Painting my room with my friend?

Question

Hi,

Im thinking of painting my room with my best friend and was wondering a couple things

1: how long will the smell last?

2:are the colors light blue and light green good colors for a small room?

3: how should i paint it? like light green on all walls but 1 and vice versa. or paint all the walls light green with 2 stripes of light blue and vice versa. how will i be able to do the last line?

4: how do i convince my parents to let us do this? i already know that we wont move out of this house i just want a cool hangout

thanks

Answer 1

Use the new water based paints - these don't smell as much.

Keep the windows open. Wear old clothes. Cover EVERYTHING in dust sheets as paint WILL go everywhere you expect it not to! Check your feet before leaving the room (seriously!)

Remember that on a wall, the colours will come out looking a lot darker than they do on the sample ... the "hint of" ranges are often good, and you can always paint it again in the next shade up if you find it too light.

A green or blue lampshade will help to bring out your new colours, as will accessories such as cushions or bedding.

3 walls one colour, and 1 wall another colour (probably the one with the bed on it) is often a good way to go. Make sure the lightest colour is opposite the window to ensure you don't lose light in the room.

Don't paint the ceiling. Leave it white. A coloured ceiling REALLY reduces the light in the room.

Suggest the best thing to do for neatness is get the special "painting masking tape" which is often blue in colour. Don't leave it on for more than 24 hours or it may take the underneath paint off.

Start by putting this ALL the way round the ceiling where you want the paint to stop, and all the way round the skirting boards and door frames too. Also put it ON the "focus" wall at the ends, where you want the other colour to stop. And round the windows.

This way you have totally enclosed the area you want to paint.

Put down PLENTY of newspaper - tape it to the skirting board as things WILL drop on the floor! Use a step ladder or paint will run down your arm ...

To convince parents, suggest the "hint of" colours. When they see how light they are, they may go for it. They do come up darker once you put them on, so be aware.

What colour are your walls now? This will tell you how many coats you need to put on to get a good colour. I think a minimum of two coats, but if your walls are pink or something already then you'll need at least one coat of white first to neutralise the colour and stop your walls going purple!!!

Start painting in the morning, and leave the windows open so that it dries fast. You would be best off not sleeping in there that night if you can.

If you need to do a second coat, do it the next day as it will dry overnight. If it's really hot weather then you could possibly do one coat in the morning and another late afternoon.

Use a roller - it's faster than a brush and better if you're a novice. Be prepared to use a brush for round the fiddly bits though. Roll slowly otherwise you'll get spray coming off the roller! It's better to use less paint than more paint, or it may drip down the wall!

MASK OFF THE LIGHT SWITCH and also any powerpoints! Seriously! You don't want blue powerpoints!

Leave painting the second colour for at least 48 hours to ensure that the first colour is fully dry. Then peel off all the masking tape, then put on NEW TAPE so that all the bits you need to paint in blue are showing. Make sure you remove this after 24 hours at the longest, as the paint underneath may still be a little soft. Remove it CAREFULLY and be prepared to touch it up afterwards if any comes off. This is normal. If you can wait a week between colours, then that is better. (I may be being over-cautious here). Also, if you haven't painted before, you'll find it tiring and may need a rest!

Going round window frames is fiddly. Masking tape is again your friend!

Don't paint the window frames or window sill. Just paint the walls.

Get rich matt paint, or silk paint if you want a bit of a sheen on it. Matt paint is better as it makes the room look bigger, and hides uneven painting better too!

Good luck - memorise these points so that you have all the answers in your head when you talk to your parents about it.

If they're not keen on you doing it yourself, then you could ask them to get it painted those colours for your birthday or christmas present.

Answer 2

There are paints available that have little or no odor.  Not crazy about green and blue together...but if you must, go with the green as the dominant color, accent with the blue.