Painting Mishaps and How to Avoid Them

If there’s one thing Americans don’t like, its painting.

But once the endless task is done, you are no longer forced to stare at blank walls and inhale paint fumes. You are free.

Here are some tips to get you through the process unscathed.

Arm Yourself with the Best Tools

Don’t use that ratty old roller you’ve been holding onto since the last time you painted your house.

“To get the job done right, you need good quality tools,” Marketing Manager and Training Coordinator for Purdy, Bruce Schneider says. “It always boggles my mind that people are willing to spend $40 or $50 on a gallon of premium paint but decide to go cheap on the applicators. Later, when they see a hair on the wall or lumps of roller lint under the paint, they’ll realize the mistake. Investing in good brushes or rollers up front is worth the extra expense.”

Do Yourself and Your Home a Favor

And purchase nothing, but the best for your home sweet home. One time I bought a really light—almost white—lavender paint color for my office and it came out way more purple than it looked in the store.

For this reason it’s a good idea to buy a quart before you take the plunge and buy the gallon. Taken from DIY Network, paint a piece of foam board and move it around the room so you can see how the light affects it at various points throughout the space.

Know the Square Footage of the Space

DIY Network recommends one gallon for every 400 square feet. However, covering textured, rough or unprimed surfaces may require more.

Don’t Underestimate your Time

The worst thing you can do is underestimate how much time it will take to get the project done. You should wait about 24 hours before you bring furniture back into the room and set aside 14-30 days before washing and wiping down your pretty new walls.

Make Sure you Know How to Prep 

Sand the walls, wear a mask and wipe away the dust particles with a tack cloth before applying latex on an oil finish and vice versa. Apply a primer of the same composition (oil or latex) of the anticipated topcoat.

To tell whether your current wall color is water-or-oil-based, wet a white cloth with rubbing alcohol and rub it onto the wall (in a discrete spot). If the paint softens and begins to transfer onto the cloth, it is water based. If the alcohol does not remove any color, it is oil-based.

The Color Makes All the Difference

Choosing a color for your home can be difficult. There’s only an entire wall of paint colors to choose from at the local department store so how do you choose the shade that’s right for you?

What’s your goal?

Would you like to make your room feel calmer, cheerful, dramatic, comfortable, more spacious or more intimate?

HGTV says you can make a den feel cozy by painting the walls with a warm color, or make a narrow space feel wider by using different colors on opposing walls.

“Color is all around us and even in our vocabulary. We say we feel ‘blue’,” says interior designer and color expert Elaine Ryan. “It’s part of our core, but for many years color has been excluded from our homes … but now I see a real love for it and people wanting it in their home. It’s all about finding the colors you respond to and that make you feel good.”

Tell us about your painting mistakes in the comment section below!