Six ways to PERFECT PAINTING
Ready to give your home a colour update? It’s all in the prep, says Ruth Mottershead, creative director at Little Greene, who shares her top tips on how to get started
1 BE INSPIRED
Gather all your colour samples, then consider the bigger picture. What other elements will you have in your space? Think about flooring, furniture and textiles, for example. Then assemble a moodboard that includes these colours, plus all your references, to ensure your scheme will work as a whole.
2 THINK ABOUT ORIENTATION
The direction a room faces will have an impact on how colours appear. South-facing spaces have warmer light, making colours seem more yellow, so cooler shades tend to read as more neutral, and warm tones can often appear more intense. Colours tend to look cooler in north-facing rooms, so use warmer hues to counter this.
3 SAMPLE IN SITU
Once you have a few shades to consider, order sample pots. You’d be surprised at how much light can affect colour, so paint a piece of card and move it around your room to see it at different times of the day. Think about the room’s purpose, when you use it most and the atmosphere you want to create.
4 PRIORITISE PREPARATION
Before you start, ensure walls are clean and dry and any holes filled and sanded – use a scraper to remove loose paint and cracked plaster. Try to prep the room the day before you plan to decorate, so you’ll have time to apply two coats of paint and have everything back to normal in a day. And the good news is that this is easier than ever – thanks to a wealth of new formulations, it’s now possible to paint virtually any surface, from walls and woodwork to glass, tiles, UPVC, plastic and metal without the need for a separate primer.
5 HAVE THE RIGHT TOOLS
Straight-edge brushes handle most tasks nicely, so keep a selection of good quality ones to hand for cutting in. I recommend a nine-inch roller tray and paint roller – any larger than that and they tend to be heavy and unwieldy. Be sure to select the correct roller for the surface you’re painting (check the label). A general rule is, the smoother the surface, the shorter the ‘pile’.
6 PAY ATTENTION TO THE DETAILS
Getting a smooth finish means keeping paint off door handles, light switches, wall sockets, switch plates and door and window furniture.
The easiest way to do this is to remove them if possible. If you’re painting over wallpaper check that all the seams are flat and fill any holes, then sand down carefully for a perfect finish.
Find out more about getting a professional-level paint finish at housebeautiful.com/uk/paint-finishes
‘YOU’D BE SURPRISED AT HOW MUCH COLOUR CAN BE AFFECTED BY LIGHT’