When you decide to carry out home improvement it can often be an experience that becomes much more stressful and difficult than it needs to be. This is specifically the case when it comes to re-painting and decorating your house, as there’s so much that needs to be done to prepare for it such as removing any existing wallpaper, buying any equipment you’re going to need and ensuring that you don’t accidentally cover your furniture in a lovely shade of magnolia! If, however, you’re beginning to stress about redecorating don’t worry, there’s a simple plan that you can follow to make it a calm and easy process.
Firstly decide in which order you’re going to decorate your house, if you’re only doing one room then it’s simple, however if you’re painting every room then you need to plan how you’re going to do them. For example, painting rooms in a domino effect, i.e. which are next door to each other, is often easiest as you can move items and furniture from room to room without having to carry boxes repeatedly up and down stairs. Also, be sure that you have enough access to windows for your room to make sure that they can be aired out properly before you move all of your furniture back in, there’s nothing worse than having to stay in a room with the overbearing smell of paint fumes! Once that’s all decided you can begin getting prepared to paint your home.
Empty your room
Before you do anything with your rooms you need to empty them completely! Trying to work around your furniture and items is a sure fire way to drag the decorating process out for a lot longer than needs be and makes it an overall more stressful experience. Be sure to pack things such as bedding and clothing into the same boxes so that they’re readily available, whereas other items such as books and DVDs can be stored and unpacked over time. Cardboard boxes are great for holding your stuff, as are any leftover house removal boxes you have, or plastic storage containers. These can then be put in your attic, kept temporarily in other rooms in the house or if you’re stuck for room you can hire storage space from local companies.
Strip the walls
If your walls are already wallpapered, or have been painted a numerous amount of times you may want to strip the walls first to make painting easier. If you have textured wallpaper it may be easier to just paint over it, and it can create a lovely effect on the walls afterwards! However, if you do decide to strip the walls then you need to invest in some proper equipment to do so. Ask around friends and family to see if they have a wallpaper stripper that you can borrow, surely someone will. If you’re painting multiple rooms it may be worthwhile to invest in one yourself that you can then use again next time you decide to redecorate your home.
Depending upon how long the wallpaper or paint has been on the walls for, it may be extremely tough to get off and so hiring professionals might be a better option for you. Again, asking friends and family for recommendations of people they’ve used in the past is a great idea, or have a look in your phone book to find a decorating professional.
Painting!
When it finally gets around to painting your room you should have already bought the tools that you’ll need. For example, some people prefer painting with brushes and some with rollers, so test them both on a wall you’ll be painting over to see which you’d rather use. Also, if you haven’t already decided on a colour now is the perfect time to paint a few test patches on your wall and see how they look in the light! If you’re painting any particularly high-ceilinged rooms you may want to invest in a step ladder to help you reach those taller spots. If there’s any furniture that you’ve had to leave in the room, for example sofas or wardrobes be sure to buy a large tarpaulin or sheet to prevent getting any paint on them. It is also extremely handy to have a large plastic sheet underneath the part you’re painting at all times to protect the floor, believe me it’s extremely difficult to get paint out of a carpet!
If you aren’t feeling confident in your own painting skills you can always hire a professional to do the job for you, although it can be expensive they’re bound to do a fantastic job and it can help save time and stress in the long run.