Transforming Your Home With Paint

Paint can definitely transform a living space. Maybe you're planning on selling your home or want an easy do-it-yourself project over the summer. Either way, painting is a great idea. A fresh paint coat can do a lot to enhance the appearance of a drab room. It's the most affordable way to express your evolving personal style.

If you're planning on selling your home in the next year, I definitely suggest choosing subtle colors. Bright colors, especially in the entire room, can be overwhelming. When you decide to place your home on the market, you don't want to spend time and energy repainting a room that's an overwhelming color. That's not to say that you can't liven up your living space with a bright color. However, instead of painting the entire room, consider an accent wall. An accent wall is a great way to enhance the focal point of a room (i.e. a fireplace or window). Accent walls can also include stripes, shapes, or polka dots. You can also use an accent color on your ceiling. It can make the room feel larger or brighter.

Choosing the Right Paint
Choose the color that's right for you. Warm colors advance and cool colors recede. Paint has a way to compensate for poor architectural details.

· Bold colors distract the eye from whatever the builder didn't create.

· White and beige tend to highlight less than spectacular details. If you want to display works of art, choose white or grey like an art gallery.

· Save glossy paints for trim and accent walls.

• Satin is great for reflecting light but it can also highlight flaws in the room.

Prep the Room

· Remove furniture and cover the floors with a tarp (plastic or cloth). Usually when you remove furniture, you might see a few dents or holes. Keep spackle and a plastic spreader handy.

· Use blue painter's tape to cover window sills, door frames, knobs, faucets, outlets, and switches.

· You can also use foil for oddly shaped spaces.

• To prevent paint spills, you can buy a plastic drip collar.

Which brand of paint is best for my needs?
If you are like me, then going to Home Depot for a 30-min pickup of paint turns into a 2-hour adventure of mindless staring and trying to decide which brand of paint to buy. To say the least, it can be extremely overwhelming. Of course, if you are lucky enough to find an employee to help, it will cut your time to 1.5 hours.

There seems to be an endless array of paint brands to choose, but Behr, Ralph Lauren, and Duron, are the most notable. I did some research and I came across the best comparison of the paint brands by One Project Closer as follows:

"DURON

Price: $40.35/gallon

I used Duron One Coat White (OCW) for the furniture, doors, and trim. For other rooms, I have used Duron Plastic Kote, eggshell finish. I found similar results across the different types of Duron paint.

Pros: Great color choices, even and full coverage for lighter colors, OCW only requires one coat when using a paint brush, Plastic Kote is easy to clean.
Cons: Cost, Plastic coat requires multiple coats of paint to provide full coverage for darker colors, OCW requires multiple coats when using a roller (for example, on doors and furniture), plastic coat tears away from wall easily when removing painter's tape.
Conclusions: OCW is worth the money. Otherwise, Duron is too much money for not so great results.

BEHR

Price: $23.98/gallon

I used Behr Premium Plus paint on the walls above the chair rail. I have used Behr, eggshell finish in other rooms, as well.

Pros: Great color choices, even and full coverage for lighter colors, low cost
Cons: Requires multiple coats of paint to provide full coverage for darker colors, still needed 2 coats for the light color
Conclusions: Behr is well worth the money. I would buy Behr paint for smaller jobs that will only require one gallon of paint, even with two coats.

RALPH LAUREN

Price: $27.98/gallon

I used Ralph Lauren (RL) paint, eggshell finish on the walls below the chair rail.

Pros: Great color choices, even and full coverage for ALL colors using only one coat, requires less paint in one coat therefore avoiding annoying paint drips
Cons: Cost
Conclusions: RL paint is well worth the money and time it will save you. I will happily spend the few extra bucks on RL considering the time and work it saves!"

Hopefully you found this post useful! If you need help finding or selling your Washington DC home, please contact Jason Trotman at 301-452-4767. If you're new to DC, I'd especially like to extend a warm welcome. I value the opportunity to help my clients find the home that meets their needs and provide them with professional, reliable service.