Room Painting Tips (the office is painted)

You guys, the office is painted!  I’ve wanted to paint this room since we moved in, and I’ve finally done it!  I feel like a weight has lifted off my shoulders and I can’t wait for you to see the dramatic change.  While we’re at it I thought I’d also give you room painting tips.  I thought some of you at home might be starting to DIY: maybe you’re in your first house or you’ve gotten permission in your rental property. Just so you’re aware there are a few affiliate links in this post for materials.

I had never painted a room before we moved to our first house and the first one we tackled ended up being Conor’s bedroom (it was the guestroom when we first painted it). Click here to see that first room.  So I thought some of you might be in the same boat 😉

You probably want to see what the office was looking like before:

As you can see, the color is quite yellow. Very gold and since the room isn’t huge and has dark woodwork I wanted to brighten things up. To do this I selected Benjamin Moore’s Revere Pewter it is a delicious. It is a light gray with warm undertones and pairs equally well with white woodwork (it really pops against it) or dark as we have (makes it feel richer, but brightens the room).  I opted for a matte finish.  I like flat and matte because some of our rooms have textured walls (from the old plaster) the sheen from eggshell shows this rough texture more.

So before I get to the afters, let me give you my room painting tips:

Materials

• Paint of your choice – we used Benjamin Moore Revere Pewter
• Drop Cloths
• Painters tape (I like Frog Tape)
• Purdy Brush
• Rollers
• Painters Tray

Method

Choosing your paint.

First things first, choose your paint color.  To narrow down color selection I like looking at my Benjamin Moore Fan Deck. Once decided, I like to go to my Benjamin Moore retailer and pull color swatches and bring them home.  I can usually tell from this if I’m going to like the color.  If you need to see it on the wall.  I recommend getting a tester color and painting a posterboard and holding it up to the wall. Try looking at the color in different lights, different times of day and position it in different parts of the room.  If you’re happy with the color then it’s time to get your paint and start the painting process.

What should you paint first?

You want to work top down.  So you start first with ceilings and I usually just use white ceiling paint, except in our sunroom (click here) where we painted the ceilings a beautiful blue.  Since we live in an old house we soon discovered we had calcimine ceilings. This was horrible and not very much fun as all the paint we painted on immediately peeled off click here to read that post.  So first you start with the ceilings, then the walls, then the trim (if you’re painting it).  This room we decided to just do the walls.

Prep

I know people like to dive right in.  I’m a get it done person too, but you should definitely do a little prep work.  Wash down the walls (especially if they’re greasy or have dirt on them, dust the molding etc.  Also fill any holes from old curtain rods or pictures that you’re not going to put back up.  Make sure your spackle is dry before you start painting!

Tape – I like using delicate surface tape on our dark woodwork to prevent damage to the wood but you can use regular painters tape.  I know the pros don’t even use tape, but I like to take the precaution.

Remove all the light switches.  It is a pet peeve of mine when people just paint around them.  Sigh.  It doesn’t take long to unscrew them from the wall.

Drop Cloths

If you plan on doing lots of painting of rooms I advise in investing in nice drop cloths.  I like felt lined ones as they are heavy and they lay flat.  In our last house we tried disposable ones and found that they’d shred or move and we’d get paint on the hardwood floors. Yikes!  These are a bit more pricey but we’ve used them in every room in this house and they are going strong.

Priming

If you’re going from a very light color from a very dark color you may need to prime your walls before you paint. I’ve also heard that if your doing red over something light then black is a good base coat.  I would double check with your painting distributor to see if they recommend priming first.  You would also want to prime new wood.

Cutting In

So you know the corners of the room or right by the ceiling or baseboard molding. These are areas the roller can’t paint so you’ll need to cut in. There is a special tool you can get for this but I find that it shows up as it has a different texture.  I like to cut in with my purdy xl glide brush.  I pour some paint out in a cup and do these areas.  I usually do the top, cut in the sides and then by the baseboard.  I like to cut in and then roll on the paint.

Painting Your Walls

I use this type of roller as it works for all walls.  I also like to use the heavy duty trays and wash them out afterward and reuse them.  I did approximately two half coats on this room. Your paint color will depend on how many coats you need to cover.

Touching Up

Once you remove the tape you’ll see if there are any areas that you need to touch up. I do this with a little paint on a smaller brush.

That’s all there is to it.

Paint, whether on walls or furniture, will give you the most amazing transformation.  I really feel like a can of paint is bang for your buck. Somehow painting something can completely revitalize it.  This room went from dark to light and I can’t wait to start using it as a creative space.

Here is the before and after (drop cloths still down):

I have moved some things back in, my new driftwood lamp and a leafy palm.

I’m so excited to share more of this room makeover real soon!  We’ll be putting up a new light fixture and choosing a new couch for the space. I plan on including you all in every step of the way.

If you liked this post, you might also like these:

How to Stencil a Wall

How to Paint Calcimine Ceilings

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