Planning to paint a room but not sure where to start? We get it—painting can be a daunting process. Whether you’re a complete newbie or simply looking for a quick refresher course, we’ll walk you through the process step by step. We cover everything from gathering supplies to selecting the right paint to prepping the area, ensuring you’ll have the knowledge you need to get started. Here’s how to paint a room DIY for beginners.
Collect Your Supplies
Before you get started, you’ll need to round up your supplies. The supply list can vary a little bit based on your project and what it entails, but in general, you’ll need:
- Drop cloths
- Paint
- Stir sticks
- Paint can opener
- Paint tray or pail
- Angled paintbrush (2”)
- Painter’s tape
- Paint roller
- Paint tray liner (optional)
- Putty knife
- Spackle or nail hole filler
- Sandpaper
- Stepladder or stool
- Clean rags
To make things go smoothly, bring everything you’ll need to a central area. You could place everything you need in the center of the room for easy access, or you might store it in the hallway outside the room—it’s up to you.
Pick Your Paint
Selecting the right paint is essential to a successful painting project. You’ll need to choose the right paint for the project—some work better than others for specific scenarios. Here’s a quick overview of your options:
- Flat: This paint doesn’t reflect any light, as it has no sheen. It’s tricky to clean—once dirt and debris are there, it’s nearly impossible to clean. So, it’s often used for no-contact surfaces, like ceilings.
- Matte: This paint has an almost imperceptible sheen. It’s more durable than flat paint, but it’s nowhere near as robust as shinier paints, so it’s best suited to low-traffic areas.
- Eggshell: This paint is a step above matte. As the name implies, it is a low-luster option that looks sort of like a chicken’s egg. It’s not the most durable option, so it’s usually best in rooms that aren’t likely to get scuffed up.
- Satin: This paint blends the best of a luster finish with the durability and cleanability of shinier paints. It has a slight sheen to it, but it’s not over the top, so it’s a popular choice for interior walls. It’s easy to clean and is highly durable, but imperfections aren’t too obvious.
- Semi-gloss: This paint has a noticeable sheen to it and offers more durability and cleanability than satin. It’s a great choice for high-moisture areas like your kitchen or bathroom. However, the shiny finish can put any imperfections on blast, so be sure to start with a perfectly smooth surface before starting (unless you have textured walls, of course).
- High gloss: This ultra-shiny paint is incredibly durable and easy to clean. It’s not very popular for walls, though, because any tiny imperfection becomes glaringly obvious. It’s usually used for trim, doors, and cabinets that need to hold up well under wear and tear and routine cleaning.
Once you know what type of paint you want, it’s time to pick the color. Ideally, you should paint a swatch of each of your top picks on the room wall. This will give you a better idea of what each color actually looks like in the space. Oftentimes, the lighting in the store is far different than your home, so the paint you choose might look totally different on your wall than it did on the paper swatch.
Repair Wall Damage
It’s important to start with a well-prepared, non-damaged slate. So, if your walls have a bit of damage, be sure to repair it before you start painting. Repair larger holes with new drywall, tape, and texture. Fill nail holes with spackle or nail hole filler.
If you have smooth walls, sand the repaired areas to a high grit to ensure they’re nice and smooth before you start painting. If you have textured walls, apply texture to the repaired areas.
Once you’re done, clean up dust and debris before you move on. Wipe sanded areas with a lightly dampened cloth and let it completely dry.
Prep the Area
Before you paint, you need to prep the area. It’s easiest to paint an empty room, so if you can, take everything out of the space. Move the furniture, rugs, and decor to another room. If you can’t remove everything, move it to the middle of the room to give you plenty of space to paint and access to each wall.
Place a drop cloth over whatever is left in the room. Make sure it covers everything you don’t want paint on, including the floor, furniture, and anything else on the floor.
With that done, tape off the ceilings, baseboards, and trim around windows and doors. As a beginner, cutting in can be tricky, so having that extra protection is handy to keep paint where it’s supposed to be.
Try not to leave gaps between the tape and the wall. If you do, you might end up with streaks of the wrong color paint on the trim and baseboards, so do your best to get it as close as possible.
You can remove outlet covers to make it easier to paint. If you do this, make sure you tape off the innards of the outlet so the paint doesn’t get on them. You don’t have to remove the outlet covers—if you don’t want to, tape them off, too.
Paint adheres best to clean walls, so wipe them with a damp cloth before you start painting. This will ensure there’s no dust hanging out on the walls that could interfere with paint adhesion.
Start Painting
Now, you’re finally ready to paint! Set up your paint station. Before you get started, stir the paint well with a stir stick.
Pour some paint into your paint pail or tray (add a liner for easy cleanup, if you’d like), and grab your angled brush. You’ll start by cutting in around the ceiling, trim, baseboards, and anything else you taped off. Paint along the edges of those areas with your angled brush, ensuring you don’t get paint onto any surfaces you aren’t painting, like the ceiling or trim.
Once you’re finished cutting in, switch to the roller. This will make the process go much faster. Roll the paint onto the wall, working in small 2-3 foot sections at a time.
Avoid putting too much paint on the roller at once or pressing it too hard onto the wall, as this can cause drips (which don’t look very nice). Instead, use light pressure to roll the paint onto the walls, working in a “W” shape. Reapply paint to your roller as needed and work your way around the room, painting each wall one by one.
Once you’re done painting, let it dry completely. Depending on the color you use and the color you’re covering, you might need to add additional coats. If you need a second coat, repeat the painting process, starting with cutting in.
When you’re satisfied with the result, peel the tape off. Peel it off when the paint is still wet because this way, there’s less of a chance of the tape ripping and sticking underneath the paint or pulling off some of the new paint.
Finishing Touches
After the painting process is complete, clean up your workstation. Rinse out your paint tray, brush, and roller, and let them air dry in a well-ventilated space. When the paint is completely dry, remove the drop cloths and move the furniture back into the room.
And, tada! Just like that, you’ve painted your first room!
If you’ve just read through everything, you might be wondering, “How long does it take to paint a room for beginners?” The answer: It varies. The bigger the room, the longer it’ll take, but it usually takes less than a day.
Not a Fan of the Process? Enlist Help From the Pros
Painting is a big undertaking, even if it’s just one room. Getting a smooth, professional-looking result can be a challenge, especially if the existing wall is damaged or you’ve never painted a room before. So, if you’re feeling overwhelmed, we recommend talking to the pros.
When you go this route, you won’t have to worry about buying all of the equipment for painting, selecting the right paint, or completing prep. All you’ll need to do is choose the color and let the pros do the rest! It’s the easiest, least stressful option.
If that sounds good to you, our team at Image Painting is here to help. We serve all of Washington, D.C., and the D.C. metro area. If you have a room that needs a fresh coat of paint, let us know. Kickstart your project with an estimate.