What You Need to Know Before Painting Your Home

Painting is often a task most homeowners dread, but it is one of the great ways to improve the look of your home without much effort. Paint colours can easily change the mood and interior design of your home with bold colours making a statement or soft colours for a more muted interior.

Here are some things that you should know about before you paint that will make your job a lot easier.

Prep the Room

Painting is easier when there is nothing in your way. Some suggestions to help prep a room before painting it are:

• Empty out the room as much as possible
• Move large furniture to the centre of the room and cover them up with old sheets
• Wipe the walls down to rid of any buildup of dirt, dust and oils (this will help the paint stick to the walls)
• Fill in any nail holes or cracks with spackling, dry wall filler or wood filler
• Tape off adjacent walls, window trim, and light switch outlet covers etc. Use proper painting tape to ensure professional looking results.
• Use old clothes, newspapers or a roll of paper, tarps or plastic sheets to cover the floor and any remaining furniture & fixtures

Test the Paint Colour

It can be hard to determine how a particular colour will look on your walls, especially at various lighting conditions which can change during the day. If you have a colour in mind, buy a sample and paint a small section of the wall. Allow the paint to dry and see its colour in both the day and night time. Different types of indoor lighting may also have an effect on the way the paint appears.

Allow Some Colour

Colour can be overwhelming, but don’t let that deter you from choosing some colour that’s not white, off white, or beige. Try out a few different colours. Darker colours will add some texture and depth to the space. Light colours will really open up a space (especially if it is small) and make it feel much larger. 

Be Wise About the Finish You Choose

Choosing the finish is just as important as choosing the paint colour. A high gloss paint finish is very durable and easy to clean, but they will highlight imperfections on your walls. A flat paint finish will hide those imperfections, but they are more susceptible to damage. In these instances, an eggshell paint finish is recommended because, although it provides some gloss, it is still easy to clean and does not highlight imperfections.

Determine How Much Paint You Need

There’s nothing more annoying than doing a painting project then running out of paint halfway through it. You also don’t want to have too much paint either. Here are some ways to determine the right amount of paint you need:

• Determine the square footage in a room
• Think about how many coats of paint you want to do. If you are priming the walls first, one coat might be enough, but if you are not priming the walls, two coats are often needed.

These are just a few tips that can help make your painting experience an easier one. Remember to take your time doing the preparation work because you will get a better paint job as a result. 

Ask the friendly professionals at either of the two Toronto Monarch Paints locations for advice and recommendations.