Your guide to DIY painting at home

Giving a room in your home a fresh and newly renovated look is as easy as giving it a fresh coat of paint! Changing the colour of a room will give it an entirely new look and feel. Even just painting a fresh coat of the same colour that’s already on the walls will brighten the room and make it look brand new.

Some people are weary of painting their own walls, but anybody can paint a room. No professionals needed! Here are some useful tips and tricks to painting the interior of your home like a pro.

For sale: Milton, NSW

Prepare your surface

You want your walls to be clean and protected before you even touch them with a paintbrush. Begin by taking off any outlet covers, putting plastic bags over lighting fixtures and removing anything else on the surface (i.e. curtains, cabinet handles, furniture and art) to protect them from an accidental splash of paint. Fill in any holes or cracks with patching paste, which you can find at a hardware supply store.

Then, you can prep your walls. If there is a lot of peeling, loose old paint or cracks, sand the surface to create a smooth working area. Then, wash the walls with water and mild soap. Rinse the walls with warm water and allow them to dry completely before doing anything else.

Finally, you’ll want to give the walls a coat of primer. Some people skip this step because the wall has been painted before, but primer will still help give you a uniform look when you begin with the paint.

If you aren’t painting walls, but are instead painting another surface in your home there may be additional steps you should take. If you’re painting a staircase or a fireplace, for example, more attention is necessary because these will be more intricate than just a flat wall. You may need to strip the existing paint or varnish before beginning which will take a bit more time and elbow grease than prepping walls.

You should also think twice before attempting to paint cabinet hardware. It may be more expensive to buy the proper paint and materials rather than just purchasing new hardware. Painting certain areas of the home can be more difficult than just painting walls of a room, so do your research before picking up a brush.

Get down & dirty

Once your walls are prepared, the fun part begins – the painting! There are many types of brushes you can use, but the most efficient way to paint a large room is with a roller. Even better is a power roller. Power rollers can be bought at your local hardware store and will save you tons of time and energy.

For painting corners and edges near baseboards, use a small brush with angled bristles to get a close and accurate result.

Choosing your brushes will depend mostly on the type of paint you’ll be using and the surface you’re painting. For instance, polyester brushes work very well for latex paints while natural-bristle brushes work well with oil based paints.

There are also brushes in all different sizes and styles depending on the type of project you’re doing. These decisions will be based on the room you’re painting, so be sure to head into a supply store and see what’s available.

When painting, use the ‘W’ technique. This is an efficient way to get an even coat of paint. Start in one corner of the wall and paint a three by three foot W shape. Then, without lifting the roller, fill in the lines. Continue in small W sections until the entire wall is painted. This may seem tedious, but it will pay off when you step back and view your beautiful freshly painted walls.

Tape tricks

Painters tape is something that is used in most home painting projects, but it can be intimidating to work with. Knowing the right tricks will make it easy.

For example, after positioning your tape, paint a base coat before the actual paint. The base coat will leak under the tape and essentially seal the tape so that the colour doesn’t run. This will create very crisp lines that will look super professional.

When taping, you can lay the tape up to a week in advance of when you’ll be painting, but you should remove the tape immediately after painting even before it dries. If you wait until the paint dries, you run the risk of pulling some paint off with the tape.

For sale: 45 Shadforth Street, Mosman, NSW

Painting your home is a fun project that will give the room a whole new look. If you do it yourself, it will also be something you can look at proudly every day. Just follow these tips and tricks to transform your room beautifully and avoid any DIY project regrets.

For more DIY inspiration for your home check out these on trend paint colours to brighten your day, crafty DIY projects for the weekend and think pink: 11 tasteful home decor ideas.