Paint It Yourself: Our Complete Guide to Home Painting Projects

Don't pick up a paintbrush until you read this.

Many designers, home experts, and DIYers will agree: Painting is one of the fastest and easiest ways to dramatically transform your space. Painting a room can do just as much (and sometimes more) to upgrade your home than more laborious renovations, like tearing out a wall or replacing your cabinets. But that's not to say that the process of painting is a complete walk in the park. There are plenty of ways to make mistakes when DIY-ing a painting project, especially if you're a first-timer. But with the right guidance and preparations, you'll be on your way to a job well done. Below, we've compiled some of our best painting tips and ideas for regret-proof home painting projects.

Looking for more ideas to update your space, including some that don't require picking up a paintbrush? Check out Get It Done, our curated list of home projects we can't wait to cross off our to-do lists.

Painting 101

Once you have the idea to paint, you may be tempted to just pick up the supplies and get to work. But you would soon realize you forgot about a step—or five. For example, if you're painting a wall, there's a good amount of prep work you'll need to do before you get to the fun part: drenching the wall in the color of your choosing. You'll need to clean the surface, tape along the edges, cover your floors, and start with a coat of primer. Preparing to paint also involves doing some math (to figure out how much paint you need to buy) and some research (to determine what kind of paint you need). We promise the end results will be so worth it—but please, don't skip the training season just to rush to the finish line.

Finding Your Colors

Choosing your paint colors is one of the most fun parts of any home painting project—but it can also be daunting. With so many options out there, you may find yourself in the paint aisle stressing out over 10 barely different shades of blue and wondering how you got there. Our best tip? Get out of the store (or off the website) and start testing your color options in your home. You should always, always sample your paint colors in your home before making your final selection. This will help you determine what the colors actually look like in your space. Be sure to also test the paint on different walls and pay attention to how it looks at different times of day, since varying light exposure can drastically change the appearance of the colors.

Getting Creative

Warning: Once you start taking on paint projects in your home, you may not be able to stop. When you get the hang of it, it's amazing to see the impact paint can have on your space. Beyond just painting your walls, you can paint the baseboards, window casings, doors, ceilings, and so much more to refresh almost any corner of your home. You can also test out different techniques, like limewash, and clever hacks to make the painting process easier. (Our personal favorite has to be one that involves using a Pringles can to store your paint roller in between coats.) Any trick that makes painting less messy is a five-star tip in our book, and we have several ideas that will keep paint splatters off your carpet. When the project is done in half the time with way less mess, that's our favorite type of DIY.

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