Painting a Bedroom
Painting a room is the easiest way to give your room a new and exciting look. It's a simple project and relatively inexpensive. If you want your room to look like a professional did the job, it is very important to start with paint, brushes and rollers of good quality.
Preparing the Walls
The first thing you need to do is prepare the walls so you have a smooth surface for the paint. Place all the furniture in the center of the room and cover it with a drop cloth or old blanket. Cover the floors, too, to prevent paint drips. Take everything off the walls, including curtains and curtain rods. Remove switch plates. Then clean the walls with a general household cleaner diluted with water. You can wipe the walls down with a sponge or clean rag. If there are holes or cracks to be filled, use spackle and a spackling knife. Once the spackle dries, sand it down with fine sandpaper. Sand any other little bumps in the wall, too, to create a smooth surface.
If you are painting new walls or over a dark color, you may need to paint on a primer before you paint with the new color. Use the same technique for the primer as with the painting, so you don't have lines or color changes when you use your color paint.
Ladders
When you need to use a ladder for the higher areas of the wall, make sure the ladder is on solid flooring so it doesn't wobble. Paint only the areas you can comfortably reach, or you may cause the ladder to tip over. You might want to attach an extension pole to your roller to reach the highest part of the wall.
Cutting In
"Cutting in" means using a brush to apply paint next to the ceiling, windows, door trim and baseboard. The "cut in" paint will protect those areas when you begin to use the roller. Before you start to cut in, apply painter's tape along the edges of ceiling, windows, door trim and baseboard to protect them from paint splatters. Start with the ceiling and hold the paintbrush so the tip is close to the ceiling line. Then turn the brush so you are painting with the whole width of the brush and go along the cut line. Cut in around one wall at a time. Then paint the entire wall with the roller. The paint needs to be rolled onto damp cut-in lines so it blends.
Painting with a Roller
Fill the paint tray with paint to slightly less than the diameter of the roller. This will prevent getting too much paint on the roller. After you've dipped the roller into the paint, roll it over the tray's grid a few times to distribute the paint evenly. Apply the paint to the walls using smooth up-and-down strokes. Do not press it hard against the wall; that will create lines and make the paint too thin in spots. Once you've covered a section, go back and roll either up or down to give a nice smooth look. Then move onto the next section and repeat. Read the manufacturer's instructions on how long to allow the first coat of paint to dry before applying the second coat.
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