5 Interior Painting Tips To Get Great Results

Are you looking for interior painting tips for your Druid Hills home? Whether you are tackling the job yourself or hiring a professional painter, you'll want to get the best possible results. There's a lot to interior painting that you need to know, especially if this is the first time you've painted your walls.

Our interior painters at Decked Out want to give you some interior painting tips. Here's what you need to know about interior painting to help you get the best results possible for your Druid Hills home.

Always Use Floor Drop Cloths & Furniture Protectors

You'll always want to protect your flooring, belongings, and furnishings before you start an interior painting project. All these things cost a lot to replace. Don't skimp on this important part of the interior painting or you'll risk ruining these assets.

Prep The Surface Before Interior Painting

All the defects you see now will show through the paint after it dries. It's important to properly prep the surfaces before you get started with interior painting. Fill the nail holes, caulk the cracks, and repair the damaged wooden trim first. You'll have a beautifully smooth finish that makes you proud.

Tape Off Edges

It takes years to learn how to cut in paint edges with a brush. If you are doing the interior painting yourself or hiring a Druid Hills painter with questionable experience, make sure to tape off the edges around the baseboards, ceilings, and cabinetry in order to get the best results.

Always Use Good Quality Primer

Primer doesn't have to be used with every interior painting job, especially when there are already several layers of paint building up on the walls. However, the primer is often necessary when you change colors so that the old colors don't bleed through and distort the color of the new paint finish. It's also necessary if you've done any repairs to the drywall or woodwork.

You'll want to find a good quality interior paint primer to apply first. Be careful to choose the type of primer that matches the type of paint you are using. Water-based acrylic paints won't work well over oil-based primers and vice versa.

Choose The Right Paint Sheen

A really glossy surface isn't right for every area, so choose the right paint sheen for your Druid Hills interior painting project. Here are a few tips:

Painting Doors & Trim – A satin paint will provide you with a low gloss. Doors and trimwork get touched and scuffed way more than walls, so don't use flat paint when painting these surfaces.

Painting Bathrooms – You never want to paint a bathroom with flat paint because of the high humidity in the room. Depending on your design style, you can choose a higher paint sheen in the bathroom if you like shimmering color. The play of light on the painted surfaces along with the mirrors and glass can really look great. If you go this route, think luxury and opulence when choosing a glossy bathroom paint because this type of paint is very noticeable.

Painting Ceilings – Low sheen or no sheen is best for painting ceilings. Glossy paint will lower the look of the ceiling, so you want to use a flat paint on drywall. However, if you are painting a beadboard ceiling or wood paneling, a satin paint would work much better.