Common Home Painting Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

If you’ve decided to repaint your home, you’ll undoubtedly know just how much time, money and effort will go into the project. Your home is your refuge away from the world, which is why it’s extremely annoying to make mistakes, especially when they can so easily be avoided. At Avonmouth Paint & Supplies, we regularly offer advice to people looking to make the most of their DIY painting project, and how to avoid the most common painting mistakes.

You chose the wrong colour

So many people make their first mistake before they’ve even picked up the paintbrush – picking their new paint based on colour strips alone. The colour you adore on a piece of card will be completely different on your wall in natural and artificial light. If you’ve seen a colour you think you really like, get some samples from the store and try them out on your walls. That way, you haven’t spent all your money on paint you don’t like.

Leaving the lid off your paint can

Leaving the lid off your paint can is a rookie mistake and is just waiting for someone to step on it and track paint over your floors. Additionally, leaving the lid of your paint can leaves the paint unprotected from dirt and dust, as well as preventing dried-out paint crud forming along the tin. Finally, whilst you may not think of it, by keeping the lid on your paint you’re far less likely to put the wrong lid back on, which can lead to lots of complications further down the road.

Over-brushing your woodwork

We all want a smooth finish when it comes to doors, cabinets, skirting and dado rails, but it can be surprisingly tricky to achieve. The trick is to load the brush and then quickly paint an area of the surface,

using just one or two strokes to level it off. If you brush over the same area, especially when the paint has already started to dry, you’ll be left with the ridges and brush marks you want to avoid.

Bumping the ceiling

We’ve all felt the frustration of accidentally bumping the paint roller on the ceiling before, as well as having to carry out the awkward touch-up afterwards. Simply rolling a horizontal strip of paint just under, and parallel to, the ceiling will give you a perfect buffer zone. All you have to do then is paint vertically up to the horizontal strip.