Are you thinking about painting your own home, or parts of it? A DIY paint project can be lots of fun! It’s a great way to bring the family together, and there’s nothing like the reward of stepping back and seeing a finished product that you made with your own hands. Still, these projects are not without their pitfalls and risks, so be sure you know what you’re doing, and you’re ready for whatever may come up in the course of the project.
Here are a few of our favorite resources, which may help you avoid those pitfalls in your DIY paint projects:
Living Color
It’s both one of the most enjoyable aspects and one of the most challenging parts of a DIY paint project - choosing the right color scheme. Whether you’re trying to create something truly unique, or recreate something that you’ve seen elsewhere, you’ll want to be sure to identify the right colors - the first time.
Valspar, the paint manufacturer, has a really neat tool on their website which not only lets you choose colors, but you can also even see what they’ll look like in your home. You can upload a photo of your home, (or choose from similar samples in their photo library) to really get a feel for your project is going to look when you complete it.
Not sure if what you just whipped up is exactly what you’re looking for, and want to sleep on it? No problem - you can save your project and come back to review it at a later date. This seems so much better than the old school method of taking home those little color swatch cards from the paint shop and holding them up to your walls to see how they fit in.
Do the math
One of the biggest challenges for amateur painters is getting an accurate assessment of how much paint you’re going to need to complete your DIY job. You certainly don’t want to buy too much paint. Of course you want some extra for touch-ups you may need to make in the future. But if you buy too much of a custom color, the paint store is not going to buy back your surplus. Underestimating can be troublesome too, as it may be difficult to get an exact match the next time if you need more, not to mention that it’s just a general hassle to have to go back out for more paint in the middle of the project.
Benjamin Moore, another paint company, has a nifty little paint calculator, which will compute exactly how much paint will be needed for your project. Just input the dimensions of your room and it crunches the numbers for you. It even figures in how many doors and windows to allow for.
DIY Network
It may not be as exciting as the automated tools above, but the DIY Network is filled with information to assist DIY-ers like you with all sorts of projects, and painting projects are no exception. Among those are articles like this one, with all sorts of considerations about choosing the right colors and the right type of paint for your project.
