The interior walls in new construction homes often come painted a single color: white. Or, for a non-prohibitive upgrade cost, you can have the home painted a neutral color, maybe a pleasant shade of tan or a non-intrusive beige. While having this generic color on your walls definitely beats white, you might not want to have every wall in every room the same shade. Or maybe you plan to save money and paint all of the walls on your own after you close. Whether you’re painting the entire interior of your home, an accent wall here or there or just select rooms, follow these DIY painting hacks from houselogic and your walls will look like they were painted by a pro!
1. Keep brush bristles soft by soaking in fabric softener.
If you’ve used tried to use a paintbrush before for multiple rounds of painting, you will be familiar with what a challenge the second attempt can be. Left-over brushes often acquire stiff bristles that mar even the finest handiwork. To prevent your brush having hard bristles be sure to rinse it thoroughly with water (refrain from using soap) and then rinse it in with a mixture of fabric softener and warm water. Half a cup of fabric softener to a gallon of warm water should do the trick. Lay them flat or hang them up to dry appropriately.
2. Prevent mishaps with some handy plastic wrap.
If you have an immovable fixture in a room that you are trying to avoid painting (think toilet or pedestal sink) cover it with plastic wrap. This will keep the object paint-free and will protect its finish. If you want to be super secure your local hardware store should offer plastic wrap with adhesive backing—this ensures an extra tight wrap.
3. Raid your pantry to combat paint odor.
We all know how paint odor can quickly overpower a room. Beat that odor with some vanilla from your pantry. If you’d prefer something more formal, there are also vanilla-scented products designed for this exact purpose. If you’re using a dark paint stir in a couple of drops of vanilla extract per gallon. You’ll be free of the noxious paint odor and your room will have a sweet smell for weeks to come. If you’re using a light-colored paint, just sub in some lemon extract in lieu of vanilla so your color won’t be compromised.
4. Recycle old t-shirts as paint rags.
You’ll likely go through rolls of paper towels in paint clean-up, it’s a messy busy. Increase your efficiency and be more environmentally friendly by repurposing some old t-shifts. Cut them up & you’ll have some super useful paint rags.
5. Keep Q-tips on hand for emergencies.
Q-tips can be a great easy fix for paint mishaps and those errant drop that fall somewhere they shouldn’t. Try to clean up any mistakes quickly, you’ll be amazed at how quickly paint can dry. Q-tips can also come in handy for small touch-up spots and keep you from dirtying a clean paint brush. Q-tips easily fit in pockets so they can travel with you as move from wall to wall and up and down ladders.
6. Places you don’t want painted? Apply Vaseline!
Use the above-mentioned Q-tips to apply Vaseline to any spots you don’t want painted, likes screws or hinges. Even if you should accidentally slip over these spots with your paint brush the Vaseline will keep them paint free. Running Vaseline along the seals of doors and windows can also prohibit them from sticking.
7. Easily remove painters tape with a blow dryer.
The struggle can be real when trying to remove painters tape in once piece, not to mention when a perfectly placed strip of paint peels off with it! Use the low-heat setting your hair dryer and hold it about three inches from the wall to soften the adhesive of the tape ensuring that it peels off in a nice crisp line.
Still shopping for a new home of your very own? Use The Guide’s easy online search functionality and you could be picking out paint colors for your new walls in no time! Ready to move now rather than taking the time to build? Check out the great selection of move-in ready homes that are currently available.
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Tagged as: Decorating Tips
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