Decorating for Dummies – A Basic Guide to Painting Your Rooms

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Decorating for Dummies – A Basic Guide to Painting Your Rooms
by Dani Butlerson

Just a few months ago I moved into my first flat, and, of course, I had incredibly high hopes. My flat is in a big old Victorian building, and, when viewing it, I got shown around in about five seconds flat. To make matters worse, none of the lights worked so I couldn’t get a good idea of how anything actually looked – not really the best start! But I was desperate though and wanted to break into the market of new homes, so I snapped it up instantly.

It wasn’t until I actually moved in that I realised how drab everything looked – ancient net curtains, miserable mauve coating the wall and mismatched cheap furniture. Obviously, I made the decision to decorate pretty early on, but the fact that I had absolutely no idea how to decorate never really crossed my mind until I was fighting with reams of wallpaper and splotching paint all over the place.

If you’ve just decided to redecorate and you’re a newbie, don’t worry too much. It isn’t actually as daunting as it might all seem when you’re standing in the paint aisle staring at a million and one different paint colours. My folks actually gave me a list of decorating do’s and don’ts before you set to on any of the work, so for your benefit, I’ll share it with you:

The colours you choose to decorate your home with are incredibly important. Get them too dark and you’ll feel like you’re living in a cave; too bright and it’ll look like a children’s play centre or those insufferable ‘modern’ environments (you know the ones – where everything, even the coasters are white).

Grab yourself one of those paint swatches with examples of all the different paint colours available from any good paint shop and take it home with you. The samples are teensy tiny but you’ll be able to get an idea of the colours you like. If the rooms in your house are quite small, don’t go for dark colours as this will only serve to shrink the perceptions of space in the room. Light and bright colours are always better, and compliment a feature wall design perfectly.

Spend time choosing your paints - don’t rush out to the shops and grab the first tin of paint you set eyes on. If you’re as indecisive as I am, it’s a good idea to grab a small sample can and do a few test brushes to get a feel for the colour.

One of the biggest issues I faced with paint buying was whether I should use matte or gloss paint. If your walls have any defects, like lumps, bumps or cracks; DO NOT use gloss paint because it’ll show up every single imperfection! It looks great on smooth walls though, so if you’re looking into new build houses it would be ideal. However, matte paint applies well, particularly when painted on a good undercoat and helps to emphasise the colour of the paint.

Okay, this sounds silly but this is one of the things I didn’t think about. I went to the pound shop and bought myself a cheapo roller and some paint brushes, and as soon as I started painting, the bristles in the brushes began to shed into the paint and the roller decided to stop rolling!

As with any home decorating, invest in some good quality painting tools – you’re bound to need them in the future anyway! A paint tray will also prove vital, as will some painting cloths that you can lay out on the floor and furniture to protect them.

And then there was my biggest mistake – I didn’t buy a ladder! Sadly I’m not 10 foot tall, so that was another shop visit. Also, always use masking tape to protect your skirting boards and ceilings as you’re painting – something I learnt from the glut of home decorating shows plaguing television in the 90s.

Although it might seem a trivial thing, choosing the right paint is vital to improving your home, particularly if you’re the house-proud sort – so there’s little point opting for the budget range, and of course, ensure that you’re completely prepared. You do get some strange looks when you go back wandering into a DIY shop you’ve already been to, covered in paint!

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