you choose for your trim, make sure you pick an off-white that is at least two shades darker, or creamier in tone for your walls.
DO’S AND DON’TS OF INTERIOR PAINTING 5:
Do: paint narrow hallways, dark rooms, and small spaces, very light neutral colors. This includes a small bedroom, bathroom, laundry room and any room that lacks windows and natural light. The darker or brighter the color you paint these types of spaces, will only create an affect of the room becoming claustrophobic and cave-like. Always use lighter colors to create a spacious affect. A lighter color will always open up the space and make it seem bigger. A great tip for picking out the right color for any room is to find the color you love, and then finding that same color in at least two shades lighter. Paint colors will always look darker on your wall than they did at the paint store.
Don’t: paint a narrow hallway or small space a bright red. In fact, never paint any space bright red! Red in general is a difficult color to paint with. You can almost never get an even coat of it on the wall. You will end up with a very unintentional splotchy red mess on your wall that you spent way too much time on trying to get evened-out. Also, red is just too bright to look good in any room. There is a reason even a red dining room is an outdated design. Red is over bearing and draws way to much attention. You will be staring at a wall more than you will be admiring the overall look of your cleverly designed room. Stay away from red!
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DO’S AND DON’TS OF INTERIOR PAINTING 6:
Do: paint with warm neutrals and earth tones. When you paint with more neutral colors your decor style can easily change without you having to repaint your room all over again. Use color in your space by utilizing your accent pieces. Do you love bright sunny yellows? You still can, by painting your wall a nice warm gray or light earthy blue and throwing some bright yellow accent pillows on your couch. Hang up that big painting of yellow sunflowers on your wall and place whatever other yellow accent pieces you enjoy on your book shelf. You can add pops of color in many ways to brighten up your space.
Don’t: paint your wall bright colors. This is an especially important tip if you are new to painting. It can be difficult to pull off a bright colorful wall. So if you are just trying out updating your home through the art of interior painting for the first time, look for neutral colors like warm grays, creamy white, sandy tan colors, light earthy blues and sage greens. Avoid any color you could also find in your child’s crayon box.
DO’S AND DON’TS OF INTERIOR PAINTING 7:
Do: paint your wall a gray color. Gray is a great neutral color that you can pair well with any different accent color. It also looks good with any wood flooring.
Don’t: paint every room in your house the same gray color and do not paint any wall with a paint color that is just labeled gray. You should always be looking at different variants of gray. Grays can be more warm in tone or more cool in tone. Grays can be slightly more green, blue, or even purple. Make sure to pick a gray that is going to work best in your space. Again, if you pick a gray that matches the crayon from your child’s art box, your room is going to end up looking gloomy and seriously boring.
Find more design blog posts at Well-Rounded Woman PNW – Various experiences that can inspire, educate, and be a fun read
DO’S AND DON’TS OF INTERIOR PAINTING 8:
Do: take advantage of your painter’s tape when you paint your walls and trim. Having clean lines is so important if you want your paint job to elevate your living space. Wall paint on your trim and trim paint on your wall is sure to downgrade your space instead of update it. It looks messy and it is not impressive. Why even spend the time painting if you are going to end up with worse results than when you started? Painting can be easy, fun, and turn out amazing. Just make sure to paint the walls first, let the paint dry, tape around all the trim as straight at you can, and then paint the trim. make sure to pull the tape off before the paint is completely dry for best results. You can use a damp paper towel to wipe off any paint bleeds under the tape.
Don’t: paint your ceiling. Leaving your ceiling white will bring out the detail of your wall color and your beautiful off-white trim. Painting your ceiling will make the ceilings look shorter and your living space look more like a dark cave. Leave your ceiling white and you will have the appearance of having sought after tall ceilings.
There are so many ways and reasons in which painting the interior of your home will improve the look of your space and having you feeling great in your home. After taking the advice in this article and finishing your interior paint jobs you will be thinking, “Did I just have my home professionally remodeled?” No, you just painted your home yourself and you did a professional job. Not only will you not be embarrassed by your attempt at interior design, you will impress your friends and family.
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