Paint, Paint, and More Paint!

Our newest lesson in Home Ownership 101 has been how to pick paint colors and how to paint a room. Although we've picked paint colors before and painted before, never before have we had to do it for a whole house.

Tips for Picking Paint Colors

Step 1: Pick a color scheme and overall feel that you want for the room. Wall colors make SUCH a big difference in the room and we never realized it until yesterday when we painted the master and guest bedrooms. Before, the walls were basically a primer and the room felt empty and cold, not "homey" at all. Now, it feels so much more cozy and more like a bedroom... except for the fact that they're missing beds :). We wanted the walls to be a neutral so the bedrooms are calming and inviting. Also, we can switch around the bedding without having to repaint the room every time.

Step 2: Research colors. First, pick a color that you think you want. Then, find several different versions of that color online (or in color swatches at your local paint store). Once you have a few you like, "Google" them because I bet you someone has already used that color and posted a picture of it online. You can get a really good feel of how it actually looks on full walls before making it official on your own walls. Another good idea is to use a website that let's you visualize the color in your own room. Sherwin Williams has something called a Paint Color Visualizer which lets you upload a photo of your room and then place the color you like on the walls. It's super helpful!

Step 3: Bring home a few samples. Paint a patch of each color on your walls so you can see how it looks in the room.

Step 4: Choose a color! This step says it all. Now that you've done your research, you should be pretty confident that the color will look good in the space. And, if you totally hate it... no need to worry, just paint over it! ;)

Tips for Painting a Room

We HAD to paint Mr & Mrs Teuben 

Step 1: Cover the floors. This is super important. Make sure you buy a tarp or plastic to cover all of the floors in the room. I can't tell you how many times we dropped a paint brush, stepped on the paint can cover, or who knows what, and were saved by the plastic! We would have paint alllll over the floors if it weren't for that!

Step 2: Tape the doors, windows, and baseboards. We were able to avoid this in most places because I'm a perfectionist and am able to paint a pretty straight line. But, if you're not as big of a risk taker as I am (ha! this is probably the only risk taking I really do...anywhere), then definitely tape away. We love the Frog tape found at Home Depot. The paint didn't seep under it like the blue tape or other brands normally do. Just make sure you really get it in the grooves of the walls so it doesn't sneak under. That's one of my fears with tape. Some people are a little too trusting and just go crazy painting all over it and that runs the risk of seeping completely under the tape and you wouldn't know until it's removed and dry. Just make sure you get good quality tape and realllllly push it down.

Here's us breaking our own rule. We didn't realize until after this room that we should have been doing the corners and borders first.

Step 3: Paint the corners and borders. Most people want to throw the roller on the walls because you're feeling like your accomplishing something but really, you should be painting all the wall borders first. That way, when you do start using the roller, you can even out the paint and you can get rid of that lined paint brush look.

Ready to roll!

Step 4: Roll away! When you're buying rollers, pay close attention to the texture of your walls. The more rough of a texture, the more fluffy the roller needs to be... or as the experts call it "nap length." Once you start rolling, try not to get too crazy at the top or bottom of the walls. The worst feeling is hitting the ceiling with your roller (which we are guilty of) because now you have to touch up those areas.

Step 5: Touch Ups. Walk around the room and look for any areas you might have missed. For walls that are more rough, you may have to go around with a paint brush and get the little areas that couldn't have been covered with the roller. If the paint is a lower quality, you may have to do a second coat.

Note: CJ is only wearing one sock in this photo. He stepped in a big chunk o' paint earlier.

Step 6: Clean Up. Make sure you soak any brushes used so you can use them again in the future, clean up the floor covering, take off the tape, and do what you need to do to make sure the mess is gone. :)