How to do it in six easy steps

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New colors on the walls give a touch of beauty to your home! The good news? With the proper preparations, it will not be difficult at all to paint our four walls alone. We show you how to do it, step by step, simply.

A woman paints a wall with paint roller

Painting the walls: the preparations

Step 1: measure the surface and purchase the tools

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First of all, measure the surface to be painted. Then buy the paint and other tools in a specialized store or at the construction market. In addition to the wall paint, you need masking tape, sheet or film to cover the floor and furniture, as well as suitable rollers and brushes and color tray.

Step 2: choose the paint

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Remember that you have to choose the right shade, but also the type of paint or color composition.
Before deciding the shade it is useful to define in advance the effect you want to obtain: generally the light and cold colors enlarge the room, while the warm and dark ones make it smaller, making it warmer. Our tips box at the bottom helps you choose. The range of types of paint is really wide: latex paints are characterized by thin layers and allow a glimpse of the wall structure. Natural colors do not contain any chemical solvent; the colors with glue can be washed with water. If you are undecided ask for advice in the specialized shop.

Step 3: prepare the room

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Before proceeding, dust the room thoroughly, rub the walls and grout any holes. You can also fill the smallest cracks, while we advise you to let a professional take care of the bigger ones. Free the room from all the furniture and decorations or place them in the center of the room and cover them with the film to protect them from splashes of color, and then cover the whole floor with cloth or film.

Step 4: mask with the tape

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For a pleasant result: accurately mask skirting, window frames and doors as well as power sockets and light switches. To do this you need a painter's tape (a tape of easily removable adhesive paper); in the DIY centers, you can also buy rolls of paper with self-adhesive side ready to use and very practical.

If you prefer to remove the sockets and switches for a more precise job, make sure that the power is switched off.

Step 5: give the base coat

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The surface must not have loose parts; the rough walls must first be plastered. If you perceive a chalky layer on the hand or if a wet sponge leaves a visible stain on the wall, it is necessary to pass a base coat.
Tip: Most of the primer products are very watery and therefore need to dry a whole night before you can apply color over the next day.

It starts: a job as a professional

Step 6: paint the walls

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After mixing the paint (if necessary), you can finally start! Start by painting the ceiling, so as to hide any splashes on the side walls. Paint the corners and sides first (use a flat brush or a small roller). The color must still be damp when you pass the center of the wall.

For this purpose apply the color with a wide roller from the bottom to the top, then reposed horizontally. In this way, the color will be uniform and the single strips will overlap each other by a few centimeters. Finally, pass the roller on the surfaces always in the same direction (from top to bottom). The adjoining walls should always be painted "in one go", one wall at a time. If you interrupt the work, do not immediately rinse rollers and brushes: wrap them in some transparent film and reuse them the following day.

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If you are not satisfied with the covering power of the paint once the paint has dried, apply a second thinner layer.
Tip: better to apply more colorless than too much at once! When the color is dry (normally after 24 hours) remove the tape carefully and enjoy your new color!