8 Steps to Reviving A Room Using Colour

Neutral colours have their purpose, but a home with carefully selected and vibrant colours does wonders for the mood and energy of a space. Plain white walls are classic however elegance doesn’t mean boring. 

Painting a room is an easy and inexpensive way to revive homes or any other space. This Do-It-Yourself project can be done at any skill level and will bring life to your vision in eight simple steps. 

Before starting, check the list below for our recommended tools and supplies, available from H&L Rapid True Value, to complete this project.
 

  • Screwdriver
  • Mild detergent
  • Painter's tape (optional)
  • Spackling compound
  • Putty knife
  • Plastic sheeting
  • Drop cloths
  • EasyCare® Ultra Premium Interior Primer/Sealer
  • EasyCare® Ultra Premium Interior Paint
  • Roller set
  • Sponge
  • Razor blades (optional)
  • Brush comb
  • Painter's tape
  • EasyCare® Ultra Premium Ceiling Paint

 

Step 1: Preparation  

Choose a colour from the spectrum palette that matches the frequency and overall desired feel of the room. Once a colour is selected, a unique way to bring additional life is to pair it with a complementary colour. Pro Tip: Use lighter colours for wall trim and mouldings to create the illusion of a bigger space.

Classic Blue is the colour of the year for 2020

Remove hardware and fixtures from the walls and ceilings with a screwdriver. Remember to turn off the breaker or fuse for the room before working with electrical components. Remove electrical switch plates, cable TV outlets, phone jack covers, curtains and decorations and cover edges with painter's tape. It's best to move any furniture you can to another room. If that's not an option, move your furniture to the center of the room and cover it with tarps or drop cloths.

Wash the wall surface using a damp cloth, mild detergent and water. Patch any holes and wall damage with spackling compound. Scrape off flaky paint using a putty knife. 
 

Step 2: Prime Ceiling and Walls  

Priming seals the surface of the wall and helps the paint cover more evenly. Always prime if you're painting a lighter color over a darker one. On flat-painted walls with minor repairs, you may only need to spot prime. For walls with larger areas of patching plaster, use True Value EasyCare® Ultra Premium Interior Primer/Sealer.

Priming doesn't require as much care as painting, but you'll use the same technique. Start with the ceiling, first covering the perimeter and unpainted areas around the fixtures. Moving in 6'-square sections, use a series of overlapping "W" strokes from right to left, then back from left to right. Spread the primer evenly using horizontal strokes. Continue in 6'-square sections until the entire surface is primed.

Step 3: Apply Ceiling Brushwork  

Mask the perimeter of the ceiling with painter's tape. To cut in wall and ceiling corners, you need a brush with a straight, clean edge - one with angled bristles gives you the most control. 


Step 4: Painting the Ceiling and Walls  

This is probably the simplest and most intriguing part: seeing the paint come alive on the surrounding walls!
 

When painting a room, you should start with the ceiling before the walls. Always use quality latex paint like True Value EasyCare® Ultra Premium Ceiling Paint. For painting the walls, use EasyCare® Ultra Premium Interior Paint. Use the same technique as priming your ceiling and walls, moving in 6'-square sections across the ceiling and walls. Be sure to feather the edges of the squares, using less pressure when applying paint at the edges of the square. This will keep the finish even and prevent any lines where the paint overlaps from another section. Keep working with the squares until the surface is completely painted. Without adding paint to the roller, use light strokes to re-roll from the bottom of the wall to the top (or across the ceiling) to make sure everything is even.

If your paint is any other finish than flat, you should go over the entire surface (for very large areas, do two square sections at a time) once again with one-directional, overlapping, non-diagonal strokes to blend the paint.

Step 5: Apply Wall Brushwork  

You will need to use a brush, coated with one inch of paint when doing wall brushwork.

This is usually done in areas your roller can't reach, like the corners and next to the doors, windows and molding.


Step 6: Apply Second Coat of Paint  

If necessary apply a second coat of paint using the same technique as the first. You don't have to let the paint completely dry between coats, but your results will be better the longer you wait.


Step 7: Paint the Trim, Doors and Windows  

Give the trim, doors and windows an extra spruce, with a fresh coat of paint.

For base molding, run blue painter's tape along the floor to prevent any drips.

Before painting a door, you need to take off the handle or knob and the strike plate. If you have inset panels, paint those first, followed by the horizontal bars and then the vertical.

For windows, you need to move the outside sash—the top part of the window—down. Move the inside sash up. Now you can paint the bottom part of the outside sash. Push this back up when you've finished painting it. Pulling down the inside sash, paint the top part of the outside sash and the inside sash. Make sure you open and close the window occasionally as the paint is drying so the window doesn't stick.

Step 8: Clean Up  

And there we have it!

Thoroughly rinse your roller covers and brushes in water until the solvent runs clear. 

Store in plastic bags or hang them on nails or hooks to dry.
Remove any cloths and leave the paint to dry.

Go ahead and share your handy work with us by tagging @hlrapidtruevalue hashtag #EasyCare #ColourLove


Source: True Value
https://www.truevaluepaint.com/paint/interior/color_advice/revive_a_room_using_color.aspx