How to Repaint Rooms in Blue & Brown

Remove all the room’s furniture, and cover the floors with drop cloths to avoid paint spills. Remove any drapery and drapery hardware using a screwdriver. Loosen light fixtures and cover with plastic bags secured with masking tape. Unscrew and remove any wall outlet and switch covers.

Scrape off any peeling paint from the walls or ceiling with a paint scraper. Clean the walls and ceiling with a sponge mop and a cleanser created by adding household detergent to warm water until sudsy. Wash the surface with the nearly saturated mop head to remove dirt, squeeze out the dirty mop and go over the surface again with fresh cleanser. Empty the mop head again and then use the mop to rinse the surface with clean water.

Mask over the trim to avoid painting it the same color as the walls. Press the masking tape firmly on trim edges, then go over the tape with the rear of a spoon to make certain it’s flat all along its length.

Mix a can of blue paint thoroughly with a wooden stir stick, and then pour the paint into a 5-gallon bucket. Place a bucket screen into the bucket to use for removing excess paint from the paint rollers.

Begin painting with the wall furthest from the entryway of the room. Use a paintbrush to cut-in the wall by painting a strip about 4 inches wide around the perimeter of the wall. This will give you a wet starting point for applying the paint with the roller and make certain you have an even layer of paint around the wall edges that may not be reached fully with the edge of a paint roller. Use the brush to cut-in areas around outlets and fixtures as well.

Dip the paint roller into the bucket of paint to saturate it. Pull out of the bucket along the screen to remove enough paint so that the roller does not drip freely. Roll the paint onto the wall, beginning at the left edge in the wet strip of brushed on paint, about a foot from the wall base. Roll upward to the stripe of paint bordering the ceiling, then reverse your stroke and roll downward again to the bottom stripe. Angle the roller to the right slightly, and move it upward again, overlapping the paint already rolled in place as you apply a new line. Continue in this manner until you cover the entire wall with paint, refreshing the paint on the roller when needed to keep the roller consistently wet.

Back roll the wall with the paint roller to smooth the coverage and remove any application lines. To back roll, draw the roller over the wall horizontally, crossing the painting lines evenly.

Move onto the next wall adjacent to the first and repeat the coverage process, first outlining the wall with the brush, then rolling in the remaining space. Continue until all walls are covered in the blue paint.

Use the same process for the ceiling that you used for the walls. Attach an extension pole to the paint roller to help in reaching the ceiling.

Allow the coat of paint to dry for two hours, then examine the surface for signs of the previous paint color. If you can still see the old paint through the new layer, then place a second layer of paint onto the wall. Wait 48 hours for the second coat to dry.

Remove the masking tape from the trim. Mask off the edges of the wall this time to avoid paint seepage. Mix a pail full of your brown paint with the stir stick for use on the trim.

Use a paintbrush to apply the brown paint to the trim of the room. Use long steady strikes with a brush as near to the size of the trim as possible, applying a light layer of paint along the trim.

Allow the first layer of paint to dry on the trim about two hours, and then sand it smooth. Remove any visible brush lines from the paint using a sheet of 150-grit sandpaper. Wipe with a tack cloth to remove residue, and then apply a second layer of paint to the trim. Wait two more hours, then sand the second layer smooth as well. Wipe with the cloth and allow the trim to dry 48 hours before removing the masking tape.

Replace all fixtures and outlet covers. Remove drop cloths and return the furnishings back to the newly painted room.