Best Ideas For Painting A Room Quickly

Are you looking to have a new color on your walls? There is thankfully no need to hire a professional since painting is something you can do easily yourself. Taking on a big DIY project can seem exciting; however it's something that you’ll want to balance and not spend too much time on.

To get started on painting your room quickly, here’s what you need to do:

• You must wipe down the walls of the rooms you are going to paint.
• You must make a boundary of paint over any edges you find.
• You must invest in a big roller to apply paints on the even strokes and complete the project quickly.

To learn about this in detail, read on:

Create a plan

Before you start painting, have a plan handy with you. It’s just like cooking where you must read the recipe first before adding the ingredients into the pot. By creating a plan, you can prevent yourself from missing any important steps and ruining your paint job.

Before you pick up the brush to paint, here’s what you need to consider:

• Check if you need to refresh the ceilings with paint.
• Think around the trimming and whether you need to refresh the walls.
• Decide if you want to use a single color or two colors for painting your rooms.

Choose the perfect shade

It’s understandably difficult to select the perfect color for your walls since there are endless options available and the choice you make can stick with you for a long time. Here are a few tricks that can make the process easier for you:

• Begin by thinking about your ultimate requirements.

•      Do you prefer a cool shade or a warm shade?
•      Do you prefer bold colors or neutral colors in your life?

• After forming a general idea in your mind, go through the various available paint chips at a paint shop. Keep in mind however that, you can't depend on paint chips to make the final decision. It’s possible the color will look different on the wall compared to its look on the paint card.
• When applying paint to the walls, keep in mind that they will look brighter with the impact of light on them.
• Make your choice and then go ahead, buying the paint cans as samples.

Paint swatches on the walls

• Consider painting sample swatches on the walls.
• Apply two layers of shade in a 12 by 12-inch square on your walls and see how it looks.
• If your room has a shady spot and sunny spot, create a paint swatch in both locations so that you know how the paint looks in two different lightings. This will create an impact on the overall look of your room during different times of day.
• Another option is to buy a foam board, apply two coats of paint on it, and fix it temporarily to the wall with tape. This is the ideal option for those who don't want to have the paint swatches on their wall until the painting process begins.

Tip: It would be a good idea to use less costly foam brushes for painting swatches rather than using good quality brushes.

Estimate the quantity of paint you need

To find out the quantity of paint you need for your rooms, you can use a calculator that is provided by most retailers. Check the packaging of the paint and keep in mind the general rule of thumb that a 250-400 square foot space requires 1 gallon of paint. You’ll also need to think about mistakes and touch-ups that you might need to deal with before calculating your paint amount since they can significantly increase that amount.

Collect painting supplies

Here’s a list of painting supplies you’ll need:

• Paint
• Paint brushes (straight and angled)
• Paint trays
• Paint tape
• A Paint roller
• Drop cloths
• A Stir stick

Let’s explore a little more about a few of the painting supplies you’ll need:

18 inches paint roller

• A paint roller of approximately 1 foot wide won’t be ideal for painting a room. We suggest you use an industrial size paint roller of approximately 18 inches or 30 cm long for spreading a wider strip of paint every time you it along the wall.
• A wider paint roller will help you save time since you’ll need to roll it fewer times per wall.
• Hardware stores or home improvement stores typically carry large rollers.

Extension pole

• You’ll need to fix an extension pole to the roller for higher reachability.
• It may take a lot of time to go up and down the stairs if you are painting a ceiling which can increase your fatigue and hours of work. We suggest you fix the paint roller to an extension pole that can expand all the way up to your ceiling. This will allow you to stand on the floor and paint the walls as well as ceilings.
• Extension poles are usually found in hardware stores.

How to prepare your room for painting?

Clean and dry the walls

• If the walls are dirty, the paint won’t stick smoothly. Here's what you can do:
• Use a damp wash towel or cloth to clean the walls and remove specks of dust, cobwebs, and grime that might have accumulated.
• Allow the walls to dry for at least 15 minutes before you begin to paint them.
• In the case of very dirty walls, you can apply a light dish soap along with the water on the towel, and scrub it on the wall to get rid of the stains.

Tip: You can fix a damp towel onto a broom’s handle for easy cleaning on ceilings.
Protecting furniture and floors from paint spills

• You can put a drop cloth on the floor and furniture in the room that is being painted to prevent paint from splattering onto them.
• Make use of painter’s tape and apply it across window frames and molds.
• Ensure you apply a steady pressure on the wall while applying the tape. This will make sure the paint doesn’t slip below the tape.

Take off the light switches and the outlet covers

• Unscrew the outlet covers and light switches from the walls.
• Make sure you keep the screws and outlet covers in a small plastic bag so that they don’t get lost.
• If you have screws of many sizes, ensure you keep screws and outlet covers of corresponding types in individual plastic bags. It’s also a good idea to make a note of the location from where the cover and screws were taken from on the plastic bag. Otherwise, it will be difficult to identify it’s the right place fir when you need to fix the cover again.

Apply primer to the wall

You may experience difficulties while attempting to paint at first. If you want to paint on a dark wall with a light shade, you may need to apply a layer of primer on it followed by two layers of paint. Moreover, you'll need to allow each coat of paint to dry for at least six hours. However, if your room is very humid, it’s best to give the paint coat more time to dry. This is also true if you are painting the exterior of a house in a super very humid climate.

Considering the above, we suggest you make use of self-primer paint which can be a cost-efficient option.

Properly mix the paint

Usually a paint store will mix the paint for you, but we still suggest you give the paint a simple stir to ensure to mix the color properly. This is especially important if the paint was on the shelf for a long time without being used. You can even strain the paint to remove solid impurities that could otherwise accumulate on the wall (an prove difficult to remove later).

Tips to start painting

Here's how you can paint a room with two-color stripes:

• Begin with the lighter color and allow it to dry properly.
• Apply painter’s tape across the divider/border.
• Paint with a darker shade, allow the wall to dry, and remove the painter’s tape.

Next, we will learn how you can paint a room with a single shade:

• Consider using a sponge tool or angled brush to break in. Alternatively, you can create a swath of two inches, encircling the fringes of the ceiling as well as the woodwork. Make sure you tape off this area.
• Arrange for a roller and a paint tray setup. Overall, you need to have a gap of 5/8 inch for a rough surface, ¼ inch for a smooth surface, and 3/8 inch for a mildly smooth surface. If you use an inappropriate tool, you will end up applying too much or too little paint on the surface. Moreover, make sure to wet the roller beforehand if you are using latex paint.
• Make sure you fill up only up to ¼ of the well in the paint tray. When you are soaking the roller in the paint, you need to move the roller back and forth so that it gets covered consistently. Next, you’ll need to move the rollers back and forth in the upper section of the tray. This will remove any additional paint on it.
• You must fill the middle unpainted area using a roller. To enable an even distribution, you should paint your walls in "W" or “M” shaped strokes.
• Allow the first coat of paint to dry for a few hours and then apply the second layer. Make sure you cover the brush and tray with plastic wrap to prevent drying.

Tip: We suggest you keep a damp cloth ready to wipe off the paint spills and make use of a spatula or a credit card to remove dried paint.

Tips to complete and clean

• Wash the paintbrush and the roller or tumble them below the faucet until the water runs clear.
• Pour out any leftover paint into the paint can and fasten it tightly with a paper towel around the lid. Tap the fringes using a hammer and consider cleaning the tray.
• Let the bristles of the brush dry completely. Then put the paintbrush back into its original. Alternatively, you can turn over a thick piece of paper encircling the bristles and use tape to fasten it.
• Pull the masking tape away at an angle of 45-degree and prevent it from tearing.

This is all you need to know about painting your room quickly. Even if you are doing this home improvement project for the first time, this guide will make things easier for you and will make your DIY project more interesting rather than frustrating.