Checklist for painting a room
One of the easiest ways to makeover the interior of your home is with a fresh coat of paint. Paint does more than cover up fingerprints and make a space look new again--the right color of paint can change the entire personality of a room.
Before jumping into any DIY home painting project, a good first step is to visualize how the finished room will look using an online color visualizer tool. A visualizer tool (my favorite is found at Glidden.com) is a virtual paint brush that lets you get creative with paint color schemes for every room in your home without the expense (and mess) of having to buy testers.
After selecting paint colors that will work for your home, you can do all your one-stop stopping at walmart.com for Glidden paint and other DIY painting needs.
Checklist of DIY paint supplies
The most basic of painting supplies are items you probably already own. Tools such as ladders, water buckets, rags, newspapers, straight tip screwdriver (for opening paint cans), mallets, and old paint clothes are just of the few items you'll need for prep and cleanup.
Here is a checklist for additional items that will help you complete any DIY paint project:
SmartStraps. These heavy duty tarps can protect both furniture and your floors. Walmart.com has an assortment of tarp sizes for any size paint project; I prefer the 10 x 16 size for interior painting jobs since it's a more manageable size.
Paint brushes and rollers. For most DIY painters, a 1" and 3" brushes are the right size for trim work and cutting in around windows. My preference for painting walls and ceilings is with a medium nap roller brush with an extension rod.
Paint trays and small, hand held paint buckets. Painting directly out of the paint can is both messy and wasteful. A better solution is to pour the paint into a one quart paint bucket with a side handle (great for small jobs) or a paint tray.
Lightweight spackling compound & painters tool. Paint isn't thick enough to fill in nail holes, which is why a pre-paint wall prep should include some spackling. Lightweight spackling applied with a painter's tool usually dries in less than a couple of hours.
Caulking gun and caulk. The use of caulk before painting is what distinguishes the pros from the amateurs. Caulk eliminates shadow lines around doors, window frames, and baseboards which results in a cleaner, more professional appearance.
Stain sealer. Walls that are heavily damaged by water stains or smoke will require a heavy duty sealer to "lock in" the stains and odors. Kilz offers a wide range of stain blocking products that are ideal for sealing in porous surfaces.
Glidden paints and primer. Walmart carries an amazing selection of affordably priced Glidden paints, including the drip and spatter resistance "Brilliance" line. Don't know how much to buy? Walmart can help you there as well with the Glidden paint calculator which will take the guesswork out of all your DIY painting projects.
Content by C. Jeanne Heida.
