Painting 101: How to Paint a Room Like a Pro

nvilu7

Aug 4

17 min read

Updated: Sep 1

Same hallway with white walls and coral walls — Same entryway. Same furniture. Same light. Different feeling. That's the power of paint.

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Paint—the Best Home Design Tool

Paint is the best home design tool you have. It’s easy to use, it’s cheap, and it makes an immediate, high-impact change in the look and feel of a room—without having to do anything else.

Yes.

Same furniture, wall art, and décor—but by changing the wall color, your room will look completely different.

The reason is simple. The largest surfaces in a room are the four walls that surround you.

Not yet convinced? Here’s a few more ways that painting a room will improve your home:

Paint will freshen up a room better than a deep clean. A new coat of paint will restore brightness and luster to your walls more effectively than cleaning.
Repainting the walls in an older home is a super-efficient and inexpensive way to refresh a home that hasn’t been painted in a decade or more.
Paint can make a room feel bigger—or smaller and cozier—than it actually is.
Repurpose a room. New paint will “realign” a room to a new activity, for example, as your kids move out and you repurpose their bedrooms for a home office, gym, etc.
Exorcise a few demons. Want to change how you feel in a room? Paint will do it—for example, when your ex moves out and you claim your home for yourself (been there).
Maybe you just want a change. Paint will do that, too.

If you’ve never painted a room before, it’s not rocket science.

Most painting mistakes are avoidable. I know because I have not-avoided most of them.

With just a bit of thought, preparation, and attention to detail, anyone can be successful.

Painting a room boils down to five basic steps:

Choose your paint.
Gather your supplies.
Prep the room.
Paint.
Clean up.

Let’s break it down to save you time and get the best result.

Plan Before You Paint

Use Water-Based Paint

For most painting scenarios, use water-based rather than oil-based paint. Water-based paint is much easier to use and to clean up post-painting, and it doesn’t stink like oil-based paint. Oil-based paint is used primarily for historic restorations and metal surfaces (I’m assuming your home wasn’t built by Paul Revere or that you live on a battleship).

Pick One Room

Whether or not this is your first painting project, slow your roll and paint one room at a time. That way, you keep the chaos and effort confined to one room. Much better for your mental health and end results.

Define Your Objective

Do you simply want to refresh the walls in the room? Do you want to repurpose or reclaim a room? Do you want the room to be more expansive or cozier than it currently is? Do you want the room to align with your home’s color palette? Do you want to break out of your home’s color palette?

Bottom line—What color will best support the room’s purpose and how you want to feel when you’re in the room?

To learn more about how color makes us feel, read Using Color in Home Design, Part 1.

Select a Paint Finish

Paint finishes(or sheens) determine how much light the paint will reflect. The main sheen types are flat, eggshell, satin, semi-gloss, and high gloss. Paints with a higher sheen are easier to clean and more durable, while paints with a lower sheen hide surface flaws better. Flat paint is most often used on ceilings, eggshell or satin on walls, and semi- or high gloss on trim.

Select a Wall Color

If you simply want to refresh your walls, select a color that’s identical or close to the current color. If you want to make a change, there are thousands of options to choose from.

For some people, picking a paint color is excruciatingly hard. What I hear most often is this:

“What if I get it wrong?”

My response is, “Then repaint.”

Harsh? Not really. Paint is one of the safest things to experiment with in your home. It’s not expensive or permanent and it can be changed in a weekend.

Better to repaint than live with a color you don’t like.

I repainted my condo bathroom four times before I got it right.

Want to get it right the first time? Here are the steps to take to help you select a paint color you’ll love.

1. Decide on a color family.

If you’ve decided on your objective for painting the room, you’ve probably narrowed down your choices to a color family (blue, green, pink, red, etc.).

At this point, with help from the paint company of your choice, you can start narrowing your options.

2. Narrow your color choices.

Make the first pass at selecting a paint color by heading online to your favorite paint website (my favorite is benjaminmoore.com). This is a great way to avoid the head-exploding effect of walking into a paint store and being confronted by a wall display composed of thousands of paint chips.

By going online first, you can immediately focus on a specific color family. Click on “Color”, “Find Color”, “Paint Color”, etc. at the top of the home page, click on the color family of your choice, then use the site’s filters to narrow your selections.

One of the best reasons for this approach (in addition to not having your head explode) is that every paint manufacturer’s website will show you how a color looks in an actual room rather than just on a swatch. Some sites will feature the paint in multiple rooms. Benjamin Moore will show you how the paint will look in different lighting.

Narrow your choices to 3 to 5 samples. Once you have over five samples it becomes difficult to see the differences among the colors you’ve picked. Write down the color number, name, and finish of each, then head to the paint to pull your paper-based paint samples (generically known as “paint chips”).

3. Get paint chips/samples.

Paint chips are very small but will be more true to the actual paint color than the digital image—sometimes astonishingly so. Look at the paint chips first to see if you can eliminate one or two of your color choices.

Since paint chip samples are about the size of a quarter, it’s super-tough to imagine how a new paint color will look in your room from just a paint chip.

That’s why paint stores stock larger paper-based samples, peel-and-stick samples, or small jars of the actual paint. If they don’t have your color(s) in stock, you can order them online.

Do not skip this step.

4. Take paint samples home and test them in your room.

Place your paint samples on the wall at eye level. They should be side-by-side with 4 to 6 inches of space between them.

Live with the samples for a few days to a week. Make a point of looking at the samples 5-6 times during the day so you can see how the color changes with the available natural light in the room. You also need to evaluate how the color looks in artificial light.

Note that paint samples usually come in only one finish (most often it’s eggshell), so take that into consideration when evaluating your samples.

If I’m considering a particularly audacious color choice (no guts, no glory), and no samples are available, I will buy a quart of paint in that color to sample on the walls.

I find that after going through this process, most people have a clear favorite from the samples they’ve selected.

Select a Trim Color

I generally opt for Benjamin Moore Super White on trim work (baseboards, window and door trim, interior doors) to pop against the wall color and frame the room. When used throughout a home, white trim work also serves to visually connect all the interior spaces.

Super White is a bright white paint with slightly cool gray/blue undertones that goes with every color. If you want a different white than Super White, just make sure that your trim color has a similar undertone to your wall color, i.e., a warm undertone if your wall color is warm and a cool undertone if your wall color is cool. Use the information on the back of the paint chip to help you select the most appropriate tint.

In addition to white and off-white, there are lots of other choices for trim color. Trim painted in the same color family as your wall color but several shades darker will provide contrast and frame the room without the high contrast delivered by white trim. A softer-looking trim option is to paint the trim using the same color as the walls.

Test your trim color with your wall color choice. Just place the trim sample above and/or below your preferred wall sample shade and take a few days to evaluate before deciding.

Don’t Forget the Ceiling

If you’re repainting a room that needs a refresh, consider freshening the ceiling, too. And consider colors other than white. In my last three homes I have painted my ceilings a pale blue. It mimics the sky and gives a room a fresh look without being in-your-face.

Avoid ceiling colors with yellow undertones, which can throw a yellow cast on your walls and make them look….jaundiced.

Here’s a few other ceiling painting tips:

If the room has lower ceilings, and you want to visually raise the ceiling height, consider painting the ceiling in a lighter variant of the wall color.
A contrasting ceiling color will add interest in a room, especially when the walls are a light color.
Pastel ceilings add interest to a room without being overwhelming.
A darker blue ceiling will blur the boundary between the walls and the ceiling.
A ceiling that’s darker than the walls will up the “cozy factor” in a room.
If your room has architectural detail, a ceiling that’s darker than the walls can highlight those details.

Do You Need Primer?

Should you always apply primer before you paint? That depends.

Primer prepares surfaces for paint. It blocks stains, seals surfaces, and helps paint adhere better. If you’re planning to paint new drywall, bare wood, very glossy surfaces, or badly-stained surfaces, priming before painting will give you better results. If you’re going from a very dark to a light color, and the surface doesn't have any of the issues listed above, save yourself the extra complication and simply use paint.

Primer is available in oil-, water-, and shellac-based formulas, each suited to different surfaces and problems. If you’re not sure what to use, ask for advice at your local paint store. You can apply latex paint over all three primer types; follow the primer manufacturer’s directions for drying time and any surface preparation required before painting.

Unless your walls are really stained, or you’re painting new drywall, one coat of primer is usually enough. If I’m using primer, I’ll look at the primer’s coverage and how well it sealed the surface after the initial coat to decide if I want to apply a second coat.

Here are a couple of examples of when to use (or skip) primer. My Pittsburgh home’s basement family room had medium-toned pseudo-wood paneling. The effect was dungeon-like, so I painted it white, using a primer first so the paint would adhere to paneling’s shiny surface. In my Portland house I was able to go straight to paint because the walls, ceilings, and trim had been painted just prior to being put on the market.

FYI, paints that are “paint and primer in one” are not primers—they are paints with good coverage and adhesion.

Buy Paint

Most paint manufacturers and retailers offer a paint calculator tool on their web sites to help you buy the right amount of paint the first time. You’ll need to know the square footage for the surfaces you’re going to paint, so measure the length and height of each wall and multiply total length by total height to get total square footage.

Generally speaking, one gallon of paint will cover 350-400 square feet of wall space.

Plan on at least two coats of paint to get full coverage. If your walls haven’t been painted in several years, they’ve become more porous, so, if you want optimal depth and sheen (and I know you do), be prepared to apply three coats. As noted above, new wallboard is quite porous, so you’ll need to use one coat of primer and at least two coats of paint (I usually apply primer and then three or four coats of paint).

When calculating square footage, you can get fancy and subtract the square footage of the openings (doors and windows) in your room’s walls. I’ve found that when I get fancy with my calculation I usually run out of paint. Better to end up with a half-gallon left than extending a paint project by half a day because you have to go back to the paint store.

One note of caution when ordering paint: once you’ve bought custom-mixed paint, it’s not returnable, even if you didn’t crack it open, so please do the square footage math.

Gather Painting Supplies

If you’ve never painted before, you’re going to need painting equipment. Buy the best quality supplies you can—they will give you the best results and will last for years.

Must-Have Equipment

Drop cloths— Some people swear by canvas drop cloths, but I have successfully used old percale sheets as drop cloths for years. Percale’s tight weave keeps paint drips from seeping through to other surfaces, and you can buy a set of sheets on sale for about as much as one 9x12 canvas drop cloth.

Whatever you use, you can save time and avoid paint drips by having enough drop cloths to completely cover the floors and furniture in the room you’re painting so you don’t have to shift them from one part of the room to another.

Paint tray and liners—used with a paint roller to apply paint. Paint tray liners are inexpensive and save tons of time on cleanup. I usually buy a dozen at a time so I always have them.

Paint trays come in different sizes. I have a standard 9-inch metal paint tray to use with 9-inch paint rollers and a 4 1/2” plastic paint tray to use with 4” paint rollers for small jobs and touch ups.

Paint rollers and roll covers—paint rollers have two parts, the roller and the roll cover. I use a 9-inch roller for regular paint jobs or a 4-inch roller for touch-ups, furniture and cabinets, or constrained spaces (like bathrooms).

Match your roller cover nap height/type to your wall texture. For smooth surfaces, a smooth cover will cover best. Semi-smooth covers are best on paneling, smooth concrete, and lightly textured walls. For stucco and highly-textured walls, select a rough-surfaced cover.

Make sure that your roller cover is the right size and type for your roller. American paint rollers have a supporting cage that holds the roller in place; European paint rollers do not.

Paint brushes—I always have a variety of brushes for interior trim and edge work, including 1” and 1 ½” slant tip brushes for edging, and 2” flat cut brushes for larger areas.

Brushes come in a variety of handle lengths. Before buying brushes, pull them off the display, “pretend” to paint with them, and buy the brushes that are most comfortable for your hands and wrists.

Many brushes come with a paper bristle cover that’s designed to maintain the bristle edge. Hold onto those covers and reuse them after cleaning the brush and allowing it to dry. Your brushes will last longer if you do.

Painters’ tape—commonly called “blue tape,” painter’s tape is used to prevent paint bleed and help you achieve clean, sharp lines—for example, where the wall ends and the baseboard trim begins.

When applying painters’ tape, I press the tape edge down firmly and then rub the edge with my thumb several time to make sure it adheres well. The more textured your walls, the less tightly the paint will adhere and the less sharp your paint lines will be. To minimize bleed-through, I avoid loading up the brush with paint.

Paint rags/towels—I find that if I am not super-careful I end up making more of a mess when using a cloth paint rag. After the umpteenth time of wiping paint ONTO a surface rather than off, I moved to damp paper towels that I change out frequently as I paint.

Nice-to-Have Equipment

Extension pole: If you’re planning to paint your ceiling, or if your walls are tall, consider getting a paint roller extension pole. These poles have a threaded metal end that you can screw into a paint roller handle to extend your reach. Painting using an extension pole can be awkward—but, with practice, it gets much easier and will save you time.

Paint bucket—some folks swear by using a paint bucket for painting with a brush, but I confess that I don’t. I’ll either use the bucket the paint came in (half a can or less worth of paint) or pour paint into a large plastic cup, which is lighter and easier to hold. If you want to use a paint bucket, consider buying bucket liners to cut down on cleanup.

Ladder/Stepstool—for brush work—for example, using an edging brush to paint the wall where it meets the ceiling—you’re going to have to get off the ground using a ladder or stepstool. A ladder will provide you with a lot more support than a stepstool, especially when you’ve got a paint tray or bucket in one hand and a paint brush in the other.

I confess that I own two stepstools and three ladders of various heights and I use all of them. You don’t have to go that crazy—a standard 6-foot step ladder is usually fine for most painting jobs unless you have unusually high ceilings.

If your room has unusually high ceilings, I once painted clouds on 10’ ceilings using rented scaffolding. Very Leonardo da Vinci and much easier on my neck and shoulders than using a ladder.

Task lighting—If the room’s lighting is under a drop cloth or not bright enough, you can buy a couple of clamp lights for around $20 and point them toward where you’re painting. I use a super-bright LED floor lamp that I originally bought for quilting.

Prep the Room for Painting

I hate prepping to paint. It takes longer than the actual painting. I hate it, but I do it, because it makes the painting process infinitely easier.

Do it. Painter You will thank Prepper You. I promise.

Plan on prep, painting, and cleanup to take three to five days per room to complete, depending on the room size, how many surfaces (ceiling, walls, trim) you’re painting, how many coats you are applying, and how long you need to wait between coats. Take your time—it will be worth it.

Preparation Steps

Remove décor, drapes, floor and table lighting, window shades, drapery hardware, artwork, and wall art.
Remove as much furniture as you can. Move the furniture that remains to the center of the room.
Cover the furniture and floors with drop cloths or sheets.
If you plan to paint the ceiling, and the room has overhead lighting, cover the light, too. A tie-closure garbage bag works well for semi-flush, pendant lights, and chandeliers. If your room has a hanging shade lamp, remove the shade and bag the light. For flush mounted lights, tape the light’s trim where it comes in contact with the ceiling.
Using painters’ tape, tape all the room’s “edges,” i.e., where the ceiling and the window, door, closet, and baseboard trim meet the walls. This will actually take an eternity, but it will drastically cut your painting time.
If you’re going to paint the ceiling and the walls, cover and tape the ceiling lighting and tape all the room’s edges as stated above except the corner where the ceiling and walls meet.

Start Painting

If you can, set up a staging area in the room you’re painting for pouring paint and parking the paint can. It’s easier to pour if the staging area is at waist level. Cover the area with a drop cloth and layers of newspaper to catch any spills.

Make sure that the staging area is placed to minimize risk of knocking over the paint can.

Before opening the paint can, read the instructions on the back so you know how long the paint needs to dry between coats and how long the paint takes to fully dry. And, when you pour your paint into a paint tray or bucket, pour it over the front of the paint can so you don’t cover the instructions—which I have done at least 87 times.

Carefully open the paint can (most paint stores will give you a free paint can opener—a flat head screwdriver works, too). Have a paint brush ready to clean up the paint that will inevitably get on the side of the can and in the channel on the top of the can when you pour out the paint. If you’re starting with a roller, pour the paint into the paint tray so the pan (the deepest part of the tray) is two-thirds full.

Always put the lid back on the can immediately after pouring out paint. Lightly tap it back into place on the can with a rubber mallet so it stays on if bumped. Please don’t ask me why this is critical—it’s a painful memory.

If you’re painting the ceiling, do that first to prevent roller splatter from the ceiling getting on your freshly-painted walls. You’ll be able to cover most of the ceiling with a roller and your trusty extension pole.

Unless you enjoy paint running down your arm, avoid loading your paint roller so it’s sopping wet.

Roll paint onto your ceiling or walls using medium pressure in an “N” or “W” pattern to apply an even coat of paint, going back over the area until it’s evenly covered. Keep your momentum going so you’re always maintaining a wet edge as you move across the surface. I will roll paint onto a 3’ by 4’ section, starting at the top and moving down, before moving to the top of the next section. Reload your roller as often as you need—more porous surfaces will need more paint.

After rolling the ceiling, use your brush to paint the ceiling where it meets the walls, extending the paint down about ½” onto the wall. That will give you a clean base to get a sharp edge where the wall meets the ceiling. If the room has a ceiling light, use a slant tip brush to paint the area where the ceiling meets the ceiling light.

If you plan to apply painter’s tape the ceiling to get a sharp paint edge where the wall and ceiling meet, the ceiling paint needs to be fully dry before moving to the walls. Check the paint can for timing (if you accidently poured paint over the instructions, check online).

Because I’ve painted hundreds of rooms and have lots of practice painting with a brush, I paint wall/ceiling edges freehand using a slant tip brush. If you have a steady hand, give it a try—it will eliminate the need to tape the ceiling.

After the ceiling is dry, I apply the first coat of paint to the room’s top and bottom edges and corners using a slant-tip brush, then use the roller to paint the walls. When the paint is dry enough to recoat, I’ll apply the second to the edges and corners using the brush, then roll the second coat on the walls.

I let the paint dry overnight without removing tape and drop cloths so I am ready to go if I decide the following day to add additional coats.

Clean Up

If you’re taking an overnight break between applying coats of paint, here’s a trick to avoid cleaning your brushes, roller, and tray. Scrape the excess paint off your brush, wrap the bristles with a wet paper towel, encase the bristle/wet paper towel burrito in a plastic bag, seal the bag at the brush handle with a twist tie or rubber band, and put the brush in your refrigerator. Your brush will stay fresh and ready to go for 24 hours.

To “keep” the paint tray overnight, put the roller on the tray’s loading ramp, drape a wet paper towel over the entire pan and roller cover (the handle will be sticking out), wrap and seal the pan/roller in a plastic bag, and put it in the refrigerator. Remove the pan/roller and brush an hour before you start painting so the paint can come up to room temperature.

When I have completed painting a room, I will allow the paint to fully dry and then inspect my work in daylight to make sure I haven’t missed a spot before gathering up the drop cloths and putting back the furniture and decor.

When you’re done painting, clean your brush(s) and roller covers with lukewarm water and soap and rinse thoroughly until they rinse clear. Even if you used a paint tray liner, rinse the paint tray and allow it to dry to make sure no paint remains before putting it away. Let your brush(s) and roller cover(s) air dry until they are completely dry before putting them away, reusing the brush bristle covers if you have them.

Enjoy Your New Room

Kudos. You learned one of the most powerful, affordable ways to change how your home feels. You’ve made a profound and positive change in your home. Pat yourself on the back and savor your accomplishment.

I painted my first room when I was in sixth grade—my bedroom, from off-white to butter yellow. I still remember how much better the room felt to me with the new color.

In just a few days, the room went from “meh” to “mine.”

After five homes, paint is as magical as ever.