Happy Monday guys!  Have you all thawed out?  I hope so! To keep up with all of our projects from start to finish, be sure to follow us on Instagram!

Many of you know I recently started redoing my baby son’s room.   I have been debating his wall color for a few weeks.  His room has been a very light blue color that I did when we first moved in our house for his big sister.  I have no touchup paint, and couldn’t remember the name of the color, so repainting the whole thing was my solution.  I went to Ashley’s new house last week and fell in LOVE with some of the wall colors.  My favorite was called Seine by Valspar, and I immediately knew I wanted it for Brooks’ room.

So, I sent the kids off to school last Tuesday and got to work.  I didn’t start taping off until around noon, and I had the whole thing painted and put back together by 8:00 that evening.  That included picking the kids up and cooking dinner.  For those of you that are intimidated by painting walls and the time it may take, hopefully I can help you out!

Here are some tips that help me get it done quickly!

First, here is a before shot of the room.  Don’t be fooled.   That is a pretty blue color, but what you don’t see are the  multiple dings and doodles (thank you children) on the wall.  It was time for a change!

DIY Twin Bed

Cute bed, huh?  I made it. 🙂  HERE is the tutorial and link to the free plans!

How I paint walls

I start by moving everything away from the wall, and taping it all off.  Now, if you have ever been down the painter’s tape aisle at the hardware store, you have probably seen the 4,579,223 tape options offered to help you achieve those straight lines.  I haven’t tried them all, but I have put many to the test.  I have had the best luck with this stuff.

Best tape to paint walls and trim

It’s Scotch Blue with Edge-Lock.  The Edge-Lock did cost a dollar or two more, but I feel like I really see the difference in the lines once I pull it off the wall.  I start in small sections like this and work my way around the entire room.

3M painters tape

Next, I fill all of my nail holes on the wall.  My favorite product to use for this is 3M’s Patch and Primer.  I LOVE this stuff!

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You just use a small putty knife or scraping tool like this one to go over your hole and that’s it.  Let it dry for a bit and you are ready for paint.  Works perfect for me every time.

How to easily fill nail holes in wall

I also remove all of my switch plates from the wall.  If you are uncomfortable doing this you can just tape them off, but I find this much easier.  It does expose the wiring, so be careful not to touch anything inside the holes.  I cover each switch with tape like this…

painting walls tips

I also use a piece of tape to hold the screws on the plate so I don’t lose them!

paint a wall

My first step is always cutting in… Or at least that’s what I call it!  I use my very favorite roller for this part, and I had this part done in under 20 minutes!  It’s the Wooster Jumbo Koter and it works with the pole I show you below.

Wooster Shergrip Paint Roller

I also used my Wooster PelicanHow I paint walls
bucket to hold the paint on this part.  I shared this tool on Instagram, and I think you guys love it as much as I do.  I love that it has removable trays to keep me from cleaning anything up… Probably my favorite thing about it!  It also holds your roller to keep it from going into the paint.  So smart and so awesome.  You can find it on Amazon HEREHow I paint walls!

Wooster Pelican

Here are some progress shots of my cutting in!

Painting Trim

Tips for painting walls

How to paint walls

Now, I will always have some really small spaces where my roller won’t get.  They look a bit like this…

Painting tips

I just use a small brush like this one to get all of those small spaces before rolling the rest of the wall.

Best Paint Brush

I like to put these in a small plastic baggie and put them in the freezer after I am done painting.  They are great to go back and do small touch ups once you get the room put back together.  The freezer keeps the paint from drying out.  The fridge works too, but I can keep mine longer in the freezer!

Now to roll the big part!  This was my first time using this type of roller and OMG.  It’s amazing to me that there can be such a difference in rollers.   This one is called the Wooster SherlockHow I paint walls
and I used the 2-4′ pole since I was only painting 8′ walls.

Wooster Paint Rollers

My favorite thing about the SherlockHow I paint walls
system is how it attaches to the pole!  Normally, with other brands, you have to spin the roller onto the pole.  These always break for me over time, and they are a pain in the rear to get on.  This one just clicks on with the press of a button.  Genius!  This was a huge plus when I was finished and needed to take the roller off.

Wooster Paint Pole

The tray I used was also a huge time saver.  It has great plastic liners that stick in place and again… NO MESS after you are done!

Wooster Paint Tray

My final step was rolling all of the unpainted walls.  I used two coats of paint on the walls.  I bought 2 gallons of paint, but only ended up using about 2/3 of one.  Love that!  Now I need to find something else to paint Seine…. 😉

Here are a few finished shots of the great color!

Boys Room

How to build a nightstand

DIY Nightstand

Isn’t it such a great color??  I love how it makes the trim pop!  And again guys… With the right tools you can have a job done so much faster.  It’s just like power tools….

I hope I have convinced you to overcome your painting fears!  Be sure to ask me any questions here that you may have!

Thanks so much for stopping by…  Can’t wait to show you guys some other fun projects I am doing in here!

~Whitney

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56 Comments

  1. Looks great! Question, do you take tape off while the paint is still wet or when the paint dries. I have painted quite a few rooms but have seemed to always mess this up and end up peeling off paint if I wait for it to dry. I might just be using the wrong tape. So true that having quality correct tools is so helpful!

    1. I have painted quite a few rooms, and I always remove the tape when the paint is “tacky”, not wet or completely dry. Works beautifully, even when using tape to paint stripes. I sometimes use something called Frog tape, which works great! Also, try not to paint too much onto the tape, it always removes easier and creates a clean line if you are careful.

    2. ⁣✨??✨?✨✨✨✨✨?✨
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      These plans are decent,but I found a better one at www. WoodworkPlans.info – highly recommended you check those out too. They are detailed and super easy to read and understand unlike several others I found online. The amount of plans there is mind-boggling… there’s like 16,000 plans or something like that for tons of different projects. Definitely enough to keep me busy with projects for many more years to come haha

      www. WoodworkPlans.info ??

  2. Hi! Has anyone mentioned that Wooster paint brushes and supplies are made in the USA? In Wooster, Ohio, to be exact, which I know now because my son plays hockey there. I love to see that you’ve found great made-in-America products! Thanks for the much-needed painting lesson!

    1. I went to college in Wooster, and I was so happy to see the Wooster love in this post! They really make a bunch of great products. I love the 2 1/2″ angled short & stubby brush when I am cutting in.

      I went to the ice arena *once*….. I’ll leave the ice to your son 😉

  3. Looks awesome! What colors did you use for trim and ceiling and what finishes did you use

  4. Cool!

    There’s a bunch of nice wall area calculators out there for figuring out how much paint you need. I mean, it’s nice to have extra for touch-ups, but man, you’ve got a lot left over! (1 gallon of paint = 350 square feet)

  5. finding the perfect gray seems impossible ~ my mom tried for her dining room and after a few gallons and finally making her own concoction she got the one she liked, now I’m ready for gray and have inherited her unused new gallons. I’m not sure I like any of them either, so this color might just be the winner, so off to Lowe’s I go ~~ Thank you for sharing all these wonderful tips !! 🙂

  6. Hi
    Loved the step by step breakdown, tips on tools. Veeeeery helpful.
    Ummm. Do you ever worry about sanding the surface to make sure the next layer ‘sticks’ (sorry I forget the technical term!)
    How many layers of paint on a wall before you think of redoing the base coat?
    🙂

  7. If only my rooms were as clean as yours it wouldn’t overwhelm me to paint hahhaa I would have to move more than a bed and dresser. Sigh. Lol
    I love the color :))

    1. I’m with you Brooke, it’s the moving of all the ” stuff ” from the room & walls that seems like so much work ~ and not enough hours in the day to complete in one day so the whole house seems like a wreck for one room 🙂

  8. Whitney, I just love your furniture and your house! I have been reading your blog for a while now and I am blown away by your woodwork. Was all of that in the house when you bought or did you put it all up? That little ledge in this room is so cute. Also, we are currently living in (renting) an old, old house in the city and I was wondering is your house an older home? With the crawl space door and the slanted ceilings, it reminds me of some of the homes in our area. I am torn about buying an older home and if yours is, how do you like it? Would you recommend buying an older home? Of course, these questions are irrelevant if your home is newer but I just thought I’d ask. Also, love the color and can’t wait to do some of your projects when we finally land in our own home. Thanks.

  9. So I am a total painting novice – but DYING to get painting in my new house. this is a dumb question…but how do you clean your rollers and brushes? Or do you just toss them and buy new ones for your next project?

    1. I always throw the rollers away and clean the brushes. A lot of paint gets trapped in the roller and I don’t think it’s very good for your septic system (or the public sewer if you’re connected), and it’s a huge pain to clean the roller. I wash my brushes because I have invested in nicer brushes and want to keep using them, but if I had cheap ones I’d throw them out. Along the lines of what she mentioned in the blog post, you can wrap either the roller or brush in plastic and store it overnight in the fridge and use it the next day.

    1. Valspar and Seine is the color.. I just went and got it today for my laundry room since I don’t know how it would look in my living-room.

  10. How is the cutting in with the roller? I would worry I would mess up the ceiling, or it would build up in the corners. I usually use a paint brush and it takes me forever!

    1. if you look closer at the pictures you can see where she put the tape on the ceiling and she also used a brush to cut-in the tough to reach areas. I agree she does make it sound a lot easier, maybe if I i could remember to do a few of her tricks it would be as easy for me as it was for her. hahaha

    2. I’ve always cut in on just one section at a time to avoid being able to see the lines, but lines don’t seem to be an issue at all. Maybe because of cutting in with a roller vs. a brush? Very curious to try this technique.

  11. You do a fantastic job writing in detail, about your projects. You make me want to go home and paint and we just built a house, so its “fresh” paint!! Thanks again and I love reading your blog posts!