Interior Painting Tips

Brush up

Whether it’s time to paint your new home, or re-paint your current home, there are a few tips and techniques that will make the job much easier. If you’re getting ready to sell your home, a fresh coat of neutral colors will let potential buyers get a nice mental image of how their furniture will look in the house. Following are a few helpful painting tips and techniques to ensure a beautifully-painted interior in no time.

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The primer coat

Unless your current color is flat, it’s important to apply a primer coat to make the new paint adhere better. On flat-painted walls that need only small repairs, you might simply want to spot prime.

For walls with big areas of patching plaster, it’s a good idea to use a sealer or primer/sealer combo. Priming doesn’t require as much attention as painting, but it’s done the same way as painting-with brushes and rollers.

Ceiling and wall painting

You’ll always want to start with the ceiling if you’re painting an entire room. First, cover the perimeter and unpainted areas around the fixtures. Painter’s tape is excellent for covering. It’s generally a trademark blue color and sold at any hardware store.

Start with the ceiling (moving widthwise), in sections by about six feet square. Employ a series of overlapping “W” strokes, moving from right to left, then back from left to right.

If you’re using a finish other than flat, be sure to go over the whole ceiling once again with one-directional, overlapping, and non-diagonal strokes. This will ensure the paint is blended correctly. Then repeat the exact same steps with the walls, painting up to an inch or so next to edges and trimmings. The last non-diagonal strokes should be from top to bottom.

Using a paintbrush

Unless you have a very steady and skilled hand, or you have an edging tool, be sure to mask the perimeter of the ceiling with painting tape. Then paint the upper perimeter of the walls, and all the areas that you weren’t able to cover with a roller.

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If the ceiling or walls require a second coat, only start painting after the first coat dries. Always check the paint’s label for specific recoating and drying instructions. Generally, you will always get a better second coat if the first coat is allowed to fully dry.

To paint trim, baseboards, windows, and doors, use painting tape or a paint edger to protect your freshly painted walls. You can wedge doors open with a rolled-up newspaper, but always place a drop cloth underneath to protect tile or carpet.

A roller is the quickest way to paint a flat door. For doors with panels, you will most likely have to use a large brush. For double-hung windows, first pull the top sash down and paint the bottom area, then push it back up and paint the top area. Next, paint the bottom sash, and then the jambs and frame.

Solve Room decor Problem

Room Décor is not as easy as it seems at the first sight. You may fancy that glamorous room in the home décor magazine but you may find it almost impossible to translate into a reality because of the simple reason that the construction of your home and measurement of your rooms is entirely different. You may be renting an apartment where you cannot redo the positioning of walls, doors and windows or have a large large hall you do not seem to put to best use. Color, lines and furniture arrangement can make a huge difference to your room décor. We have identified the five most common problems that people often face while doing room décor and have come up with the possible solutions. I still remember my last visit using car hire Shannon Airport to one of the local hotel’s room interior design.
These are:

1. Very Long Room

  • The best way to deal with a very long room is to split it into two using screens and room dividers that you may use as study area, living area, dining room, personal gym or just entertainment room.
  • Use warm dark colors on shorter walls to make them advance and give the room a balanced look.
  • You may also define separate areas by using different area rugs.

2. Low Ceiling

  • Long curtains that can be draped from above the door level and window level all the way to the floor, add height to the room.
  • Paint ceiling in light cool color to make it recede and add light to the room.
  • Tall accessories such as lamps look good and make room look taller too.
  • You can add height to a room by installing vertical and tall cabinets or bookcases in the room.

3. Narrow Room

  • Any linear arrangement on shorter walls such as placement of shelves, art pieces or rugs, will make them look wider.
  • Diagonal arrangement of furniture looks better.
  • You can also fool the eye by painting your longer walls in cool light colors to make them recede.
  • 4. Tall Room

    • Horizontally placed shelves, crown mouldings and art pieces cut off the height of the room.
    • In such rooms, ceilings should have a warm dark color.
    • You can also play the visual trick of installing the mouldings or chair rails to one half to three quarters of the way up the walls.

    5. Very Big Room

    • Experiment with warm and dark colors on your wall to make the room look cozier and friendlier.
    • Group furniture pieces into two or more separate seating arrangements.
    • Like long rooms, big rooms can also be divided into smaller areas using screens and room dividers and can be used for better purposes and will make the room look cozier too.

    Living Room Painting Ideas

    Do you have furniture that doesn’t seem to go with the rest of your house? Try a fresh coat of paint before you change your living room’s decor.

    Let me guess, you’re cringing right now at the thought of painting your living room. You’re not alone. Even though most homeowners know painting is the most inexpensive and quickest way to transform their living rooms from drab to fabulous, they still express reluctance in vivid hues. They feel selecting the right paint colors is an intimidating task not easily achieved by amateurs. However, finding and living with colors you really love can be easy, fun and a lot lighter on your budget.

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    Top 4 Tips

    1. Collect Decorating Samples From Your Home The best way to begin choosing the right paint color for your living room is to let fabric lead the way. Fabric provides inspiration for a room’s color scheme. It’s also a more prudent starting point since painting your living room is much easier and costs a lot less than to change furniture and window treatments.

    2. Study Color Schemes You Admire in Home Decorating Magazines Turn your magazine flipping into a treasure hunt. Mark or rip out pages with rooms that you like. This will become your decorating portfolio and will come in handy when its time to pick a mood and feel for your room.You may even see a room with the same structure as your space that you can use as a template for your wall color and furniture placement. See how the pros do it, copy them and then add your own personality twist for a fresh, new look.

    3. Keep Paint Tones in Mind and Instantly Change the Mood of your Living Room You want to use colors appropriate to the natural setting lighting. To create the prefect place to curl up by, you must understand the psychology of color. The color wheel has two sides: warm and cool. Just like the group name connotes, warm colors add coziness and warmth to a space while cool colors add a smooth airiness that can translate an atmosphere of peace and relaxation. Warm colors range from red to orange and cool colors range from blue to violet.Knowing how color will affect your emotional response will come in handy when choosing the mood of your living room.

    4. Notice Architectural Features Highlighting window casements, columns, staircases, crown moldings and other architectural features with shades of white can instantly turn your living room into a true showcase admired by friends, family and yourself.

    If you’re feeling brave, instead of painting your living room’s architectural features white or off-white, consider the palest shade of color to coordinate with the walls. Your Home Interior Decoration Bottom Line: Painting your living room can be fun, easy and cheap. You may already have the framework for a showroom hiding in your carpets, curtains and furniture.

    Choosing a living room’s feel can be as simple as flipping through your favorite magazine and cutting out a picture. Paying a little attention to details, especially architectural ones can give your living room that custom touch. This is a secret that most do-it-yourselfers overlook. If you follow these tips, you will pick a paint to please your palette and give your home the quality it deserves.

    This article was provided by the American Homeowners Association (AHA). Richard Roll, Founder and President of the American Homeowners Association (AHA), is dedicated to providing over 1 million homeowners with the information, tools and resources that will help them save money and make the right decisions about their homes. For more information on how to renovate, remodel and decorate your home with less time, money and effort, go to www.ahahomenew.org for a special offer from AHA. Want to do the right things to maintain your home quickly and easily? The National Home Maintenance Manual (NHMM) helps you protect your largest investment.


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