How to paint your walls

Today, we are going to talk about how to paint your walls. I moved into a fixer-upper 25 years ago. It was in pretty sad shape. Additionally, we were just trying to get moved in, so we just painted every room white in this 1930 two story farmhouse.

A few years later, my two teenage girls decided they needed some color in their lives, subsequently, I let them paint it whatever color they wanted. You only live once, right? One room was blue, and the other purple with leaves on the walls. They are out of the house now, so we have a guest room, a grandkid room, and a glorious sewing room, all upstairs. It was definitely time to update and clean it up.

We decided to carpet the old splintering wood floors that we refinished 25 years ago. In short, we were on a timeline to get the painting done before that carpet was delivered. Enough about all that – here is what you will need to get started:

Supplies for how to paint your walls

Paint kit OR
Paint tray
Tray liners
Paint rollers, handle, and extension pole
Angled paintbrush
Mud for repairing drywall or
Spackling paste
trowel
Drop cloths
Painters tape
Your favorite paint
Gallon ziplock bags
Patience

To start, we were about to have new carpet laid, so we didn’t bother with a drop cloth. But you definitely need one to protect your floors if you aren’t about to cover them up.

Repair your walls

Next, you need to repair any nail holes or damage to your walls. Similarly, I used mud for mine because it mimics the texture. You can use spackling paste if it’s just small nail holes. Further, use your trowel for this step. This old house has settled a lot so I had some major cracks to fill in. In addition, I used a wet sponge on the wet drywall to texture it the same as the wall. Sand out the drywall and wipe down the walls. Lastly, you can use a broom to clean the rest of the wall. Make sure those spider webs in the corners are all down. What, you don’t have spiders?? lol

At this point you should stop and paint the trim if it needs it. Mine did!! Use the angle brush for this. Let it dry overnight. Then you will need to tape it off with painters tape before attacking the wall paint.

How to paint your walls

I used paint with primer for a better coverage. There are so many awesome paints and paint colors out there. If you need to cover any stains or sharpie pen marks (thanks to my Granddaughter), use some Kilz before applying the paint.

Okay, what are you waiting on, grab that paint tray, put a tray liner in it, put the paint roller on the paint handle, attach the extension pole, put on your cape, and slap on some paint!! Fun stuff now. It works better to roll it on at a diagonal to the left, then the right, then up and down. You get more coverage this way. Get as close as you can without touching the trim.

Use your angle brush to do the walls where the roller wouldn’t reach. If you need to stop and eat supper or get a snack for some energy, you can put the roller and/or paintbrush in a ziplock bag. It will keep the paint from drying out. Now get up and finish. Be sure and put two coats of paint. To sum it up, take the painters tape off and pat yourself on the back for transforming your room. Paint completely transforms your space!!!