Painting 101: 3 Things To Do Before You Paint

Preparation starts well before you get to the painting stage. In order to create a comfortable, attractive space that you’ll want to live in, whether it is a home bedroom, living space, or a home office, you need to make sure you have a plan. It’s not just about slapping paint on the wall. It’s important to have an idea and then make sure you have the tools to see it through from beginning to end.

Always Think Ahead

For every project, you’re going to need a clear idea of what you want the revitalized space to look like. Make a list, pull together a dream board, doodle up some sketches, or do whatever organizing you need to do so you can set the scheme in proverbial stone. If you want to put in a different color accent wall, look at the furniture and fixtures of the room you’ll be painting and consider if the things you use and enjoy most will still be a good fit if you change up the color scheme.

Pick a color that coordinates with the colors you already use in that space, or find new accents that will create the style you want to see in your home. Keep track of what you like or don’t like as you consider all these things and write them down to refer back to if needed. This is so you will know what to work toward and can keep track of the different stages, as well as the details like budgeting. Make a plan. Refer to it often, and change it up as needed.

Sample Sizes

Of course, this means making choices. Decide what colors you might like, and then narrow it down. If you’re making a drastic color shift and not just getting a fresh coat of paint, it’s a good idea to sample the paint in your space before you commit to it. This step starts with collecting color sample chips and taping them to the wall you wish to paint so you can narrow the list down. Keep a few of the sample paint chips in a file if you really like them for future projects.

Once everyone in the household has had a chance to chose which one they like best, you can order a peel-and-stick sample of the color to try out in your home. You can usually get a sample can of that paint color. Pick an area of about six inches to a square foot on the wall and clean it off with a damp rag. Next, apply a coat of the sample color and let it dry. Live with it a few days. Check out what it looks like under the different lighting conditions throughout the day and night. This allows you to see if you really like that shade on your walls before you commit to the time and financial investment of painting the whole room.

Buy Enough Paint

Always know how much paint you’ll need before you start a project. There’s nothing worse than getting half way through a project, only to discover that you ran out of paint, and now your local hardware store is sold out of the type of paint you need. Buy enough paint at the beginning to see it through. If applied correctly, you can plan on a single gallon of paint covering about 400 square feet of wall space. This is the same for both primer paint and topcoat paint.

It’s important to take careful measurements of the space you’re going to paint. Once you know the size of the walls you’re looking to update, convert them to square footage. (Don’t worry, if you’re not sure about the calculations, take the measurements with you to the store and the paint department can help.) For more on calculating the necessary amount of paint, you can find useful guides online.

It’s important to note that you may not need primer paint for your project. Many newer paints on the market are topcoat paints that can do the work of both, and if you’re applying it over a wall that has been painted with a latex paint in the last five to eight years, the combination paint-and-primer will do the trick. But for surfaces that haven’t been recently painted, or that are at all porous - such as wood, cement, or wallpaper- the primer coat will help the topcoat do its job most effectively.

Once you have determined if you need a primer coat, it’s also important to remember that you’ll need enough topcoat paint to go over the walls twice. Keep in mind that some colors of paint are harder to hide; a dark wall, like a deep green or red, will still show through a fresh coat of white. A bright colored wall will tint through a white or light colored wall, also, so that impacts the amount of paint you have to use. These kind of drastic color transitions are likely going to need a primer and multiple coats. So make sure that you have the store mix up enough of the paint color to do two coats. It’s better to have more than needed to do the job, as you may need to do touch ups later.

There are many choices to be made when considering a home improvement project. Painting may seem like an easy way to change things up, add a little variety, but it is still a time-consuming and expensive project that can either add to or detract from your home’s value. With a little forward-planning, you can make sure you end up with a perfect space that looks professional and customized to you.