White walls are great for today's interiors.
Choosing the right color to paint a room can be an overwhelming experience--even small paint stores offer hundreds of color options. But in many cases, white remains the best choice. It remains a solid favorite for both classic and contemporary decorating styles, and it provides an excellent setting for colorful furnishings and artwork. Plus, a well-applied white paint job will make a room feel larger and more spacious than one with dark walls. If you're going to paint a room white, it's worth making an effort to follow some simple steps to do the job right, from preparation to final coat.
Instructions
Preparation
1. Clean the walls. Paint doesn't stick well to dirty walls, so clean them with a small amount of soap and water (use a mild soap, like dish soap). Also vacuum up any dust and cobwebs, especially in the corners near the ceiling.
2. Patch any holes and/or cracks in the walls. Use a putty knife to apply spackle, pressing the spackle into each hole and scraping the excess away. Let the spackle dry completely.
3. Sand the walls. If you spackled any holes, sand the dried spackle lightly until the patched holes are smooth and level. If the room is currently painted with a glossy paint, lightly sand all the walls (do not press hard or over-sand). This will make the old surface a bit rough, and it will take the paint better.
4. Remove switch plates, outlet covers and other fixtures. Use a screwdriver to remove these so you don't paint over them. Store all the hardware in one place so you can easily reinstall it when you're finished painting.
5. Cover the floor and any furniture in the room with a dropcloth. This will protect the room from any drips or spatters.
Priming
6. Prime the ceiling. A quality latex primer not only will provide a good base coat for your paint but will also seal the surface of the wall (this is especially important if you are painting over new drywall). Use the stepladder to reach the ceiling and apply primer around the edge first with the paintbrush. Then pour some primer into the roller pan, place the roller nap on the roller, and use the roller to apply primer to the rest of the ceiling.
7. Prime the walls. Repeat the process on each of the walls, painting the edges first, using the brush, then painting the rest of the wall using the roller. Check for drips on the wall as you work and brush them out before they dry.
8. Let the primer dry. Most primers are designed to dry quickly, sometimes in as little as an hour. Check the primer can to see how long you should wait before painting.
9. Clean your brush and roller using soap and water. Pour any extra primer left in the tray back into the can, and clean the tray with soap and water, too.
Painting
10. Paint the ceiling with the white paint. Use your paintbrush to paint the edges first, then place the roller nap on the roller, pour some white paint into the roller pan, and use the roller to cover the rest of the ceiling.
11. Paint the walls. Work on a few feet of wall surface at a time, painting the edges first, then painting the rest of the wall using the roller. Move on to the next section of wall and repeat the process. Brush out any drips you find as you work.
12. When you're finished, clean your brush and roller using soap and water. Pour any extra paint left in the tray back into the can, and wash the tray with soap and water.
13. Let the paint dry, then check for spots that need touching up. If you missed any areas, use the brush to paint over them. If you missed a drip that's now dried and hardened, lightly sand it off using the sandpaper, then paint over the area with the brush.
14. If needed, apply a second coat. If you're using a good-quality white paint over a coat of primer, one coat is usually enough to do the job. But if you want a particularly bright and even result, apply a second coat after the first coat has completely dried (usually four to six hours). When that coat dries, replace the switch plates, outlet covers and fixtures you removed during preparation.
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