Steps on How to Paint a Room Area

The are many tried and true methods that professional painters use that can be adopted to paint every room of the house. These make the painting easier and provide great results:

1) Come up with a general inventory of the supplies you need for the given room. If you haven't already done so, review our interior tools and supplies

2) Choose the type of interior paint that suits your tastes and needs. Integrate sheen for the type of area being painted. Normally the higher the sheen, from flat to gloss, the greater the wearability and ability to clean the surface. With flatter finishes, any touch-up in the years ahead will be with less 'flash' and blend more undetectably.

3) Immediately begin by pulling any nails and screws in the walls and ceilings. Get the patch bedded since this alone is usually a determining factor in just how soon the walls can take paint. For drywall, apply lightweight all-purpose compound. After let to dry, apply a second coat over the 'dip', and possibly a third coat while sanding in-between coats to bring about a smoother taper; first pressing patch into the hole and working outward, the first sand coat leveling any bumps, and the next a finer-tuning on the level, then finally, sanding to a smooth indisernable plane with the wall (depending on patch diameter). Fine grade sanding sponges work well and also for corner areas, or simply use 150 grit paper. Make sure that all surfaces being patched are first made without any rises in the surface -- tapping with the blunt end of a nail set is one way to 'concave' any such rise. 4) With the patch now drying, move the furniture away from the walls, toward the center of the room. Create enough space now to both cut in the trim, and for the rolling the walls. Cover anything with plastic as needed. Note: if the ceiling is to receive paint, first paint the trim around the center fixture if standing will be obstructed by the moved furniture. Lighten heavy furniture by 1st sliding out the drawers & setting aside. Pull any fixtures from the walls such as wall plates, dropping them into an empty bucket to keep the parts in a consolidated place.

5) Caulk where needed, and this includes between the baseboard and door casings at the wall juncture. If doing the trim seperate, mask off the carpet by 'tucking the tape' beneath the trim with a putty knife as you progress. To make the sharpest contrast: paint the trim before the walls, and doing this will mean that the patch above must have gone through its final sand-off before starting. Only after the baseboards and casings are painted and dry can they be masked overtop, paint-edge nearest the walls, for painting the wall surfaces.

6) All ceilings should be complete before the walls. This will make cutting the wall-line easier and more distinct. Normally a 1/2" nap on a roller will suffice. Let the ceiling dry to view a consistent result before starting the walls.

7) Painting the walls; if a paint with a sheen is opted, the patch areas may need drywall sealer applied (less than $12 a quart) to fill the porosity and enable a smooth, solid finish. Also, some paints must be painted out 'wall by wall' including some glosses and ceramic paint type finishes. For flat to low sheens, roll on with a 1/2" woven nap roller. If more than a single room is to be painted, it might be worth it to roll out of a 5 gallon pail with screen inserted, for ease of transport and for minimimzing the 'back and forths' of refilling a roller tray (with liner).

7.5) If draperies are present, they can be removed or shifted back and forth as paint is applied on the wall (will mean unhooking at the 'ends'). Normally, painting the center high and low wall first, let dry, then loosely bunch and knot both of the bottom drape ends together, covering with thin plastic to protect from drips.

8) Pull the tape after final coat is applied. The tape at the baseboard may have a 'dried seal' that should be carefully broken with your putty knife prior to pulling. Complete the vacuuming and final cleanup procedure. A wait time on the walls is generally best prior to reinstalling plate covers as putting on too soon can render them stuck.