Top painting tips to follow when decorating any room

For the painting aficionados out there, they will know instinctively what to do when painting a room in their house. However, for first-timers or those picking up a paint brush who haven’t painted in a while, we have compiled a few tips to help ensure that your decorating efforts are successful.

Choosing the right paint colour

Make sure you are happy with the colour you choose by purchasing sample pots; dry paint will often look different to when wet, therefore testing your paint first will save a lot of time, effort and money if you decide you aren’t happy.

If testing the colour on your walls, ensure you aren’t painting a thick layer as this will affect the finish on your finished paint job.

Top Tip: Paint on to an A4 card and move around your room, as colours can change depending upon the light.

Choosing the right kind of paint for the room

Ensuring you have the right kind of paint is essential to maintaining a high-quality finish.

• Claypaint is a breathable paint with an ultra-flat matt finish. It will cover your walls extremely well. This paint is ideal for older properties and lime plastered surfaces.
• Lifestyle Emulsion is ideal for those rooms that need paintwork to be washable (i.e. hallways or children’s bedrooms/ playrooms). However, this is not suitable for lime plastered walls as it isn’t as breathable as its Claypaint counterpart

Preparing the walls

Before any painting is done you need to make sure your walls are ready to be painted. This means filling any holes or cracks in your walls and sanding to ensure a smooth surface. You also want your paint to go onto clean walls, 24 hours before you begin painting ensure your walls are clean, dry and dust free.

Recently plastered walls

Claypaint can be applied to newly plastered walls. However, with Lifestyle Emulsion you should allow a couple of weeks curing time. For best results dilute the first coat of your paint (80% paint to 20% water).

If you have used lime plaster or have lime rendered walls Claypaint should be used as this allows walls to breathe. Take a look at our FAQ for more tips on painting on lime plaster.

Method of application

Apply with brush, roller or spray. The method of application will affect the finished texture; a roller will give more texture and spray the least. Most people find a short pile roller provides the best finish.

Minimise striping effect

You’ve prepared the walls and now it’s time to paint, but one of the most frustrating aspects of painting is ending up with stripy walls where one section of paint has begun to dry and has then overlapped with the following section. This can be avoided by rolling out your drying roller in various directions across the dry edge of a section, this is called feathering, then begin your following section on top of the feathering. Don’t be tempted to start on your second coat until the first is fully dry. With the second coat, roll in the opposite direction, this should, in most cases, eliminate lap marks.

Make sure you have enough paint!

Sounds simple, but there is nothing worse than starting your paint project and realising half way you’ve run out of paint. We’ve a handy guide that will help calculate how much paint you need. 

Happy painting!