Improve the look and feel of your property with a fresh lick of paint.
A fresh coat of paint to your home back makes a real difference. It can hide any grubby marks, brighten up your living room or make your kitchen feel more modern with a contemporary shade. More and more people are willing to dabble in a bit of home improvements. However painting is an art form. So follow this simple guide to freshen your home up in a breeze.
1. Prepare your room.
You need plenty of space for painting. So move any furniture into the centre of the room and cover with a dust sheet to protect all your belongings. Also don’t forget to put a sheet on the floor to protect this too.
2. Prepare the walls.
Ideally your walls should be prepped before you apply a coat of paint. This may seem tiresome but it makes for a perfect finish. Clean the walls with sugar soap and let them dry before using masking tape around the edges should you be worried that you may not be able to paint in a straight line.
3. Cutting in.
Now you can embark on the first stage of painting. Use a paint brush to paint all the areas that you cannot reach with a roller. Apply paint to your brush by only half dipping the bristles into the paint. Remove any excess paint by tapping the brush on the side of the paint pot.
4. Start painting.
The key with cutting-in is to do it step-by-step. This is because it will be hard to paint in the remainder of the space with the roller should the cutting-in be dry as it is likely that the paint will differ in colour. Therefore it is advisable to start a few centimeters from the edge and always paint in the same direction of the edge. This will ensure that the paint has a smooth finish.
5. Use the roller.
Using a tray specially for the roller, push the roller on the tray in a backwards and forwards motion to ensure that paint is applied evenly. It is important to be very concise about this in order to get a perfect finish. Using a motion like you were spelling out a ‘W’ apply the roller in smooth strokes where you cut in. To perfect your finish, once you have painted the wall you will need to use your roller, with no paint added, and roll from the top to the bottom of the wall. Do this using a light pressure whilst overlapping to get a professional finish.