Painting tips often read like: tape first, clean the walls, stir your paint, etc. BUT we’re here to give you the REAL tips to get through the drudgery.
Painting walls is one of the easiest DIY projects–and it can save you a ton of money on your renovation. Save your money for skilled labor or projects that require expensive tools. This is one project you can do on your own and it won’t be the worst thing ever.
Painting Tips for REAL life:
- Inevitably you will forget to order a paint color you need, order a paint incorrectly, or forget to buy something else critical for your painting project. Don’t stress, just head back to the store and always assume Day 1 of the painting project will include at least one trip back to the store.
- 90% of the painting project is prepping the room, cleaning up the space afterward, and generally moving shit out of the way. The actual painting part moves pretty fast once you get through the tedious, unglamorous part that no one documents through stylish hyperlapse videos. You just gotta get through the boring move-shit-around phase.
- Make a big pot of food that will feed you for lunches on your DIY painting days. Most days it takes so damn long to get started that you finally get into your groove and then it’s lunch time. Cooking a big pot of soup, lasagna, red beans and rice, meatballs, etc. that you can pop in a microwave and eat fast is key. You don’t want to stop painting for a long time to cook and you’ll want to eat something with a fork (no sandwiches or pizza) because your hands will be covered in paint. This is such a clutch move–cook ahead!
- Painting is hard on the body–you will have strange aches and pains and will be exhausted afterward. Stretch, take a bath, and make time for a nap–you deserve it! Don’t plan to run errands or meet up with people afterward, you won’t want to do it. Order takeout, watch a movie, and chill.
- Painting really isn’t that fun and there is no way to make it exciting–you just have to get through it. I feel like people really try to sell painting as “fun,” but we’re here to be honest: it’s not that fun! However, it’s a great way to save money on your house renovation and it isn’t hard–you just have to have the right equipment and put in the hours. So, play a podcast and roll the paint on the walls while you plan your future GrubHub burger delivery.
Note: Incorporating a beer into your afternoon painting routine helps get through the second half of a long day of painting. Whatever works to keep going–do it!
Once you get the basics down of painting walls, incorporate some advanced color blocking and graphic elements using paint + tape to make your room really pop.
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