So you’ve finally found your perfect home, and you’re all moved in. Time to make it your own by redecorating. You’ve gone out and spent far too much time, and money, on paint tester pots, and have finally settled on your color scheme. You may have even opted to try your hand at stencilling a unique pattern on your feature wall. But before you roll your sleeves up and get stuck in, take some time to prepare your home and yourself to make the whole process a lot easier. There is an old carpenter’s saying: ‘Measure twice, cut once’. Preparation is key to getting a good finish to all your hard work. Without further ado let’s look at some of the simplest and most effective ways to prepare for your weekend of decorating.
Protect Your Valuables
Nothing is worse than carefully cutting-in your walls to ensure you don’t get any paint splatters on your perfectly white ceiling, only to realize you’ve dripped paint all over your cream carpet in the process. Let’s face it, redecorating is a messy business, and you spent a lot of money on all the furniture going in said room. So you want to do your best to prevent any damage occurring during the process. Using a sheet to cover your floors and furniture is an ideal way of keeping everything pristine. You could even use something like a Riteflute polypropylene sheet to keep your valuables dry if you have to put them outside or in the garage for any length of time. Don’t forget to protect yourself too: Overalls are a cheap and effective (if not a little unflattering) way to keep your clothes clean. You could also invest in some protective eyewear and a carpenter’s mask, that way you won’t get any dust in your eyes or breathe it in.
Smoothly Does It
Now that you’ve protected everything, it’s time to get messy. But you don’t need the paint brushes out just yet. You may need to remove any previous wallpaper that doesn’t quite fit with your style. After that, it’s time to make sure that the surface off the wall is as smooth as possible. If you’re in a brand new or recently refurbished house, then the walls may well have been re-plastered, and so will be smooth already. Grab some interior grade filler and look for any dimples or cracks. Fill them with a generous amount of the product and smooth it over. Whilst that’s drying, grab a sanding block and some fresh sandpaper and search out any bumps on the wall’s surface. Once the filler has completely set, you can sand that down too. Now you should have a beautifully smooth canvas for your next – and final – step before you release your painting talents.
Do The Cleaning
Grab yourself some rubber gloves and decent sized solution of Supadec Sugar Soap. Give every surface you’re about to paint a thorough scrubbing to get rid of any dirt, grease or minor imperfections. This stuff is a must if you’re about to put up fresh wallpaper, as it allows the adhesive to work just that little bit better. But it is also good to help get a nice even finish to your paint job. As an extra bonus, you can keep the left-over sugar soap for your spring clean, as it’s great for helping your painted walls to look good as new again.
After following these simple steps, you will be ready to get the paint brushes out and show the world what a fantastic interior decorator you are. And best of all, your furniture and your clothes will be free from dust and paint, ready to add that ‘wow factor’ to your excellent paint job.
