Guest Author - Dale Y the Maintenance Guy

As strange as this may sound, painting is one of my favorite of maintenance tasks. I always looked at it as an artist does, with the challenge of a wide open canvas in front of them. The difference was that, although there isn't a whole lot of creativity that comes with painting a room one particular color, I always thought about the detail when painting, the trim and such like that, as the real challenge.

Before we can even get started, we must first discuss paint. There are 3 basic types, flat, semi-gloss and gloss. But, no matter which one you chose for a specific room, get a good quality, and unfortunately that generally means a higher priced, paint.

Generally, the more you pay for a can of paint, the more particles of color will be inside, and that means that not only will it cover your walls easier in one coat, it will also give you a much richer color tone. Brand names like Martha Stewart (my personal favorite) Benjamin Moore and Sherwin-Williams, are going to be higher priced than the discount store paints, but for ease of application, one coat covering and durability, these are the types of paints that you want.

The general rules for paint choice are these, gloss for the areas of higher humidity, like bathrooms, porches or greenhouses. Flat paints work best in low traffic areas like bedrooms and dens, since they don’t repel stains like gloss type paint. Semi gloss for everywhere else.

There are two facets when it comes to painting any room. The walls and the detail work. For the walls, you just get yourself a roller kit (which consists of a large roller, a pan to hold the paint, a smaller roller for harder to get places, and possibly an edger, which I automatically discard as soon as I open the package.)All you will need to do is pour in the paint, and roll it on. That’s relatively simple right there, and really, any good roller kit at a hardware store will be fine for the walls. The trim is a little different, however.

There are two schools of thought here, which we will cover, but each one involves getting a very fine brush, preferably with a tapered edge. Now when I say a very fine brush, expect to pay 10 dollars and up. Why? Because an expensive brush will not lose bristles, and it will also keep a super fine edge. And when doing detail work, that is extremely important if you want your painting to look it’s best.

One of the ways is to tape off all the trim work, and be careful to get the tape exactly lined up, and then just brush the paint on. OR, and this is what I do and the second school of thought. Without taping, I take my tapered brush and go along the edges of the trim gracefully and carefully, never in a hurry, never in a rush, and paint my way around windows and wood trim. I have found that it takes longer to tape and paint than to just use a good eye, a good brush, and a little care. A damp rag will wipe away any mistake of paint that might find it’s way onto the trim, and that’s it!

From there you are on your own! Mix and match colors, emulate Picasso if you'd like, or go avant-garde and fling paint on the walls for that Andy Warhol look!

By using these simple yet effective tips, anyone can make their interior painting job look like a masterpiece!