Painting your house can be a significant undertaking. Choosing the color alone can be a dilemma. Plus, you also have to check whether you have the right tools and budget to make it happen.

You should take the type of paint (i.e., gloss or semi-gloss) you should buy into consideration. Another is whether a primer is necessary or not.

Sure, repainting your house does not take rocket science. But it can be expensive and make or break your house’s curb appeal. And it is something you should consider if you intend to sell your home in the future.

That said, here are the seven things that you need to consider when painting your house:

1. What to prepare

Painting a space is so much easier if nothing is standing in your way. Meaning, you need to empty the room as much as possible.

Let’s say you’re painting a living room. Move larger pieces of furniture at the center, then cover them up with drop cloths or old sheets.

Another critical step is to wipe the walls down. Dirt, dust, and oils can quickly build up on walls. Getting rid of the debris before painting will also allow the paint to stick better on the walls.

Similarly, you also need to fill cracks and nail holes with spackling. You should also tape off adjacent walls, light switches, window trims, or outlet covers. That said, make use of drop cloths, newspapers, or paper rolls to cover the floor.

2. Color swatches

You might find it hard to guess how well the paint looks on the wall.

You can buy sample paints for a couple of bucks, which you can test out on a small area to see whether this particular paint shade is right or not.

These are some of the most important things that you need to consider before you paint a room. That way, you’ll know which particular color or shade will look great on the surface.

It’s better to spend a couple of dollars on small cans of paint first before buying a gallon. This is to ensure that you picked the right color, and it won’t be an eyesore depending on your house’s lighting condition.

3. Preferred finish

Your paint’s finish, otherwise known as sheen, will have a massive impact on your walls. These come with a lot of options, from gloss, satin, eggshell, etc.

Typically, high traffic areas in your home will do relatively well with gloss or satin since they can be easily cleaned. They hold up better to touching as well. But these can also cause wall imperfections, patched areas, or wavy drywall to become more pronounced.

On the other hand, a matte finish like a flat paint will not clean or endure touches. However, these imperfections aren’t so pronounced.

4. Amount of paint

To estimate the total amount of paint, you need to cover your room walls, add up your walls’ length, and then multiply that to the room’s height. That’s from floor to ceiling. The total will determine the room’s square footage.

It would help determine how much from the square footage the total surface area will be painted. Also, since you’ll be skipping, or using a different paint on windows and doors, subtract that with the room total.

For instance, you might subtract 20 square feet for every door and 15-square feet for every averaged sized window. You might end up with a total that’s close to the actual wall area, which is covered with paint.

5. Primer

Unless you’re using an all-in-one paint mixture, then you need to prime your walls afterward. This is true, especially if you’re thinking of drastically changing paint colors.

A primer doesn’t just cover colors and other wall stains. It also adds a layer that allows your topcoat to adhere better, giving you a much better result overall.

You might also consider getting a special stain-blocking primer.

6. Right painting tools

Apart from buying a high-quality paintbrush, you also need to ensure that you’re getting the supplies you need before you start.

You can get a handy step ladder, plus those roller extenders. A step ladder lets you easily reach the walls’ top corners.

Meanwhile, a roller extender’s purpose is for you to get higher areas with ease, without having to stretch your arms too high or stand on your tiptoes.

7. Yearly maintenance

At Cleaning Exec Cleaning Services NYC, we suggest including power washing in your list of regular manual maintenance. When done correctly, it can help extend the life of your paint. Plus, it is less expensive compared to always repainting your house.

It also allows you to get rid of cobwebs or dust that gather every year to help brighten up the appearance of your home.”

Over to You

As mentioned earlier, repainting your house can be a significant undertaking. That’s because it can be expensive and there are factors you should consider.

But when done right, it can improve curb appeal and how your house looks.