As fall semester comes to an end, some students are starting to feel like they are at home here in Fort Wayne, Ind. Students, who have moved out from their parents’ home, are finally starting to feel adjusted in their new apartment or house. Some students have taken it among themselves to paint the interior of their home, but how does someone go about painting their home? Painting the interior of a home can be difficult and there are a few steps that new homeowners need to go by to achieve a well done painted room.
Kierstan Yates, an IPFW student who recently painted her living room in her new home, said painting can be a bigger task than what most people think.
“Painting can be hard and time consuming,” Yates said. “If you go about it wrong, as in not having the right tools or knowing a lot about paint, it can make life a lot harder for yourself.”
Painting a room can be a hassle for anyone. Students, or any new homeowners, need to go about painting in the right steps. The first step to begin painting a room is choosing the right paint for a room.
Kory Mettler, a store manager of Sherwin Williams in Logansport, Ind., said choosing the right paint can be difficult.
“Latex is the most common nowadays,” Mettler said. “High traffic areas like living rooms, kitchens and bedrooms you would want paint with a better shine.”
Mettler said other ideas to be considered would be choosing a light color because it gives that shine that you want for an active room setting.
With the type of paint chosen, now it is time to go to the next step. The next step is to get the room ready. Before moving on to this step, all the tools and supplies for painting and preparing a room need to be gathered.
Steve Knothe, an employee at Umbers Ace Hardware in Fort Wayne, said all the tools needed for both painting and preparing can be purchased at Umbers Ace Hardware.
“We have it all. Brushes, rollers, masking tape, pans and so on,” Knothe said. “We even have paint here at our store. We have everything.”
After purchasing the supplies, masking tape needs to be placed as a barrier between what needs to be painted and what needs to be protected.
Masking tape allows you to paint walls without getting paint on other things within the room, which includes the ceiling, window trim and basically anything that should not have paint on it.
Make sure to put down a drop cloth. A drop cloth protects the floor from getting drips of paint on it and spills. When putting a drop cloth down make sure all furniture is moved toward the center of the room and away from the perimeter.
Now it is time to start painting.
A good way to start is by using a trim brush near the areas where there is masking tape. This allows for small areas to get the right amount of paint for detail, such as corners for example. The trim brush allows for a crisp line due to its slanted edge. When painting the edges, dip the brush in the paint about half way. This allows for a minimal amount of paint to soak into the bristles and for an easier and cleaner way of painting.
When painting along the masking tape, be sure to paint parallel with it. This gives the ability to keep the paint looking nice along the trim.
Once painting along the masking tape is completed, it is time to fill in the rest of the wall. Use the roller. Using a roller is best because this allows you to cover larger sections.
Pour some paint into a pan. This can gives the ability to soak the whole roller up with enough paint. Paint in a zig zag form until the wall begins to fill with paint.
Finally, after applying the paint to the wall, there is only one step left. This step is deciding whether or not a second coat of paint is necessary.
“I would say if you are asking yourself if it needs another coat or not, go ahead and do it,” Mettler said. “Generally you will see spots where the paint did not cover it all the way.”
Painting a room is a way to make a house feel more like a home. Visit, http://www.bhg.com/decorating/paint/room/painting-step-by-step/, for a pictured manual of the steps of painting a room explained above. Though painting can be troublesome, following the rights steps can lead to a successful and well-painted room.