Repainting your rooms in warm, bold colors.
Now you see it on all the home shows such as the BBC's Changing Rooms.
Kathy and I have found that there are a few tips that will make it, if not fully enjoyable, then quicker to do and something you'll find immensely worthwhile as a wonderful, inexpensive way to redecorate your house.
I would go so far as to say that for us, it's been the defining difference in truly enjoying the time we spend at home in our rooms.
Check out our Redecorated Rooms to see what we've done recently.
Presenting:
THE FISHER'S INDOOR PAINTING KWIK 'N' EASY TIPS
1 Taping...
a. Tape everything, and use the expensive blue painter's tape. It lifts up more easily and tears away less of the paint.
b. Paint as soon after taping as possible, and remove the tape right after painting the final coat to reduce ripped paint. Most tapes are rated for 2-3 days, but I've found anything longer than a day causes undue sticking.
c. Pull the tape away at right-angles to the wall (i.e. pull it towards you, not straight up if you are pulling up tape on the baseboard). This reduces the likelihood of pulling up long tracts of paint on the wall.
d. Tape is for baseboards, cabinets, and door trim. Don't bother to tape the ceiling, you won't need to (read the next tip).
2. Edging
Use an edger. It's a 3x5inch rectangular painting tool, about $3.50 at stores. It has two wheels on one side to keep that edge of the brush from touching, so it runs along ceilings, baseboards and wall edges. A fantastic way to do ceilings with really clean, straight edges.
I suggest using the edging tool first, and then using rollers and brushes to cover up as close as possible to the edge.
Home Depot sells the Shur-Line Paint Edging Kit for $3.89 and refills are $2.87 for 2 pads.
3. Throw away equipment
There are times to recycle and clean. Painting isn't one of them. The trade-off is that you trash a few extra items, but you don't run paint down the drain and into the municipal water system.
This is the #1 tip for enjoying the painting process. I've estimated that this can add approximately $10 per painting experience. It's generally worth it.
What disposable items should you buy?
Edging pads
Rollers
Plastic paint trays (fit inside the metal paint tray for stability)
Small brushes for touch-up
Thin plastic drop cloths (can use 2-3 times, then throw away because the paint it's picked up can start to peel off and fall on the floor)
4. More tips:
a. Don't do multiple colors on walls if you can help it, especially if you have raised surface spackled/textured walls
b. Bold colors - you've seen it on the shows, it's true. We've gone with generally compatible warm colors, see our pages for new/old pix
c. Get into the project. Think of the room as a theme, then go with it. Find a piece you like (art, pottery, bedspread, whatever) and plan colors around it. We used the blue from a Toulouse-Lautrec piece for our TL guest room, then framed a few TL postcards and added a primary yellow painted chair a lá Van Gogh to the room for fun.
d. Try to paint in one day, or in the evening and finishing the next morning.
e. Wait at least a few hours between coats or else you're just re-wetting the first coat and not adding a full layer on top of it.
f. Buy more paint than you think you'll need. It's good to have leftovers for touch-ups and an extra coat if you need it. Going to the store again is a pain.
g. Since you are disposing of a lot of stuff, buy the cheapies for most things (like rollers and brushes), there's no need to go expensive as they don't have to hold up very long.