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Posted on: February 11, 2009

Different Strokes

Just because you’re a rookie painter doesn’t mean you have to act like one. Here’s what you need to know

By Kate Sullivan
CTW Features

Image courtesy Domino magazine

Take a room from blasé to bold with the stroke of an arm. From mocha to mauve, a do-it-yourself paint job creates color without spending too much green. Grab a bucket, hold your brush and get ready for your walls to wear a new coat.

1. Respect the budget. When sizing up the cost of your paint job, assess the surface area of the room. “You don’t need the most expensive products for good quality,” says Alison Hall, editor at home-decorating magazine, Domino. Hall recommends Benjamin Moore for moderately priced paints and Ralph Lauren’s line for a small-room splurge. One gallon covers a tiny room but plan on multiple gallons for larger spaces. Arm each painter with a large roller and have at least one small roller for tricky areas.

2. Know the time. Don’t forget to include time on your list of supplies. When Chicagoan Mary O’Brien and her husband decided to perk up the pigment downstairs, she recalls it took time more than anything else. “With the primer, two coats and hours of drying time in between, it took longer than we anticipated,” she says.

3. Test your ideas. For Hall, the most powerful case of painter’s remorse comes from committing to color too quickly. “Never pick a shade without painting with swatches first. Leave the test paint patch up for a week and see how it changes throughout the day.” Aim for an area about 3 feet by 3 feet, and put it on a focus wall. Observe the pigment for few days to get a sneak peak to the feel of full-color coverage.

4. Stay true. While the trend in tints may lean to soothing colors like blues, grays and plums, Hall advises to choose a color that you love. “Don’t try to match to a piece of furniture, throw pillow or art because if you switch your style or swap out your accessories, it will be difficult to work with the room.” But don’t be afraid of color. Balance bold in one room with mellow in the other. “If you pick red for one room, use gray in the next.”

5. Use water-based paints. Oil-based paints coat beautifully but can only be cleaned with turpentine. From brushes to smudges, with oil-based paints, you’ll need turpentine on deck at all times.

6. Clean before coating. “If you don’t dust before starting you’ll add unintentional texture to the walls when painting,” Hall says. Move all furniture first so you don’t miss the hidden spots behind the sofa, bed or in corners.

7. Prepare properly with painters tape. Hall sees the over-anxious make mistakes. “Don’t just wake up one day and start painting.” Tape everything from the ceiling to the floor and around all the moldings and windows in between. O’Brien warns not to leave the tape on too long after drying. “We accidentally peeled away paint when we removed the tape.”

8. Keep it fun. Forget paint by numbers, try painting by music. Make a play list for your iPod. For O’Brien keeping the songs on shuffle paced the, at times, tedious paint project. It may be on budget but it doesn’t have to be boring – find the rhythm with your rollers.