10 Interior Painting Mistakes You Should Avoid

An interior paint project may look easy at first, but the minute you start planning it by yourself, you’ll soon realize the attention to detail it requires. If you’re not a professional painter, you may end up making mistakes that will require the help of a pro to fix. Here are the 10 common interior painting project mistakes that Canadian homeowners make when they decide to DIY.

Not Using Painter’s Tape

Prepping a window for painting - taping off glass with blue painter's tape.

Painter’s tape helps you achieve perfect paint lines around the edges of the room. It protects the light switches, doors and window frames from accidental paint smudges. Tightly sealed painter’s tape can help you achieve a clean and professional paint finish around each corner.

Not Preparing the Surface

Whether you’re painting drywall, a metal door or a wooden fence, it’s important to clean the surfaces before painting. Remove all of the dust and dirt particles, hinges or small screws from the surface to avoid paint patches, bubble holes and scratches.

Leaving Your Furniture and Carpet Uncovered

Despite painting a bedroom or living room, it’s important that you cover the furniture and carpet with a plastic sheet. Paint stains on your furniture or carpet can be extremely difficult to remove later on. Once you cover the furniture and carpet with a plastic sheet make sure that it’s secured to avoid slipping.

Purchasing Harmful Air-Polluting Paint

Chemicals found in paint fumes can have long and short-term health effects. Many paint types have VOC (volatile organic compounds) which can be harmful to the indoor air quality of your house. When you decide to purchase a particular paint type, make sure that you have read all of its contents and ensure its safety. If you are not sure you can talk to a local painting professional to help you choose the right chemical-free paint for your home.

Not Testing the Paint Palette

Woman holding a paint roller is looking at samples of blue paint on the living room wall to decide the right shade.

Based on the location of the room you want to paint and the natural light it receives, you can better narrow down your choices to a particular colour palette. Choosing the right colour palette for your entire house can be a difficult job so make sure that you test the colour palette before you purchase the paint colour in bulk and start painting the whole room. Testing the colour palettes on your walls in small patches will give you an overall idea of how the colours may look throughout the day and you will be able to make a confident decision.

Not Knowing Where to Use Rollers and Brushes

Paintbrushes and rollers come in different types, sizes and thicknesses. Based on which type and part of the wall you are painting, you can choose a particular paintbrush and roller. For example, to paint a wide-open wall you can choose a thick roller and to paint the corners of the wall you can choose a thin paintbrush. Knowing which one to choose when is very important to avoid a patchy-looking paint job.

Over Brushing

Be it drywall or a piece of furniture that you’re painting, 2-3 coats of paint is typically sufficient. Over-brushing or zig-zag brushing can result in visible brush strokes. Many homeowners also tend to re-brush the recently painted area resulting in paint drips. We recommend you choose one direction and avoid brushing on the already painted area unless it’s a second or third coat of paint.

Painting the Ceiling Last

It is recommended that in a residential interior painting project, you should paint the ceiling first to avoid any accidental paint drips onto the walls. Painting the ceiling first is easier and helps you kickstart your paint project.

Prepping and Painting All Rooms at Once

Unless you’re planning to stay at a different location while your house is getting painted, we recommend you prep and paint one room at a time. Moving all the furniture and covering every inch of the house all at once while you’re living there can result in chaos. There will be paint everywhere and hardly any space for you to relax during the project.

Rushing the Timeline

It’s important that you calculate the time it may take you to finish the painting project and stick to your timeline. Rushing the timeline can result in overbrushing, paint spills, skipping steps or forgetting an extra coat of paint. A rushed timeline can also increase the labour costs if you’ve hired a professional.

For a successful residential painting project, it’s important to create a plan and follow it to the T! Instead of doing it DIY style, you always have the option to hire a trusted local professional painter for the job. They will ensure none of these common mistakes are made during your interior painting project.