For new homeowners, it can feel difficult to figure out how to renovate and freshen up their new homes. There is no need to worry as there are many resources to help with each project. One of these tricky areas is painting. What’s the correct order to do things in? Generally, you want to work from the top down: paint large areas first and then finish with the touch-ups. Completing the steps in this order will make your project easier and less complicated. Every project is more fun with company so invite some friends over, order pizza, and get your paintbrushes ready!
Work From the Top Down
When beginning your painting project, you want to paint from the top down so that you can correct any mistakes as you go. This means that if you’re planning on painting your ceiling, you’ll want to do it before you begin painting your walls. The wet paint can often drip down onto your walls so if you painted them first, you would create more work for yourself by having to clean up that mess and potentially repaint areas. Make sure to properly tape off the edges of your ceiling to minimize the drips.
Paint Large Areas First, Then the Trim
Painting large areas is much faster than doing detailed work so try to paint as many of the large areas as you can before worrying about trim areas. Then, once you finish painting those big swatches of wall, you can take your time carefully painting the trim to make sure that it’s done correctly. Once again, make sure to properly tape off areas around the trim that you don’t want paint to get on, such as windows, outlets, baseboards, floorboards, and more. You will want to pay special attention to these areas to make sure that they don’t end up looking sloppy.
Finish with Touch-ups
Once you finish painting your ceiling, painting the large areas of your walls, and carefully painting the trim, it’s time to finish your project by doing any touching up that’s necessary. Once the paint dries, you’ll more easily be able to see the areas that need a little extra paint or areas on the trim where the paint snuck in. Don’t worry, though; if the rest of the process was done carefully, you shouldn’t need to do too much during this stage. You’ll just want to look very carefully at every part of the walls and ceiling to make sure that there weren’t any areas missed.
Whether you’re just freshening up your walls or going for a completely new paint scheme, taking on a painting project can feel exciting because a coat of paint can make a huge difference to the feel of a room. Just make sure to work from the top of a room down, beginning with the ceiling, working your way to the walls, and then focusing on details such as trim and touch-ups. Following these steps will make your painting project much easier and more enjoyable. Happy painting!