bovagoods top ten: #8

{i am taking the remainder of 2011 to count down the all-time top ten posts here on bovagoods.}

Eight Place:  "how i paint a room"

 

most people know how to paint a room, right?

most of you reading this are probably diy-ers and paint all of your own rooms...

but if i can reach just one person...

...and inspire them...

...if i can touch the soul of  just one closeted diy-er,

and show them the way...

...if this post saves just one person the $100 it would cost to hire a painter (is that even what it costs? i have no idea)....

....then my efforts will be worth it and i will be overjoyed.

ok, seriously,

here goes:

you'll need a room:

and some paint:

fill the holes in the walls.

i like using this stuff:

because it goes on pink and when it's white, you know it's dry!

see?

(after it turns white, you sand it smooth. then you can paint over it.)

oh, and i use this to apply the pink stuff to the wall.

take off any switch plates and outlet covers. (i store them in a zip lock bag so the screws don't get lost.)

next i lay plastic down all around the edges of the room. i like plastic because nothing is getting through it. i have used old sheets, towels, and drop clothes and if you have a major drip or spill, you are going to wish you had used plastic. i also like plastic because it sticks to painters tape. (i don't tape anymore but when i did, i would stick the plastic to the underside of the tape that was stuck to the baseboards to protect the baseboards from splatter. does that make sense?)

you will need a ladder. we have 9 ft. ceilings and since i don't tape i like to be right up where the ceiling meets the wall (or the crown molding meets the wall) so that i can see what i'm doing. my step stool is fine upstairs with the 8 ft. ceilings but down here i need a ladder.

this is my favorite brush. i love the short brushes. and will never buy anything else. i think this one is from sherwin williams. this very brush has probably edged three or four rooms and see how good it looks? soap and water, that's all you need.

i just bought this at lowe's and i love it. it's a hand held container that you can buy liners for. easy clean up! you will put your paint in here for edging.

the best thing is that it has a magnet in it so your brush sticks to the side of the container. this magnet comes in handy for:

~ bathroom breaks

~lunch breaks

~pick the kids up from school breaks

~oh _____ (insert word of choice)!, i dripped some paint and i need to clean it up right away breaks.

then, edge away!

i don't tape anymore. why? i decided it's a waste of time and money. have you bought painter's tape lately? it's expensive!  and, half the time (especially the blue tape) it leaks and the paint goes under the tape and in my opinion, it looks worse when the paint leaks under the tape than when you edge without tape and get a little off track. but that's just me.

i edge first. usually it takes me two coats to edge and one coat to roller. not sure why. but that's just how it goes for me. so usually i:

1. edge

2. edge again

3. roller

unless you get lucky and only have to edge once, like i did this time. for whatever reason this time i only had to edge once. this paint went on like magic. i was giddy all day long. it put me in the best mood ever.  every single time i start painting a room i hope and pray that it will only take one coat. it never does. so, i was really really happy this day.

i edge all around the top areas that i need the ladder for. so i only have to move the ladder around the room one time.

then i go all around the areas i can reach standing up.

then i go back around the lowest areas scooting around the floor on my tush.

when i am done with this step, i have a small celebration, jump up and down and bust out some old high school cheerleading moves (don't judge) because that means i am almost done. the only thing left is to roller, and that my friends, is the fun part.

this roller i use has an expandable handle which i love.

i buy the cheap fuzzy roller thingies because i throw them away when i'm done. there is no way on earth that i would ever attempt to rinse one out and reuse it and that's just how i roll. haha.

i like a lot of paint on my roller. i follow the directions on the paint can and paint a W and then go over it until it's covered. i go over each area a few times and work in 3ft-4ft sections. i almost never have to roller a second coat of paint. (darker colors require more coats usually-or if you are painting a really pale color over a darker color.)

when the rolling is done. you are done!

i clean my brush with hot water and dish soap, throw away the paint filled roller thingy (it goes in two grocery bags and into the trash). pick up my plastic, put away the ladder and step stool and any other tools, store or dispose of the extra paint, blah blah blah...you get it. clean up.

i think i've painted around 25 rooms in my life so far. i really don't mind doing it. the playroom, pictured here, took me about four hours from start to finish. it always feels so good finish painting a room. i almost always think to myself, "why didn't i do that sooner?"

i may have missed a few steps or not been detailed enough with my instructions here, so, if you are new to painting and feel like you need further instructions and you are the one person in this world that this post was written for and by golly, it's time that you stop paying the painters and do this yourself, then please feel free to leave a comment and/or contact me.

happy painting!

~elisabeth