So you want to paint a room…

You know those recipe blogs that get into a fun story and then give you the recipe at the end? This is kinda gonna be like that, except the recipe is going to be tools and instructions on how to paint a room.

So in keeping with the theme let’s start at the beginning.

what’s goin’ on

The Fall 2021 One Room Challenge™ kicked off September 30. It’s a twice-a-year chance for designers of all experience levels get together to cheer one another on in our quests to finish one room in eight weeks. It’s not a competition - just a way to build community among DIYers and professional designers alike. The challenge is all about peeling back the curtain and showing the process.

You can find other participants’ entries on the One Room Challenge™ website.

my one room challenge: the dining room

I’m focused on my dining room for the next couple months. I started the work a while back, removing the wallpaper and giving the room a fresh coast of paint. (Thank you, past-self, for the head start - I am gonna need it!)

I ended up painting not only the dining room, but also what I affectionately call our “creepy hallway.” It’s a, well, creepy hallway that runs behind our entry area and stairway, connecting the living room and dining room. Our house used to be split into two apartments. While we were on the first floor, and until we knocked a hole through the living room wall (a story for another day), the creepy hallway was the one pathway we had to get to the kitchen and then-office, now-dining area. Now, it’s a springy shade of green, the carpet is removed and the floors are glossy and refinished.

It was important to me to have the creepy hallway figured out before tackling the dining room in earnest for two reasons: 1) you can see the hallway from the dining room and 2) it was a small project that I felt would be way easier to do before the whole dining room than after it.

But this blog isn’t about the creepy hallway (another story for another day). This blog is about the dining room.

It took me about two or three days to totally paint the dining room. Our walls are like, 12 feet high, I think, so that adds a little extra time - not just in sheer surface area but in dragging the ladder around the room and carefully moving the paint tray around the room (which inevitably becomes less careful and more messy as the work goes on).

The other kicker was just how messed up the walls were. Partially our fault in removing the wallpaper sloppily, and partially the end product of the house existing for more than a century. It took a lot of spackling, some mudding, it was a whole thing. If you’re mudding and spackling, I recommend doing that days before you paint. Having that done when you get started painting is a nice timesaver, and it helps get into the flow of the task at hand without worrying about covering up all the little dings and holes first. (And then waiting for it to dry.)

The ceiling also required a couple coats of paint. Normally I wouldn’t bother with the ceiling unless I was trying to make a statement, or it was in really bad shape. The only “before” photo was really about halfway through… but it makes it look even worse so, enjoy this night and day transformation:

With that… here is your new DIY recipeh.

how to paint a room

time to complete: one-day project

• 1-2 hour prep (this can be done in advance)

• 1-2 hours cutting in (per coat)

• 1 hour rolling (per coat)

• 2-4 hours between coats

ingredients/tools

• Hammer

• Screwdriver (flathead)

• Drop cloths

• Spackle

• Ceiling paint

• Wall paint and primer (try Lowe’s or order online from Clare)

• Paint tray

• Paint tray liners

• Paint pail and paint pail liners (an old coffee tin works well too)

• Telescoping handle paint roller

• Roller covers

• Brush for cutting in

• Scrap cardboard (to set your paint and paint tray on while you move it around the room)

• Old rags, towels, T-shirts for cleaning up spills

• Painter’s tape

• Brush cleaner

• You may need: Brush comb, ladder

prep the room

1. Get your music or Netflix going. Seriously. This is going to take a little while, so treat yourself to a sing-along, a favorite movie or TV show, an audiobook, a podcast - the possibilities are endless.
   
   My go-tos include: Songs I can sing to (e.g. Kansas, Jukebox the Ghost, Queen, Panic! at the Disco) songs I can dance to (League of Legends playlist on Spotify - really, it’s great), shows with plenty of content that I don’t have to look at to know what’s going on (Supernatural, Saved by the Bell, Alias, Lord of the Rings extended edition, etc.), Let’s Get Haunted, Rooser Teeth Podcast, or an audiobook from the library.
   
   
   

2. Remove everything from the walls - including nails, picture hooks, outlet covers, switchplates. This is where your screwdriver and hammer will come in handy.
   
   
   

3. Move all the furniture into the middle of the room. Give yourself enough clearance to comfortably wield your roller - adjust to a larger distance if you’ve got a telescoping roller (like I did for those monstrously tall walls).
   
   
   

4. Cover the furniture with drop cloths. I reuse mine until they’re totally worn through. You can buy them in canvas or plastic, or use stuff like old sheets and blankets. Don’t skimp and only cover the top. Especially when working with a roller, it’s going to fling all over. And if you drop a brush off a ladder, lord help you, because that’s gonna go flying all over where you least expect it!
   
   
   

5. Cover the floor with drop cloths. I’m listing this separately bc you’re going to forget. Maybe that’s just me. I did not use drop cloths in the dining room because I plan on removing the carpet. If this is true for you, please skip this step and enjoy making a mess you won’t have to clean up - but do be careful not to step in paint and drag it across the house (speakin’ from experience here).
   
   
   

6. On that note, if you have pets, close doors to the room or set up baby gates so they won’t come in and paint themselves. It’s cute but latex paint is srsly hard to get out of pet fur. (Also speaking from experience.)
   
   
   

7. Apply painter’s tape around moulding, door and window frames, and on the ceiling (or the top of the wall if you’re painting the ceiling first).
   
   
   

8. Open windows, and set up a fan blowing air from the room out the window. Ventilation is CRUCIAL.
   
   
   

9. Spackle. I love the DryDex spackle that starts pink and turns white when it’s dry. Makes it super easy to see when you’re ready to paint. A little spackle goes a long way - use sparingly to cover nail holes or dents in the wall. Don’t go crazy with it - just focus on the stuff you’ll notice from a few feet away.
   
   
   

10. PPE time: A mask works wonders. Cover your hair with a bandana, wear work clothes you don’t mind getting paint on. If you are doing the ceiling, too, do NOT skip goggles. If you are just doing the wall… still a good idea.

get painting

Always prime before you paint. Always do the ceilings before you do the walls (the ceiling paint will likely splatter a bit). Keep your paint can and tray on a scrap piece of cardboard to

Here’s the deets:

1. A note on priming. You need to prime your walls if: You are going from a dark to a light color, your walls are not all the same color, or your colors are really similar in saturation but not tone. Not sure? Paint a little test square straight on the wall using your wall paint of choice. Let it dry. If the color looks unlike what you expect, prime first.
   
   If you’re priming, follow the directions on the primer for number of coats and dry time before you start painting.
   
   
   

2. Now we begin to paint! First, cut in. Fill up your paint pail (either the plastic one or the old coffee can, something similar) with some paint and carry that with you as you work. It’s much easier than carrying the whole can of paint around with you - easier to control the amount of paint on your brush, and less likely to end in disaster or another run to the store if you tip it over.
   
   Use a 2-3” brush (I prefer an angled brush; check the list above for a recommendation) and paint neatly around the edges of the room - along the ceiling, corners of the walls, and around moulding. Basically, everywhere you applied tape + in the corners.
   
   Remember you’re doing this to ensure crisp lines and enough clearance to use the roller without fear of smacking the ceiling or moulding. Give yourself enough space to freely roll later - I normally go six inches in at the most, and four inches in the corners.
   
   Don’t let the paint creep up the brush - just dip the tip in. You’re going to have a harder time cleaning the paint out of the middle of the brush the deeper you load it up with paint, which will shorten the life of your brush.
   
   If you have to take a break, leave the brush in another tin, pail or liner with a little bit of water (just cover the part with the paint on it - don’t get the water up past the metal part). Use an old hand towel or shirt to blot the brush dry before you start again.
   
   Here are some pics of what it looked like after I cut in to the areas I could reach without the ladder:

3. Next, start rollin’. Fit the roller cover over the paint roller. Roll up and down the wall in a V shape, covering everything top to bottom, bottom to top.

Use the telescoping handle to reach the top and bottom with as little bending as possible. If you are over 25 you’ll be very happy with the telescoping handle :)

If you see lines where your roller started and ended, you are using too much paint or pressure. Lighten your load and aim for an even coating of paint.

If you need to do a second coat, you’ll have to wait 2-4 hours. Check the paint can for specific instructions.

Here’s how the room looked when I was all through with the rolling! I ended up doing two coats in here to get a more even finish.

4. Don’t forget the touchups. If you’re anything like me, no matter how thorough and careful you thought you were, your trim will thank you for a little once-over. You can do this right away with another brush - just make sure that any paint flecks or smudges you’re going over are dry. Otherwise, you’ll drag it through your trim color and make a bigger mess.

Here’s how the room looks now with all the touchups complete:

cleanup and reset

Congratulations!! You did it!! Time to clean so you get the most life out of your new tools. (And the finishing touch - resetting your space!)

1. Use a brush cleaner specifically formulated for latex paint. This is going to stink - keep your ventilator on. If the latex paint gums up your brush, and it will, because that is what latex does when it dries, use the brush comb.

2. Once the paint has dried (a few hours), fold up your drop cloths and throw your paint clothes/rags/etc. in the wash to get them ready for next time.

3. Clean yourself up. This is the perfect time for what the kids call a “shower beer” if you’re into that sort of thing.

4. Check your paint for specific instructions on timing, but once it’s dry-dry, you can reset the room! Replace any switchplates, outlet covers and furniture you moved, re-hang any wall art or fixtures… and enjoy your new room!

and that’s a wrap

I hope the painting tutorial is helpful to you! If you have questions about the process or the tools I use, hit me up @ariellemirandagoldberg on Instagram and let me know!