Painting Tips and Projects for New House

In order to produce the podcast and keep content up free for you, I work with partners so this post may contain affiliate links. Please read my full disclosure for more info.

Next week, after we close on the town house, we're going to having a painting party. We're spending money on the refrigerator and now we're spending money on painting the place. We're planning on living on rice and beans for the next months to build up our savings again. 🙂

Painting Supplies to Pick Up

I went to the library and borrowed a painting guidebook to get an idea on the supplies that we need.

• Paint: The amount you need varies according the size of the room(s) you’re painting. Depending on what room(s) you are painting, you may have to decide on what finishes you want for the paint. Sherwin-Williams has some guidelines on which to choose.
  • Flat: Bedrooms, Dining Rooms, Ceilings
  • Satin: Halls, Children’s Bedrooms, Family Rooms
  • Semi-gloss: Kitchens, Bathrooms, Trim
  • Gloss: Wood trim, Doors, Cabinets

• Primer
• Brushes and rollers: Synthetic bristled brushes can be used for both latex and oil based paints. Choose your rollers on how you would like the walls to appear. A flat roller will give a smoother finish than a thicker roller (good for the textured look).
• Trays
• Painting pole: This can help you reach ceiling and the tops of the walls easier.
• Hammer and screwdrivers: You may need these to get the room(s) ready.
• Drop cloth: You can get either canvas or plastic. I read that drop cloths are preferred because it’s less slippery if paint spills.
• Paint Can Opener
• Rags

After my doctor's visit earlier this week, I went to Lowe's and Home Depot to check some prices on paints and painting supplies. I used the notepad app on my iPod to gather the data.

I sent the list to my husband so he can get a idea of what costs will be for the supplies. Here's what I got that afternoon:

Lowe's

• Kilz primer: 12.98/ gallon
• Ext pole: $6.56
• Paint kit: $9.97- 17.97
• 3 pack of roller covers: $8.99- $12.37
• Plastic tray: $2.72
• Tray liner $.92
• Roller : $5
• Canvas drop cloth: $4.97 (4×5) – $15.98( 4x 15)
• Painter's tape: $5.98 for 2 rolls

Paints

• Valspar $21.98-$29.98 int eggshell
• Olympic $13.98 int latex satin

Home Depot

• Kilz primer$12.08
• Plastic drop cloth: $8.28(10x 25)
• Painters tape: 5.93
• Paint tray : 2.98
• Trayliners: $4.97 for 10
• Rollers: 5.97
• 6pk of roller covers: $6.97- $8.97
• Paint kit: $9.97
• Ext pole: $3.97
• Canvas:$ 13.97 (4×15)

Paints

• Freshaire int egg shell $37.98
• Behr paint int eggshell $21.96
• Glidden int eggshell 60II 20.47
• America's finest int satin $14.49
• Ralph Lauren int eggshell: $29.98

Painting Tips for Beginners

Picking the Right Color

Picking colors is not as easy as I thought.

I can personally say that this is much harder than I imagined. I had an idea of the colors I want, but looking at the different shades make me feel indecisive. Look at what you have now and determine what kind of color scheme would work best. Pick colors that make you happy and talk with an expert in the paint department to see it would work.

Preparing the Room(s) for Painting

Before you have your painting party (which saves so much time instead of painting it yourself), get some preparation done in the rooms you’ll be painting. Make sure you have all your supplies in the right places for easy access and if neccessary clean up.

Before you go ahead and paint, take care of some last minute preparations.

• Get some blue painter’s tape and put it around doors and windows
• Cover wall fixtures
• Cover ceiling light fixtures

Painting the Room Correctly

Having some extra hands can help you paint quickly, but make sure they know what they are doing. I apparently needed help learning some good painting techniques. Here are some general guidelines, for more tips look at either Lowe’s or Home Depot’s painting tips.

• Prime the room to improve your painting job. Primer can hide stains and prevent the previous color from bleeding through.
• Have someone paint the perimeter of the walls working in either a clockwise or counter-clockwise direction with the walls.
• Have someone start with the rollers, working in the opposite direction. They should be painting in a V or W pattern. This can help reduce others bumping into one another.
• Wait the required time between coats.

Cleaning Up Quick and Easy

You’re done with the hard part, now it’s time to clean up. No doubt you’re tired, so you want to clean up the paint and tools quickly and easily. Go ahead and soak your rollers that have latex paint in a solution of water and laundry fabric softener. Rinse them out and remove any paint residue. Remove any excess moisture, then just air dry them before putting away.

Wrap up brushes with saran wrap if you’re waiting between coats or will be painting the same color. About.com has a great tip on having small baby food jars to store small amounts of paint for touching up.

Your Take on Painting Tips

I'd love to hear your thoughts. What colors did you pick for your place? How did you come up with it?

Photo Credit: pville08 and (: Petra 🙂

This post was included in the Festival of Frugality!