3 Easy Ways to Paint a Home

Painting a home can be a daunting task, but there are a few simple techniques and tips that help make it a lot easier.

We’ve enlisted the help of keen renovator and interior designer, Shannon Vos, to share his easy DIY painting tips.

1. Use the same colour for your walls and ceiling

If you want to reduce the effort required to paint your home, an easy hack is to choose the same colour for multiple surfaces, such as your walls and ceiling.

Just don’t forget to still use painters’ tape to tape around any switches, fittings or fixtures you want to avoid getting paint on.

2. You may not need an undercoat

A key step that can complicate the DIY painting process is using an undercoat.

An undercoat, or primer, is traditionally intended to provide a neutral surface to which you can apply paint, ensuring previous colours don’t peek through.

“We used Taubmans Endure for this space because it’s hard wearing,” Shannon shares.

Remember, paint durability is also important, especially in ‘high traffic’ areas, i.e., kitchens and living rooms which are likely to suffer the most wear-and-tear.

When painting walls, Shannon recommends using a matte or low-sheen paint.

“Gloss and semi-gloss are good for your doors and door frames — they’re easy to clean but they will show up a lot of mistakes,” he explains. “Because we’re dealing with walls, we’re going to go with either a matte or a low sheen.”

Having said all that, you may prefer to still use a primer to get a quality paint finish, while also reducing the quantity of the more expensive top coat you’ll need to use.

It may also be more important in wet rooms, such as bathrooms, to choose a paint that has greater moisture resistance. For this, a product like Taubmans 3-in-1 Prep — a primer, sealer and undercoat — is a big help.

3. Nail your technique

While multiple coats can help cover all manner of sins, you still need to be aware of your strokes and aim for an even paint distribution.

The first step is cutting in, which requires using a brush to paint along edges and corners where a roller simply can’t reach. This will ‘frame’ your ‘blank canvas’ — AKA your wall — allowing you to  do the bulk of the work easily with a roller.

“You’ll be tempted to place as much paint on your roller as possible but, as this is your first time, go easy — you don’t want a mess everywhere,” Shannon begins.

“When rolling a wall, I try to start with a diagonal line or zig-zag pattern depending on how much paint you have on your roller. This prevents too much paint build-up in the one spot.

“Then, I go back and fill in the gaps and finally, I lay off with a semi-dry roller in a downwards fashion to achieve a uniform finish and cover up any lap marks.”