Seeing all of these amazing spaces in our Room for Color contest, you may be inspired to add some color to your own walls. To help you get started, we've created a shoppers guide with all the essentials. Choosing the paint color is up to you.
TAPE
We're big fans of the standard ScotchBlue painter's tape ($7.30, Amazon) for taping off trim and ceilings. For detailed work, like creating stripes or working around glass, FrogTape ($5.63, Amazon) creates a tighter seal around the edges.
DROP CLOTH
Having a drop cloth will mean less clean up later. Use it to protect floors and furniture from drips of paint. Really, no matter how careful you are, there will be drips. Scotch Plastic Drop Cloth ($12.58, Blick) is a great temporary option – just crumple it up and dump it in the garbage when finished. If you think you'll be painting again the future, consider investing in Blue Hawk Canvas Drop Cloth ($21.98, Lowes). You can always use it to make a slipcover or curtains later. Another option is to buy a Kraft Paper Roll ($26, Uline) to protect your floors. The extra kraft paper has myriad uses!
PAINT TRAY
One annoying thing about most paint trays is that you have to refill them repeatedly throughout the job. The clever thing abuot the Bercom Handy Paint Tray ($11.15, ThePaintStore.com) is that it fits an entire gallon of paint. Plus, it includes a magnetic brush holder and handle.
PAINT ROLLER & REFILLS
The trusty paint roller can make quick work of covering a large wall. Invest in a roller, like the Wooster 9 in. Sherlock Roller Frame ($8.47, Home Depot), and you'll have it forever. You'll only need to buy roller refills, like the Purdy White Dove Dralon Roller Covers ($13.48, Home Depot), for future paint jobs. For tight corners and smaller spaces, the Mini-Roller Tray Set ($2.00, ThePaintStore.com) is great for maneuverability.
LADDER
You may be tempted to stand on top of a chair or table but the safest bet is to invest in a ladder. The Multiple Position 12 Step Aluminum Folding Ladder ($79.93, Amazon) is compact enough to store in a small space when not in use. With its adjustable heights, you can use it as a step ladder or regular size ladder.
SMALL BRUSHES
After you're finished painting and the tape has all been ripped back off, you'll probably need to go back to do a little touch up. The MÅLA Paintbrush Set ($1.99, Ikea) will give you a few options for touch ups and detail work.
(Images: As credited above.)
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Drop cloths: you were joking about making the canvas drop cloth into curtains or slipcover later, right? With paint drips on it? And the puckered seam that all of them have? Haha.
Also, instead of a $26+shipping roll of kraft paper, buy a $10 roll of red rosin paper (also called builder paper) at Lowe's, Home Depot, or at paint stores. It is made to protect floors during painting and renovations, among other things. It's 36" wide and 167' long but the roll is only about 6" diameter so it doesn't take up a lot of storage room. It's heavier paper than kraft. Just run it around the perimeter and tape the edges down here and there and you're ready to go.
Frog Tape ROCKS! I use it all the time and it really works.
Just a note...if you spill even a little puddle of paint on a canvas drop cloth, it will bleed right trough to your floors. If it's more than splatter, clean up the spill asap.
"Scotch Plastic Drop Cloth ($12.58, Blick) is a great temporary option – just crumple it up and dump it in the garbage when finished"
Yeah, just dump it in the garbage. Our landfills are bottomless so let's generate as much garbage as we can.
$1 store plastic table clothes.
How about some real brushes for painting around corners and trim??
Don't bother with paint trays. They are too easy to step in, know over and yes you need to keep refilling the, The idea of a whole gallon of paint in one sounds to me like a disaster waiting to happen
Get a clean 5 gallon paint bucket and a paint screen and an extension handle. Pour 2-3 gallons of paint in the bucket and mix well. Place the screen in on the side of the bucket and dip the roller with the extension attached in the paint and roll off the excess on the screen. It leaves the perfect amount of paint on the roller.
If you need to stop for the night, remove the extension from the roller and hang it on the screen. There is a lip on the handle for this. Cover the entire 5 gallon bucket with a plastic bag and you can start up where you left of in the morning.
Cut the edges and around outlets and switches first. then using the extension you can reach all the way up the wall with the roller. Paint all the way up and down moving in a "W" pattern and then come back to blend it all together.
Saves you tons of time.
I wish this had been posted last week when I painted my bedroom. I fell butt first into the paint tray. Good times! A bucket, paint screen, ladder and patience to do all the taping are what I needed. I may just hire a painter next time instead of doing it on my own. Anywho, it is done now and looks so pretty. I am glad I decided to get the expensive paint!!
Turn off the ceiling fan before climbing the ladder . . . .lesson learned the hard way.
That ladder has no shelve to set the tray or paint bucket. I prefer a stepladder + an adjustable extension.
Tray: I use a long lasting metal tray along with its disposable plastic liners. Minimizes cleaning.
I always clean brushes meticulously and make sure all painting equipment is in good working order before storing. I have a couple of 2 inch brushes that I bought in 1972 for 25cents each and they are still in perfect shape.
One great little tool is a metal hook made for opening paint cans. Better than a screwdriverr, it will keep the rim in good shape. Nice gift for friends who have a big paint job ahead of them - that and a rubber hammer to close the can.
Forget the tape, it's a waste of time and money and never gives you a clean line. The professionals use a good quality angled brush. it takes a little practice but it's not hard. Put some paint in a small container you can hold in one hand too so you don't have to go back and forth to the paint tray.
Oh, I've done this too! Terrifying and painful and very embarrassing if someone witnesses you.