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Dont Be A TV Diva When You Paint Walls

Fresh paint turns buyers on.

Painting a room is one of the easiest, cheapest ways to get a home ready for selling.

As a professional painter, homeowner and landlady, I’ve painted literally hundreds of rooms.

That’s why it irks me to see people on TV, whether they are hosts of their own design show, DIY remodelers on a reality series, or models in painting commercials, paint the wrong way.

If you follow their lead, if you paint the way TV teaches you, you’re wasting time and money and getting sloppy results.

Here are my seven favorite tips for getting the best painting results with the least effort.

1. Prep is Everything

No one on TV mentions preparing a wall for paint. Even if the room has been painted recently and looks smooth, sanding all the walls with a pole sander knocks down any dust and lumps. Sanding gets the surface ready to accept new paint. Patch and sand and then spot prime as needed.

If you made lots of repairs or are changing color, a primer is a good intermediate step. Talk to the experts at your paint store about covering the old color with the new one you are buying. Careful prep is what makes the difference between a pro job and an amateurish attempt.

2. Get a Handle on It

Once in a while, a television camera catches a glimpse of a professional painter working in the background. Chances are the pro is doing it right. He’ll be using an extension handle on the roller frame. Meanwhile, the shows host starts rolling paint in the middle of a wall, holding the stubby roller handle. Oh, my aching wrist!

Please don’t roll paint onto a wall holding just the paint roller handle. Give your wrist, arm, back, and shoulder a break, and use your whole body to support the work of rolling. Face the wall, stand with feet apart, one foot slightly in front of the other and keep your back straight when rolling.

Even a broom handle screws into a paint roller handle. If youre painting a room so small theres no room for a simple extension stick, it’s okay to hold the roller. Otherwise, stick with a stick.

Once you use a handle, a screen and a 5-gallon
bucket, youll never go back to dinky trays.

3. Keep a Clean Can

I frequently see blogging tutorials and television remodelers dipping a brush into a gallon paint can. Do not paint out of the original paint can.

Work out of a clean, empty 1-gallon can or work bucket. That way, when you’re done painting, you can return the unused paint portion and youll have a clean can with a clean lip and a clean label to store the leftover paint in, clearly indicating the brand, color, finish, and any other specs that will come in handy when it’s touch-up time.

4. The Truth About Tape

I laugh when I see televised rooms trimmed with blue tape all around all the windows and doors. This is usually an unnecessary step. Wake up, people. The 3-M company loves bloggers to endorse these products! Youre wasting your time and money.

Spend your money instead on good quality paint and you won’t be dripping and splattering. Baseboards might be the exception if your paint is likely to drip on them.

A good angled 2-inch paintbrush and a steady hand is faster. Practice painting a straight line in an inconspicuous area. Use long strokes and keep your arm partially extended instead of putting your face up close and dab-dab-dabbing. Cut in the room first, and then roll walls. Make sure you cut in wide enough, especially around the top of the wall, where it meets the ceiling. Get a good 4- or 5-inch band of paint up there, so your roller doesn’t get paint on the ceiling.

5. Way to Roll

Instead of pouring your paint into one of those silly flat trays, pour it into a 5-gallon bucket with a painting grid in it. This is the professional method that saves bending over. And theres less chance of kicking over your paint.

Load your roller generously and remove excess using the grid. Start by rolling the wall in a "W" or "M" motion, then use long, up and down strokes. Do not lift the roller from the wall. Start your first stroke with an upward motion, because if you roll down on the first stroke, the paint can puddle under the roller and run down the wall.

If your roller drips or smears instead of rolling across the surface, you’ve put too much paint on it. If it leaves skips or you have to press to get the paint to apply evenly, you’ve put on too little.

My favorite gloves are breathable, but
palm-protected, like these nitrile-coated ones.

6. Dress for Success

TV stars paint in high heels and cute dresses. You, on the other hand, need to dress right for the work.

Keep an outfit just for painting. I recommend pants with pockets so you can wear all your helpful tools. Consider buying a pair of painters overalls if you do much painting. Keeping tools on your person saves steps and saves time. It’s frustrating to have to stop and hunt for a damp rag or your square of sandpaper. Keep a rag and an old brush for dusting in your back pocket, a 5-in-1 tool in another pocket, and sandpaper in another pocket.

Wear closed-toe, comfortable shoes that will protect your feet and keep them happy all day. Your old sneakers might be a good choice. You’re bound to get some paint on your shoes. You want reliable support and safety, so going barefoot is not an option.

Wear cotton, latex, neoprene, or nutrile gloves that will keep paint off your hands and save cleanup time.

Pole sanding. A dust mask like
this will protect you
from dust, but not from
paint solvent vapors.

7. Dropcloths Matter

Don’t use plastic dropcloths. I know it’s fashionable for DIYers to recycle shower curtains or unroll yards of plastic sheeting, but almost anything is better than plastic for a dropcloth. Why? Because paint doesnt dry quickly on plastic, and you can easily track it around. Instead, use a purchased canvas dropcloth. It doesn’t have to be large. A 4- x 15-foot "hall runner" dropcloth is versatile, economical, washable, and will last for years.

Saving money? Then old rugs or carpet scraps, cardboard, or bed sheets (two or three layers thick) will usually provide all the protection you need. While painting, pay attention to what you are doing, and check your soles before stepping off the drop cloth onto carpeting or flooring.

But wait. There’s More.

Now that I have sounded off on one of my pet peeves – common painting mistakes – I hope I’ve enlightened you about the best way to add new paint to your walls. You are welcome!

If choosing a paint color is difficult for you, I have written posts about paint colors and how to choose them.

Please download my eBook, DIY Home Staging Tips to Sell Your Fast and for Top Dollar, so I can give you more advice on staging your own home for sale.

Top Photo: Apartment Therapy

Dont Be A TV Diva When You Paint Walls

Questions about Faucet Choices Paint Colors and Wicker Furniture

Q: We’re getting ready to sell our home. The faucets in both bathroom sinks match the faucets in the tub and shower stalls.

They all work and are in good condition, but they are shiny chrome, and dated. Should I invest in new ones that look more in step with the times? – Sarah H.

A: Spend your money somewhere else. There’s no sense removing and replacing this kind of hardware that is functioning just fine.

The fact that they are all the same style makes them appear new-ish, more like what you might find in a new house rather than an older one that’s had repairs over the years when things broke.

I would give the same advice to people with “dated” hinges and doorknobs, and even window locks. Working, and matching, keep them! When it comes to hardware like this, unless you want to purchase pricey top of the line stuff, most of what you buy today doesnt compare to the quality commonly available even a few decades ago.

Q: I am planning to stage the condo we just moved out of. It’s vacant except for a dining set, some end tables, and lamps. I’d like to add some wicker furniture because that’s easy to find at reasonable prices here in Florida. What do you think of wicker? -- Erica S.

A: As long as it is in good condition and comfortable, I would use wicker. Make sure any cushions look new and that the colors or patterns are not too bright or distracting. You’ll probably need a few pieces of contemporary or vintage upscale furniture (or what looks upscale) as well, so the condo doesn’t look too budget-conscious.

I dont recommend using outdoor wicker indoors.

Wicker doesnt have to be white. But in a staged room it probably
shouldnt be neon pink and lime green either. These simple wicker headboards
got a style boost from black paint. Photo: Liz Williams Interiors

Q: All the rooms in my house are now different colors – mint green in the living room, a burnt orange in the family room, peach in one bedroom and blue in another. I want to paint all the rooms myself, and paint them all the same color. Doing one at a time, I know I can do it. My question is how do I figure out what color that will work with all the rooms? -- Justine P.

A: Good for you for tackling the staging job yourself!

You need to determine what elements in all your rooms will remain in the house and then find a color that works with these “fixed fixtures.”

These fixtures could be the vinyl or tile in the bath, for example, or the carpet in the bedrooms. I would bring home from the paint store all the brochures that feature shades of neutrals and white, and find one color that has the undertones that harmonize with all your fixed fixtures.

Ive blogged about the details of how to choose a paint color. And, yes, white walls are fine for staging!

White walls make it easy for you to use the furnishings you already own,
and white walls make it easy for the new owner to postpone painting.
Theres a reason museums and art galleries use white walls.
It makes a great background color.

Q: Our home is for sale, and we have moved to a nearby town. The house is clean and empty. What can I do to make it sell fast? Don’t say add furniture because there is no way I can afford that. -- Keesha M.

A: I understand. Although I always recommend staging an empty home, my experience is that if a house is clean, in good repair, and priced right, you will find a buyer.

Make sure there is no deferred maintenance (a home inspection would help). The walls and possibly the trim should be freshly painted or at least look like they have been recently painted. And if there is carpet, it should be new or appear new. These are investments that pay off with a faster sale.

Good appliances, updated light fixtures, and extra-special curb appeal will sweeten the deal. Here are some other tips for selling an unoccupied home.

Q: We are listing our home with a realtor. He took a photo of the house just after it snowed. It looks pretty but I don’t want people to think about problems like snow when they see the photo, which will be the featured photo in our MLS listing. The exterior won’t look great until spring. What can I do meanwhile? -- Rachael and Alex B.

A: There isn’t much you can do unless you have another photo of your house in another season. Most people don’t, so there is a lesson here for all home owners: Even if you are not thinking of selling your home immediately, having good pictures of your home in different seasons can come in handy in the future.

A photo of a snow covered property can be charming, but the profile photo
of your home on a listing should be current with the season so the home doesnt
appear to have been on the market for a long time.

When your exterior gets some springtime color, you can substitute another photo. Meanwhile, just be glad your realtor didn’t photograph your house when the snow turned mushy, icy and dirty.

Dont forget that you can get answers to the most common home staging questions, plus much, much more, in my $4.99 home staging eBook, DIY Home Staging Tips to Sell Your Home Fast and For Top Dollar.

Questions about Faucet Choices Paint Colors and Wicker Furniture

DIY Project Overhead Garage Door Re Paint

Whether you like it or not, a street-facing, overhead garage door takes over a homes facade, forcing itself into the role of focal point.

The front of a typical double garage often takes up a third of the typical ranch homes face.

For this reason, if you have a garage door that needs attention it shouts that your whole home needs attention.

You may not be able to paint your homes siding yourself, but anyone can paint a garage door. And a new-looking garage door goes a long way to boost your curb appeal.

Ive painted many garage doors. This time I stood back and took photos while my dear Mr. Lucky painted a clients. Here is the step by step to help you do it yourself.

Theres a right way and a wrong way to DIY a garage door repaint.

The wrong way takes hours, makes a mess of splatters on the concrete, and leaves gaps of old paint color at the ends of the panels when the door is opened. Here is the right way.

As with all DIY projects, having the right tools and supplies is the first step to getting good results with the least effort. So, gather these materials.

Exterior paint
A clean 1-gallon work bucket.
3-inch latex brush
Stir stick
Sanding sponge
Old brush for dusting
Rags
Dropcloth
Step stool
5-in-1 tool or paint can opener

How Much Paint?

The amount of paint youll need depends on a few factors. An aluminum door (most today are aluminum) will need less paint than a wooden door. If you are repainting the same color, youll need less paint than if you are drastically changing the color. And, of course, if the garage is a single, youll need less paint than a two car garage door needs. Whether you have glass panels in the door, or not, isnt really a factor.

So, unless you are painting a single car garage door the same color, I would suggest that you buy a gallon of paint rather than a quart. When you buy a gallon, its like getting a quart free because of the price break. Youre likely to find other uses for the paint. You might want to freshen your exterior trim if it is the same color, some shutters, a planter or window box, or some outdoor furniture.

Painting an overhead garage door is a whole lot easier than painting a front door. But some of the same cautions apply: Choose a windless day thats not too hot or too cold, and when you can work without distractions and interruptions. (Moms of young ones, take heart. In the time it takes a toddler to have his afternoon nap, you should be able to start and finish.)

Ever notice that hanging pull on your garage ceiling? If you tug the red handle,
youll disengage the electric opener. Thats what you want. Now youre ready to
move the garage door up and down manually from outside.

Inevitably, the garage door will have dust, dirt, cobwebs, and oxidized paint , so youll want to
clean it. Easiest way is to take a sanding block to the entire door.
Push the door up and down manually to quickly go over the whole surface.
Pay attention to the gasket on the bottom edge so no dirt gets in your paint.
Remember that youre not painting an interior piece of fine furniture,
so the surface doesnt have to be perfect.

Use an old paintbrush or a rag to get rid of dust and dirt stirred up my your sanding.

Then place a large dropcloth under the partly raised the door
to protect both the driveway and garage floor.

Use your stir stick to stir the paint, even if it was shaken at the paint store.
Pour only a quart into a clean work bucket, like an empty paint can.
Wipe the lip of the original can, replace the lid tightly, and set it out of the way.

Begin brushing the door at the bottom. Move the door up manually
so you are not stooping over to paint. Do not paint the gasket on the bottom edge
unless it was painted previously and needs a repaint.

Paint just one lengthwise hinged panel at time. Paint the extreme ends of the panels
as best you can. If you plan to paint the trim surrounding the door,
you dont have to be fussy about keeping paint off the trim.

Its easier to paint the extreme ends of the panels when they are at the very top

of the door opening, as above. Youll have to reach up or use the step stool to paint the them.

When the panel youve finished is at the top of the opening, paint the edges of

both the upper and lower panels, the "lips" where they meet.
Since this area does not receive much direct sun or weather,
its not necessary to go heavy with the paint, so do not load your brush.

When you get to the top panel, make sure the drop cloth covers the ground
before lowering the door. Use a step stool to stand on rather than stretching to
reach the top panel. Check the entire door for runs, drips, and misses.

Nows the time to paint the trim around the door. This homeowner chose to have the
siding, the trim and the overhead door all the same color. Its a contemporary, no-nonsense look
that is fine for modern homes.
Next week well spray her brick foundation white, and brush the siding grey.

The finished door looks like new. Painting the door took about an hour.
If your door needs two coats for good covereage,
you could put on a second coat the same day if the first coat is
thoroughly dry. Or just wait until the next good painting day.

Would you refresh your own overhead garage door with paint? There are plenty of simple staging tricks and secrets that are even simpler than this in my home staging pdf. Put your home to work for you! For just $4.99 you can download my eBook, DIY Home Staging Tips to Sell Your Home Fast and for Top Dollar right now and begin making your home the one that real estate buyers want!

DIY Project Overhead Garage Door Re Paint

Quick Art Drip Paint and Strip Frame

Does your home need a facelift? Is it showing its age?

Cleaning and decluttering can do only so much to update a home.

That’s why professional home stagers paint walls with the colors that are trending, and replace furniture with pieces that look more current.

Another way is to hang modern art on your walls.

Sure, there will be people shopping for a property that’s listed in the National Registry of Historic Homes, but the majority of people looking at homes to buy want more new than old.

So let’s get your home looking newer.

Side note to people with historic homes: modern art looks great with antiques!

Modern art is characterized by abstraction rather than realism. The new art that reared its head in the late 1800s and continued into most of the last century, has looked fresh ever since.

Of all the styles that were labeled modern – cubism, pointalism, impressionism, expressionism, and other isms -- the drip paintings that American artist Jackson Pollack became famous for are the easiest to imitate. He called his paintings "energy and motion made visible - memories arrested in space."

You can imitate that energy and motion in your own home. And then frame it with a clean-lined, homemade frame.

Making the Painting

Start with a canvas ready for paint. It cant be a canvas board or foamcore covered with canvas. It has to have some depth so you can nail on the strip frame.

If unprimed, prime the surface with white or a light colored paint youre using elsewhere in your home. Yes, ordinary house paint. You can use either interior or exterior paint, but it should be a flat finish, not satin, semigloss or gloss. To dribble on colors, you can use either house paint or craft paints. Choose colors according to your palette for the room.

Set up a work surface. The floor works best. Protect it with newspaper or a dropcloth. I find that using plastic as a dropcloth is never a good idea because paint sits on the surface of plastic, waiting for you to walk through it and then track on your floor. Dropcloths and paper absorb paint.

Its best if you can walk all around the canvas on the floor.

Jackson Pollacks work at the Museum of Modern Art. Yours doesnt have to be THIS big.

The process is simple. If using house paints, pour a few inches into a throwaway container, and use a paint stirrer to dip and drip. If using craft paints, you can squeeze them directly from their containers. Tip: shake the containers and then test the squirtability on a piece of scrap paper.

You have your choice of two approaches. You can use rapid motions to distribute the paint. Or you can slowly drip the paint onto the surface. I go fast.

Although Pollack didnt do it, I like to keep a border around the edges so the art is framed by some whitespace and the eye has a place to rest. It also looks more deliberate, and less like you framed your dropcloth.

You dont have to get all-Jackson-Pollock. You can keep it elementary and use a single color.

The strip frames I used on these two paintings are really just cheater frames. They can be made by someone who cant make mitered corners, or just doesnt want to bother. Some will turn up their nose at my corners and others might say, "Why didnt I think of that?"

Making the Frame

If your canvas is rectangular, decide now if it will hang horizontally or vertically on the wall. Measure what will be the side edge, add 1.5 inches, and make a note of it. Measure the top or bottom edges, and note that. The side pieces of strip frame will overlap the top and bottom pieces, like this:

Have your home improvement center cut 1 x 2 pine lumber into four lengths, two each of the measurements you took. If you have a large vehicle and a saw, you can buy the lumber in one length and cut it yourself at home.

Make the wood strips smooth on all sides by going over them with 100-grit sandpaper. Take the sharp edges off by sanding them as well. Test to make sure your measurements were accurate by laying your strips on the edges of your stretched canvas. Weve made the side strips long enough so that they cover the sawed ends of the top and bottom pieces.

Paint or stain the strips, including the ends. A dark color usually works best.

After your drip painting is dry (and this could take a couple days if the drips are heavy), youre ready to nail on your strip frame. Use 1.5-inch finishing nails. They are long enough to penetrate the strip frame and enter the stretcher, but have a small head that wont be noticeable.

Lay the strips on a work surface and start the nails in the wood at intervals of 6 to 8 inches. Position the top and bottom strips first, and nail them to the canvas, making sure the ends align with the canvas corners.

If the wood strips are wider than the canvas stretchers, make them flush with the back edge of the stretcher, and bumped out in front, They will look more like a regular frame that way.

Nail on the side pieces, overlapping the butt ends of the top and bottom pieces.

The back of your painting will look like this. The cut ends of the
lumber are covered by the side strips of your wood.

Your painting should be ready to hang. You can use screw eyes and wire for hanging on a picture hook, or Command strips on two edges of the frame.

If you like these ideas, download my $4.99 eBooks on DIY home staging, furniture arrangements, and no-sew window treatments. Theyre written for homeowners, home stagers, real estate investors, and anyone looking for easy ways to make a house more valuable.

Quick Art Drip Paint and Strip Frame

Front Door Re Paint Six Steps to Choose a Color

Thinking of changing your front door color? Confused about the choices? There’s only a bazillion possibilities! Let’s take it one step at a time.

Look at Your Siding Color

Typically, your house siding is the resting spot for eyes, whether it is wood, vinyl, brick, stucco, cement board, stone, or some combination. Your front door should punctuate that space and be the focal point of your home, inviting people to approach. For a cohesive look that still attracts attention, choose a door color that has the same undertones as your siding. The undertones can be muddy, or clear or tints of yellow, grey, blue, red, or green.

If youre having trouble coordinating colors, talk to an experienced salesperson at a paint store (not a big box store). He can help harmonize colors for you based on what is recommended by the color experts at the companys corporate headquarters. A trained sales clerk can tell you the undertones because stores have the pigment formulas.

Match the Style of Your Home

If your home is a charming cottage, go with a cheerful color like pale yellow or a mid-tone blue. If you own a brick home, stay with colors that don’t emphasize the orange tones, such as muted a green like the one shown above, or a warm grey. If you have a classically restored ranch, a Victorian, a Williamsburg-style, or a Craftsman home, stay true to the palettes that are historically correct.

Pick up one of bricks cool tones for a door. This Old House photo.

Go Bold, Not Crazy

Picture a realtor bringing her clients to your front door. There are those few seconds as the door is being unlocked. Expectations are high. This is your chance to set the tone.

The most popular colors for doors are dark greens and olive greens, classic black, burgundy reds, all shades of grey, navy blues or aubergine, along with yellows and creamy whites.

When you move to your next home, you can go nuts with that taxi cab yellow or neon pink, but I advise sticking to front door colors anyone could love, just the way you do with interior colors when you are staging.

Check Your Entryway

When guests (and prospective home buyers) enter your home through the front door, the first room they see is the entry. Whether it’s a tiny foyer, a grand staircase, or your whole studio apartment, the interior color should talk to the exterior color. They shouldn’t match, but they shouldn’t clash.

Your home will seem bigger and more intentionally put together when there is a sense of flow. Big is good in the eyes of buyers.

This blue is in the same family as the siding. This Old House Photo.

Study Your Neighborhood

I always suggest that people follow local traditions when staging their homes. It’s an opportunity to cash in on the appeal of local flavor, which is especially attractive to people house hunting because they are relocating from another area of the country. Why try to look like a Nantucket cottage if you live in the desert, or imitate an Iowa farmhouse if you live in New Orleans?

Ideally, you’ll strike a happy balance between fitting in and standing out. Pick a color that is not identical to the homes immediately surrounding yours. If your home is not in sight of neighboring houses, you have more leeway. Remember that people are more comfortable buying a home from people they feel simpatico with, people they want to be like.

So, don’t be the crazy lady with the multicolored front door. Sure, show some style, but don’t narrow your market.

Stick to a Simple Palette

Choose a color that is not the same as the siding, trim, shutters, foundation, roof, steps, lattice, or window boxes. Consider your siding as color number one – the largest block of color. Color number two will be your roof, which should harmonize with your siding. Color three is your trim. Color four is your door.

If you have shutters or other details, they should relate to one of these colors, a lighter or darker shade of the door, the trim, the roof, or the siding.

Is a red door for you? See what Maria Killam says.

Let Me Just Add...

Did you know that some new (and even some not-so-new) homes still have just primer on the doors? Builders can, either through frugality or negligence, leave side doors and back doors without anything more than a factory prime. Often these doors are grey, but they can be white. Do any of your doors look like they received only a quick spray at the factory? Are they showing wear around the edges and knob? It’s time for a coat of paint. Side doors and back doors can match siding or trim. They should not be the same color as the front door.

If you have a storm or screen door, painting it to match the front door is one possibility that has worked for some. Others remove the storm or screen door while the home is on the market, for a cleaner look.

If you live where your neighborhood association or HOA dictates or limits your color selection, make the best of it by keeping your door in excellent repair and clean. That includes the area around your doorway. Cobwebs and debris seem to find a way to accumulate there overnight. Make sure you have something seasonal to dress up the area and to make the entrance feel fresh and friendly.

Don’t plant flowers or shrubs that will fight for attention with your front door. Keep it simple and make the door the magnet that draws buyers.


Dont ignore brown, white or grey as possible colors. House and Home Photo.

If you own a home with vinyl siding and you and everyone else hates the color, it can be painted. There are paints formulated just for vinyl. I once knew a spec home that was sided with sky blue vinyl. It sat on the market for two years. Finally the desperate builder had the siding repainted a warm, light yellow. The house sold in a matter of weeks. Along the same lines, I once owned a home with aluminum siding that had dulled over time. I was able to brush on a new coat of paint in a fresh color that brought it back to life. Although most people consider vinyl and aluminum siding a plus because it is low maintenance and painting it will require a repaint in years ahead, you might decide painting is necessary to attract a buyer.

Avoid high gloss paint finishes. A low-luster stain or semi-gloss will wear well and hide any imperfections. If you are sold on a glossy door, your door should be in prime condition.

If you want an inclusive, fun post about paint colors in American history, I recommend reading what Joe Davis writes.

Your front door is the centerpiece of that all-important view from the street. Painting it yourself is an economical and simple improvement. These guidelines should help you decide on the perfect color. For more tips on boosting your homes value for the real estate market, read my $4.99 eBooks.

Top photo: National Builders Supply.

Front Door Re Paint Six Steps to Choose a Color