Tips and ideas for painting your home
The art of painting is not just about grabbing a brush, a bowl, paint, and painting recklessly as if the world were ending. There is much more to it, including a series of guidelines and tips for painting walls.
Currently, there are many techniques for painting smooth or textured walls, countless tools, and an array of finishes that truly amaze.
There are hundreds of wall painting techniques! Even leaving a wall unfinished (it’s trendy) might seem crazy but is in style.
Using the “Color Blocking” technique, which involves combining pieces, objects, and surfaces of different colors, or working with special rollers with textures similar to wallpaper, is also quite appealing.
Do you want to paint walls like a professional? We show you everything in detail
How to paint a wall?
In this article, we will provide guidelines on how to paint walls and methods in a coherent and simple way from a professional’s perspective, so before buying anything, let’s review some necessary ideas.
To determine how to paint a wall, we first need to ask ourselves three simple questions:
1.- What are we going to paint?
Determining the surface we are going to work on when painting a wall is essential to not exceed our budget.
So think carefully about what we want to change or enhance with more vibrant colors. Remember that the ceiling also exists!
2.- How much paint do we need for a wall?
How to calculate the necessary paint for walls is very easy, whether for exterior or interior, we just need to do some simple calculations to obtain the surface we are going to work on. We can see it in the following example of a room:
A useful note. Do not subtract doors or windows from the surface….Why? It’s always better to have extra material than to run short, we can reuse it later, apply a new coat, or save it for an emergency.
Going back to the store again means a significant increase in spending from our initial budget. An example of a calculation over several rooms would be:
When we already have the total surface in square meters (Remember to add all the rooms, if applicable, and see if we are going to apply one or two coats).
When we are in the store, we just have to look at the label on the cans, which is called the paint yield, which is indicated on the cans in square meters per liter (m2/L).
Remember: The “yield” is the approximate square meters we can paint per liter
The “yield” is the approximate square meters we can paint per liter. (Currently, the total surface area covered is also directly indicated according to the size of the can you purchase)
3.- What paint finish do we want?
Here we are not talking about color, which we will see later. It is about the interior and exterior paints you find in stores having a surface finish; matte, satin, and glossy.
But… What do the surface finishes of paints on walls offer us?
| Most common paint finish | How we see it on the wall |
| Matte paint | Suitable for all spaces. There are no reflections, so in rooms with little natural light, it’s better not to use it. Perfect for ceilings and softens surfaces very well. |
| Satin paint | Provides a silky appearance. A certain shine that, if we have natural light, reflects a bit more. |
| Glossy paint | Enhances colors and is used to highlight a wall, moldings, baseboards, and other details. |
We also have to consider that painting interior walls is advisable to use a finish according to the type of surface. In the following scheme and as advice, we can see it better:
| Walls | Matte paint | Satin paint | Glossy paint |
| Fine texture or smooth walls (Intense colors) | YES | NO | YES (Do not use excessively) |
| Fine texture or smooth walls (Light colors) | YES | NO | YES (Do not use excessively) |
| Textured walls | YES | YES | NO |
| Ceilings | Matte | Satin | Satin |
| Almost always smooth or with fine texture | YES | NO | NO |
Remember that these finishes go with the design and decorating styles you may use at home.
We have already seen the basics, the essentials. The painting tips are essential to avoid mistakes and optimize the proper priming of the enamel. Let’s go with the series!!
Tips for painting walls:
- Applying one or two coats of paint mainly depends on its quality, so if we buy quality, only one coat will be needed.
- Keep in mind that textured or rough walls usually absorb between 30 – 40% more paint if we want to see good results.
- Remember that in the case of effect paints, a sealing primer base must be applied beforehand to ensure good adhesion. (It’s always advisable to ask in-store)
From the preparation aspect
With the windows open, the walls dry faster, and that smell that few of us like will disappear.
In exterior surfaces, remember that we will get to work when it doesn’t rain, we don’t have much heat, or the annoying wind as it could crack the surface layer on the surface.
In times of high heat, it’s preferable to work at the beginning or end of the day when the temperature is less aggressive.
2.- You need to illuminate the areas well. If it’s exterior and natural light, even better!… and if we have no choice, with artificial light. Only with good lighting will you see the flaws while you’re working and which areas are not turning out well.
You need good lighting to paint, or you won’t see the flaws
Working at night is not a good idea; in most cases, the next day, you’ll regret it when you start observing the wall.
3.- Remember that before grabbing the brush with paint, you should cover the wall switches well with painter’s tape (If possible, remove them directly, you’ll finish sooner, and the finishes and joints will be better). Similarly, on the frames of possible doors.
4.- The floor well covered. You have many materials that are already sold in hardware stores or specialized paint stores that will make the task easier.
In most places, you’ll find rolls of special plastic that have an adhesive part on one side to fix them. If you have a blanket, it can serve, and I advise not to use the typical old sheet because the paint will seep through to the floor.
How to choose interior paint
We must be clear that the world of painting is very broad, and we must start to know the characteristics and how to select interior paint and how to buy it in the corresponding establishment.
Color on the wall
5.- We must consider the space we have, that is, a tip for painting walls of different colors giving the sensation of spaciousness, in its general aspect, is that you can choose to paint the walls the color you want, but the ceiling should be white, which will give an appearance of height.
Additionally, the economic aspect also influences since white paint is generally cheaper than colored paint.
6.- The effect of colors on themselves can be identified in the following image. This aspect must be considered when choosing a color
Small spaces, lighter tones, and large ones, we can use more intense colors
7.- We can use the opposite effect to the “Blocks of colors” that we discussed earlier. If we paint the walls the same color as the furniture, we will have a visual of depth.
🟧 Note: If you are more interested in paint with different finishes, you can read our article on decorative paints for walls it’s interesting!
8.- A very good idea when decorating concerning homes with very high ceilings, if you prefer to give a more coherent visual with the space. It would be to paint the ceiling two shades darker than the walls. The effect convinces anyone!
9.- Among the best painting tips, there is an app that we find interesting and that can help us on some occasions.
It’s an application that captures colors from the real world and adapts them to the Sherwin-Williams color palette. It’s a free application from Itunes Apple called ColorSnap.
10.- The use of glossy finishes, preferably use it only in the bathroom and kitchen, you will have a feeling of cleanliness and hygiene, and the matte finish for the rest of the house. Large spaces with glossy walls are annoying to the eye, especially if they reflect light.
11.- The how to paint a wall should be fun, and unfortunately, it requires patience and time. Not all of us have the necessary skills, nor are we handy, so hiring a professional is not a bad idea.
How to apply smooth paint
Now it is time to know how to paint smooth walls of our house. Although it may seem simple to start applying the smooth paint on any surface, the reality is that we strongly advise you to watch the following video…How to paint smooth walls?
We have already seen that painting smooth walls is not that difficult, be careful with modern kitchens, use washable paint.
How to paint your walls with a roller
If your wall is smooth, you should use a short-haired, anti-drip roller. They come in natural wool or thread. The rougher the wall (popcorn texture, stippling, or others), the longer the roller’s hair should be. Be aware that it will also splatter more.
For a smooth wall, use a short-haired roller. The rougher the walls are, the longer the roller’s hair will need to be.
In a painter’s tray with a wringer, dip the roller by rolling it (we recommend using an extender to make the job easier). Make sure to soak the roller well with paint and give it a firm shake so the excess falls back into the tray.
Quickly place the roller in the middle of the wall and roll up toward the ceiling without touching it (since you’ve already brushed the edges). Without lifting, roll down to the baseboard.
Proceed gradually with long strokes, moving from top to bottom until the roller stops painting. Then go back over to stretch the leftover paint until everything looks uniform.
Do not press the paint roller against the wall; it only needs to roll.
For hallways, there is a smaller extender available for easier work. Always work in an upright position; it’s important to avoid unnecessary movements that could strain your back.
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