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Painting Your Home Article
4. Painting Your Home
from:Nothing will enliven a home as much as fresh coat of paint. However with the myriad of paint and color options available in the market this can be a tough nut to crack. There are various things to consider before you choose a color for the interior walls of your home. The easiest way is to go for the same color that already coats your walls or you could put in a little bit of research and creativity and come out with a spectacular looking house.
Generally, when you think about painting your home it’s the safest to start with a single room instead of the whole house. Also, it would be terribly monotonous to use the same color all over the house. Once you have decided on the room, you will need to choose a shade; now colors only come in two varieties warm shades or cool shades. Most of us are aware of the color wheel if not you can easily download it off the internet. Warm colors are ones which are grouped with red while the cool colors are ones which are grouped with blue. Usually warm colors will give the house a rich, inviting look while the cooler shades will lend a peaceful and tranquil ambience to the room. However, its important to remember that warm color should be restricted to larger room since they will make a room appear small, cool shades on the other hand will give the perception of space. Latex based paints are the best for walls since they successfully hide the imperfections in the plaster and in fixtures such as moldings. You can also use lighter and darker hues of the same color or two complementary or contrasting colors to give your home a more fashionable and sophisticated look. There is a lot of literature available online and offline that will help you to make the appropriate choice in terms of the color.
If you are not very comfortable with doing the job yourself it may be best to take the help of a professional. But before you go out to buy the paint its important to measure the surface area that you intend to cover. Usually a gallon of paint is enough to cover an area of 400 square feet. If you intend to use a darker shade you will need to use a primer as the base coat. This will reduce the amount of paint that you will need and give the surface an even coating. The equipments that you will need are brushes, rollers, thinner (read manufacturer specification), overalls, old newspaper to cover the floor and if possible a pair of extra hands to move the furniture.
After the base coat of the primer has dried you can start applying the paint. For a professional looking effect always start at the edges with perpendicular strokes and once you have covered the entire surface apply a second coat before the first one is dry. If you are using a roller remember to never lift the roller off the surface because it will leave an ugly smudge. Usually two coats are enough to give a wall a fresh look and to cover the underlying old paint. You have a host of options when it comes to purchasing the paint however very few shops can beat the amazing deals and the product range at Home Depot.