Helpful tips for painting walls
September 10, 2009
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Our dining room has been the one room in our home that I cannot get settled with. I've struggled with it from the beginning. This is because of a couple things -- the furniture is the first. I absolutely LOVE it, don't get me wrong. I love the curvy lines of everything, love the wood. But it was a rushed purchase to try to fill the space. Now I wish I would have taken my time and filled in the room one piece at a time, mixing and matching furniture.The other reason it's been giving me issues is the window wall is shared with the living room, which is the space with huge ceilings. There is a cardinal rule in decorating -- supposedly you are not supposed to break up a wall that runs through more than one room with a change in paint color. There was just no way we could paint the WHOLE wall without paying someone $500 to come in with a scaffolding.
I was so stinking tired of not loving this room, and I am never one to necessarily follow the rules, so I went ahead and started my redo. (Which included ignoring that cardinal rule -- buhwahahahahahaaaaa!)
I will share the steps it's taking to redo this whole room as I get through them, and then I'll show you the result at the end. Don't worry, I'm almost done, so it won't take too long. For now, I thought I would share how I paint a room. I bug y'all all the time about how much painting a room can change the space for very little, and this room sure is an example of that.
You need very little to paint. I use a decent angled brush, a 3/8 nap roller, blue painters tape, an old sheet and the paint. (Well, duh.)
Before you tape anything off, take your dry brush and clean your baseboards with it -- it gets all the
It's always a good idea to take a duster around the top of the walls too. There are usually lovely little goodies up there you really can't see from below. Not fun when they get in your paint. Uck.I always use painter's tape for the baseboards. The other areas I've learned to cut in, which I'll show you in a second. I paint baseboards and cut in areas around the ceiling and moldings first. That gets the tough stuff out of the way, and then filling in with the roller is easy and quick. (By the way -- take your blue painter's tape off as soon as possible after you paint. When it's WET. If the paint dries it will create a seal with the tape and may take up some of the paint when you peel it off.)
Cutting in is a term used for taking your angled brush and, without using the painter's tape, painting right up against molding. I still don't know if it saves much time, but as you get better at it, it does make painting a room a little bit less of a hassle.
I was cursing the day I put so much blasted molding in our dining room. Argh! Fists shaking in air!! Although, as I got into it more, I found it oddly relaxing. I know, I'm a complete fruit loop. I try to do things right, but often I rush through painting a room because Iwantitdonerightthissecond. Cutting in so much in this room made me slow down and do it right, and it was kind of nice.
To cut in, dip your brush in the paint just a smudge, on the side that you are cutting in. Then wipe off some of the excess like this:
I like to start away from the molding first, then work my way closer to it. You have to have a steady hand and take your time:
After you cut in, filling in the rest is easy peasy Squeezies. Professionals always do two coats, but I usually do one and then wish I had had the patience to do two. :) If you take your time and use plenty of paint on the roller you should be fine with one coat.
The result?
Here's a peek:
Oh yeah, and I totally broke the decorating rules and split up the rooms with molding. I didn't even take out the baseboards, I just did it. And guess what? I like it, and it WORKS. So there, cardinal-rule-creators:
**The paint color I used is Cinnabark from Behr. The color is to die for. It is so dramatic, so warm, I am in luuuuuuurve... (The paint color I used is Cinnabark from Behr.)
Do you paint? Do you hate it? Never done it? Are you too scared? Why? Share with the group, talk amongst yourselves!
Ahemm. Still teasing! :) Can't wait to see the end result but the work in progress looks great so far.
ReplyDeletethanks so much for the tips! I really need to work on my 'cutting' skills! I loved the tip about taking the tape off when the paint is wet. I have done it the other way with disasterous results! I love your blog!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful! Can't wait to see it. I am thinking of breaking the same rule. We are remodeling the kitchen and we just knocked out the wall between the kitchen and dining room. Now I am contemplating paint colors and should I go with one or two? Thanks, as always, for the inspiration.
ReplyDeleteAnnie @ astonesthrowfrominsanity.blogspot.com
Ummm. I don't paint. Period. Let's see, every wall on my bottom level is 18 feet high (no lie), I suck at the whole criss-cross paint roller deal, you have to move all of your stuff, I hate fuzz in the wall, etc. It just. Sucks. I will hold the ladder while other people paint, though! ... between Facebook updates.
ReplyDeleteOoh - LOVE it! I can't wait to see the whole room. And you know what? I think the rule police will be knocking on my door long before they knock on yours. I'll gently explain to them that I ain't no stinkin' rule follower. Who has time for all those rules anyway?
ReplyDeleteLooks beautiful! Love love love the color (especially against the white).
ReplyDeleteI love to paint, and practically paint anything that doesn't move.
Just painted my formica countertops to look like aged copper and love them!
Take care ~ Alyshia
We have tectured walls so cutting in is the only way to go...painters tape doesn't work!
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, it's gorgeous! Secondly, would you mind divulging the name of the color you used? I'm redoing my music room and just picked up a pile of brown paint swatches and don't like any of them as much as I like the one you found.
ReplyDeleteThanks!
I don't mind painting, but hubby minds that I do. I think he's just a bit OCD about it and wants it to be "right". He's not a rule breaker, darn it! But oh, well. Whenever I want some painting done, I just have to announce it and he's all over it! In fact, he's gonna use vacay time to paint the living and dining rooms for me (same color, drat!)
ReplyDeleteNancy
Hey, what brand and color did you use. I have been talking about painting my dinning room a chocolate brown, but I am so bad with colors and I like the way yours looks. Could you share that little secret with me?
ReplyDeleteOmgoodness, love your house. I just moved into a apartment and need ideas on decorating. i found you randomly browsing thru blogs and I'm glad I did! Can't wait to see more!
ReplyDeleteHate painting and I stink at it. I'm careful--too careful--and it takes me forevvveerrrrr. But I love the end results. I'm trying to gear myself up to paint my bedroom. It still has a (gasp!) cabbage rose border from the previous owners.
ReplyDeleteLooks great! Can't wait to see the rest. Love the tips too. I'll be painting the girls' rooms, hopefully later this month, so I can use all the tips I can get! Dh and I painted our living room, dining room, and kitchen about 4 years ago, and that was our first painting experience. He's not been eager to do it since, but pretty much the whole house could use it again. I'm easing him into it with the bedrooms! :-)
ReplyDeleteI learned how to cut in from a master painter. Once he showed me, I threw away all my tape and practiced on my ENTIRE house and got profficient very quickly (with all that practice who wouldn't?!?) The explaination is VERY close to yours.
ReplyDelete1. You dip both sides of your brush in, (this method puts more paint on your brush so you can go for longer strokes) wipe off the side of the brush against the can edge that will be against your moulding or ceiling. You now only have paint on the wall side of the brush.
2. Start abit farther away from your moulding/ceiling, then once you have a nice smooth line, curve into your desired position and keep pulling until you lose arm length or paint. If you have enough paint loaded, you won't need to dip again until you reach the end of your arm length.
- do one more brush, same method but without dipping into more paint to ensure you wipe away any potential sags or drips. Hard to explain, you had the right idea by filming it. (the expert came back backwards then frontwards one more time, but I always messed up doing that)
The room looks lovely! Can't wait to see the whole thing. :)
Donna
I am new here, but I love this post about painting. Thanks for the tip about removing the painters tape...many a wall have I ruined..
ReplyDeleteWe are in the process of searching for our first home to buy (most frusterating experiance of my adult life, by far!). I am super excited to get to paint walls ANY COLOR I WANT!!
Your blog is very inspiring to a soon-to-be homeowner excited to decorate on a budget!
Love the color. It's a tiny bit warmer than the color of my favorite makeover piece (entertainment center) and a tiny bit darker than the color I want to paint my kitchen cabinets. Loooove it.
ReplyDeleteThanks Sarah!
ReplyDeleteI am in the process of buying a house that needs every room painted so I am going to have a lot of practice!
I bookmarked this post so I could go over it again and again!
I've put moulding up w/out removing the baseboards too & everyone made fun of me! Yours looks *much* better though!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tips!
Lovely redo, what a difference!
ReplyDeleteBe sure to take her advice and dust the walls. If you don't you'll end up with lumpy, nasty looking walls. Ask me how I know. :-(
Really loving that color and like the contrast with the two rooms.
ReplyDeleteDecorating and life is all about breaking the rules, I have found. Shh, just don't tell my mom!
Gorgeous COLOR!! And love your idea to run a piece of trim down the wall to give yourself a place to stop the paint! Brilliant. It works...and yes, I do love to paint!
ReplyDeleteJanell
I just painted my bedroom and my office. In the bedroom I learned the lesson of the dry painters tape. In the office all my edges are squeaky clean.
ReplyDeleteI'm procrastinating touching up the bedroom...
I love {or lurve, whichever} that color! It is so warm and inviting! I had to laugh at your you need a "steady hand" comment for the cutting in. I am a shaky handed person, but let me tell you how steady I get when I'm cutting in! You're right ~ it is oddly relaxing; probably because I'm holding my breath and cutting off my oxygen supply. I'm so afraid I'm going to hit the ceiling or something I'm not supposed to. I usually do my painting when hubby's not around. His "don't get it on the ceiling" always is right there in my ear the whole time.
ReplyDeleteLove that color! It looks great with the furnishings and white trim. I also find painting very relaxing, but only for so long. My hubby used to work for a prof. painter and he uses the same method for cutting in. Another tip I've learned, if you're worried about a nice clean line along the trim, go over where the old paint color meets the trim quick with the same color as the trim and when that dries apply the tape to the trim. An extra step, but I'm weird about a perfectly clean edge!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoy painting so why are my walls in this house all still white? because i can't seem to settle on the color ugh!
ReplyDeleteLove the color! Especially love the idea of breaking the area with moulding. I have a large room with no architectural break- may have to borrow this idea from you.
ReplyDeleteWOW I LOVE that color!! I can't wait to get out of a condo and actually have a house where I can use multiple colors. Can't wait to see the big reveal!
ReplyDeleteI'm in the process of painting as well. I don't really like to paint but like the results. I never, every use the tape. I used to but too much time and effort. I either cut in or I found this little nifty thing from Shur-line called a paint edger. Super easy to use and to works and it's fast. I like fast. Love the color can't wait to see the end result.
ReplyDeleteI love the color you picked. I think brown looks good everywhere. I hate painting walls, but I love painting furniture. I have painted 6 rooms in my house (one of them twice) dread it everytime. I dont use painters tape either, if I mess up, I just use an art brush for touch ups. I have a kithcen re-do coming up and I will be painting my cabinets--inside and out.
ReplyDeleteMy hubby and I painted our entire house after it was built...I'm talking primer, then 2 coats of paint on walls, ceilings, and moldings. Not to mention the cabinetry. All in the HOT Louisiana summer with no air conditioning! That was 2 years ago and I swore I'd never paint again! (yeah right!)
ReplyDeleteYou are adorable, and the color you chose... delish. It looks like a truffle thank you. Can't wait to see it!
ReplyDeleteThe color is amazing!
ReplyDeleteIf you know anyone who is interested in a blog design, send them my way!
www.onefineblogdesign.blogspot.com
It's almost the weekend :)
Luckily, my husband owns a painting company so I've never painted anything but furniture and crafty things. You did a great job!
ReplyDeleteOh, if you only knew. All I can say is come over to my place and you'll see how hopeless the decor situation is there. Scroll back to The Project- the bathroom project and more recently, the radio tower.
ReplyDelete*sigh*
I come over here to dream of painted walls.
Heidi @ 2 Thinks to Share
I do paint as well but hate all the prep work. My favorite tip is to have a friend help. My best friend loves to cut in and tape so she does that. Then I roll the walls. I'm breaking the cardinal rule too - my formal living room & dining room are all open and connected. I've painted the living room area 2 shades darker than the dining area but in the same family.
ReplyDeleteAh, I NEED to paint. I WANT to paint. I am SCARED to paint. It is so dumb! But it has also been lack of knowledge, so this post is INVALUABLE to me! Thank you for taking the time!
ReplyDeleteI love it already, Sarah! Can't wait to see the rest!
ReplyDeleteI hate to paint! I mean, I love the results and I don't mind taping off, getting everything out and ready. But actually "painting" bleh. So my husband is always a little irritated when I tell him I want to paint a room. : )
ReplyDeleteUsed to paint, but now that I have a wonderful, reasonable painter who gets the job done in 1/4 of the time...I have them do most "big" jobs. The only thing they do different (they don't use tape so maybe that is why)...is that they do the moldings last. Going over any minimal paint splatters from the rollers. I absolutely love the color you chose, and agree by putting up the molding you have created a wonderful stopping point between rooms. Love it!!!
ReplyDeletethanks for all the tips. A question if I may - with taking the tape off while the paint is wet - do you need to put new tape on for each coat of paint?
ReplyDeleteI actually LOVE to paint, I think it's the almost instant gratification part. :)
ReplyDeleteLOVE LOVE LOVE the color. And that moulding trick is genius, girl.
Sarah, I luuuuurve it too!!!! :) And I especially luuurve that you break the rules and make it look good. :) (Is it wrong that I catch myself saying "lurve" now?)
ReplyDeleteThat color is to die for. Thank you for the paint tips. I am the world's sloppiest painter. :)
I used to really dislike painting, but the more that I do it, the easier it gets. Also, I've switched to all no-voc paints, and the change is great. No odor! Everyone makes them now, and the colors are endless. Great work on the dining room paint! Can't wait to see the end result!
ReplyDeleteI really don't like painting that much. But I *love* the result!!!! Thanks for the tip on painters tape. I have been leaving the tape on too long! I love how you separated the dining room and living walls. Looks great!
ReplyDeleteSarah, you are the bomb. I am also a Sara (sorry, no H on mine!) and I just wanted to let you know that I have added your site as a MUST READ on my new blog. Your projects are so inspiring, thank you so much for making me excited to work on my house everyday!
ReplyDeleteOh, and I am a painting fool. I don't use tape, Purdy angled brushes make my world turn! haha
ReplyDeleteI am ALWAYS painting something. And I HATE to paint, but I love the result!! I never use painter's tape anymore, just my trusty Purdy angled brush. Makes the chore of painting a little better since I don't have to take the time to tape off, then remove the tape when the painting is done. I am very impatient, and I try to skip the sanding and priming steps whenever possible, also. Right now I am on a furniture painting kick, and most of my furniture is going from dark mahogany stain to painted white. I love how light and bright it is making my house feel, but of course I am hating the painting process! :)
ReplyDeleteThat color is georg! I have LOTS of experience painting - 3 homes worth. I don't mind it too much because when I do it myself it's much easier to get the look I want. The prep work is what takes the longest. All that blasted taping. Once I couldn't find the name brand tape, so I picked up the off brand. I. WILL. NEVER. DO THAT AGAIN! The stuff wouldn't stay down and caused all sorts of seepage underneath it. Anyway... Looking forward to the rest of your reveal!
ReplyDeleteRules were meant to be broken...and you did a very nice job of showing those rules whos boss. I love the look of the different colors on the same wall.
ReplyDeletecan't wait to see the finished product. I do paint, but get really tired of it. The prep work is the worst. I usually try to cut in, and not use tape for that reason. Looks great!
ReplyDeleteLove the color! I paint, as my husband usually refuses to (although I was able to trick him into painting when we bought our condo this summer). I don't love it, but I love the results.
ReplyDeleteI'm very interested in the final picture. My living room and dining room are all together and I have this huge wall. I want a bit of an accent wall but where the heck do I put it? Can't wait to see yours!
ReplyDeleteyum!!! that is a beautiful color
ReplyDeleteOh that color is beautiful, the moldings really class the room up. It's just lovely! Great work!
ReplyDeleteHaha...rule breaker!! We have done the same thing in our house! There is one wall that goes straight from our living room to kitchen so I just put up a piece of molding to seperate the color. Not totally convinced I pulled it off but oh well!
ReplyDeleteI love to paint and have painted most of the rooms in our house multiple times. It's such a quick, easy change!
ReplyDeleteI love that Cinnabark color. It's so warm and chic at the same time. Thanks for the cutting in lesson. I love to paint because of it's dramatic effect on a room, but I hate taping. Even though I've become quite the taping expert.
ReplyDeleteWow, that color makes your molding pop. It looks great, can't wait to see the rest.
ReplyDeleteI love that you do step by step instructions and even have videos. I used to like painting...before we built our own house and had to paint the entire thing by hand. Now I never want to paint again. And I ALWAYS have paint that seeps through the blue tape. ALWAYS! It doesn't matter what I do. So I'm always having to touch everything up afterwards. Such a pain. Can't wait to see the window treatments and accessories in your room. Love the color.
ReplyDeleteI love that you do step by step instructions and even have videos. I used to like painting...before we built our own house and had to paint the entire thing by hand. Now I never want to paint again. And I ALWAYS have paint that seeps through the blue tape. ALWAYS! It doesn't matter what I do. So I'm always having to touch everything up afterwards. Such a pain. Can't wait to see the window treatments and accessories in your room. Love the color.
ReplyDelete*GASP* That is gorgeous! Love the color -- and your idea for separating the rooms with molding...I don't care if it is against the rules, it looks fantastic! Our living/dining room share a wall and I was just moaning the other day about trying to pick a color that works with both. Now you've given me an idea...
ReplyDeleteOh girl, I LOOOOOOVE that chocolate brown! We used that in one of our flip houses with the bright white trim like you've shown.
ReplyDeleteLove.
It's just delicious.
I might find a room in my own house that needs to be that color.
And painting? Yeah. Since my hubby and I flip houses, we've done more than our fair share of painting. I have to admit that I really enjoy it! I find it relaxing, like you.
It's the cleanup part I don't like. Washing all those brushes and rollers... blah.
[Oprah] LOOOOVVEEEE ITTTTT! [/Oprah]. This color looks amazing! Screw rules you make your own rules. I adore this. Thank you for the tips. I have painted, but it's been years. My boyfriend and I painted our first apartment (kitchen and dining area) because we had free range from our landlord. Since then it's been "We need to approve the colors first" which probably means we can go 2 steps darker than the tan on the wall already. Thankfully our new house had lovely neutral tan walls w/ crisp freshly painted molding and baseboards - we've only been there for a month and I'm already itching to paint something!!!
ReplyDeleteOhhhh, you are such a tease! I can't wait to see the room completed and thanks for the tips!
ReplyDeleteLooks amazing. I want to pain my walls so bad but the BF won't let me. We have like 20ft ceilings so I couldn't paint if I wanted to without buying a super tall ladder and I'm afraid of heights. You however did an amazing job. I LOVE the color!!
ReplyDeleteWe've had the same paint problem with our living room for years. Just the other day I told my hubbie we needed to hang some molding to break the space between the living room and the entry so I could paint it.
ReplyDeleteSo glad to see that you tried it, I think it looks great!
I LOVE painting. I'm just in a new house and I'm itching to paint, but I have an open layout which I think takes some careful color planning. But painting is oddly relaxing. I usually want things done RIGHT THAT SECOND. But with painting, I could spend all day getting things juuuuuuust right. :o)
ReplyDeleteLove it! And the molding idea to break up the space really works! Cannot wait to see the final with all of the changes. Oh, and I really like your drapery rods, how they don't go all of the way across the window.
ReplyDeleteI like the color, it's very rich. There's a new kind of painter's tape I just tried called "Frog Tape" and it makes a truly clean line, no touch-up needed. Perfect for doing stripes. You should give it a try on your next painting project. Just an FYI!
ReplyDeleteWhen it is time to paint my bedroom...this may be the color!
ReplyDeleteThat chocolate-y color is lurvly!! So delish! And I think it's okay you broke up the color. Whatev, right?!
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to see the rest. And ... I haven't ever really done much painting. I did one room once, into a bright, sunny yellow. But, now I can't since I live in a rental. But I have large plans for the day I own a home. One day.
I've never painted - unless you count the time I did three square feet in high school before the fumes made me throw up! But we just bought an old house and soon I'll be peeling off old wall paper, filling in with whatever-it-is and then painting all the old plaster! So I'm reading as many stories and ideas as I can and looking at colors, colors, colors!
ReplyDeleteLove the color! I don't tape off anymore - I just use and angled brush. But I don't like painting walls anymore! I guess I've done it too many times! I do like to paint furniture however! I guess because it's faster and you have almost instant gratification!
ReplyDeleteManuela
I really enjoy painting as well - you gotta love that end result. I have officially painted every wall in our house TWICE! I don't usually tape but just tried it again and it looked horrible. But I'm gonna have to try taping and removing it while the paint is still wet. Never tried that before! Thanks for the tip!!
ReplyDeleteI like the dark brown you have in your dining room. We have a similar color in our bedroom. It's very warm and enveloping. As far as painting goes, I could roll all day long but I hate cutting in. Well, against trimwork it's not bad, but I hate doing it up against the ceiling because it doesn't wipe off if you mess up, and would be hard to cover up any mistakes!
ReplyDelete