Painting your home is an easy way to give every room a makeover. It does not cost a lot of money to purchase a few gallons of paint and it does not take a lot of skill to roll paint onto the wall. However, this does not mean that it is not possible for you to have an occasional “oops” to deal with. To help you get beyond them, you should know that there is a risk for trouble ahead. Luckily, these are avoidable painting mistakes, so you can perhaps prevent yourself from doing the face palm.

Before You Paint

It may sound crazy, but a lot of people make mistakes before they ever dip their roller or brush into the paint bucket. It happens because they do not take the time to prep for painting. Preparing means that you cover the floors to avoid drips, use painters tape around trim work, remove outlet covers, and wipe down the walls. Basically, cover everything up that you are not wanting to put paint on and then clean the walls using a vacuum to get the dust and warm, vinegar water to remove other stuff that may be on them.

Have the Right Supplies

It is frustrating for people to start painting and then realize that halfway through their project, they run out of paint. It is always good to have more rather than less, and you should figure that a gallon of paint will cover approximately 400 square feet depending on whether you have the right brush and roller for your painting projects. Also, you want to avoid going back to have the same colors mixed because of the fact that there may end up being slight color differences in the paint if you purchase it on different days.

Patience is Key

The person who patience is the key to success, may have been talking about painting their home. When you choose the right color of paint, you may be ready to go home and dive in, but it could be the biggest mistake you make. You should prime the walls with a primer to give the paint something to stick to, apply the second coat after the first one is completely dry, and avoid dunking your brush to put more paint on at once. Dunking will potentially waste paint and leave runs, and not waiting for the second coat could end up leaving brush stokes or peeling paint. Not a good thing if you are hoping to make your home look great.