What to Paint First in a Room?

Wondering what and where to paint first in a room? Looking to give your room a refresh, but not sure where to start? Read on to find out where to start and where to end!

Prep

It is incredibly important to make sure the room you wish to paint is correctly prepped first. Move all furniture out of the way and place a drop cloth on the floor to catch any paint splatter. Remove all of the light switch and outlet covers, as well as any electrical covers.

If there are any damaged areas on the walls, ceilings, or trim, repair them first. Fill in all holes, cracks, and imperfections. Anything that isn’t going to be painted should be taped off. This includes windows and woodwork as well as baseboards.

Ceiling

Always work from the top down when painting a room. If you have decided to paint the ceiling, this is where you will start. The ceiling will most likely take two coats of paint, as will all surfaces being painted.

Starting with the ceiling means you do not need to worry about overspray. Overspray is when flecks of paint come off the roller and land on the walls. If you paint the ceiling first, overspray will simply be painted over when you paint the walls.

It is recommended to use a double arm frame roller to paint the ceiling. This will give you even pressure and coverage for the hard to do ceiling.

Walls

Once the ceiling has completely dried to the touch, it is time to move on to the walls. Walls need to be cut in first. This means using a paint brush and painting along the baseboards and ceiling where the roller can’t reach or will mark the adjacent area.

Once you have cut in, use a roller to paint the walls. Make sure the roller is completely covered in paint. Use long strokes to cover the wall, painting in a W pattern. Once the paint is completely dry to the touch, it is ready for a second coat.

If doing an accent wall, paint the lighter walls first. That way if you get paint on the accent wall, the dark accent color will cover the light paint. Once the light paint is fully dry, use painters tape to tape off the edges.

If you are doing a lighter color over a dark color, plan for three coats of paint. The first should be a primer and the next two should be the color paint that you want. Putting a primer first will allow for easier coverage of the desired paint.

If painting the trim, make sure the walls are dry before removing the painters tape from the trim. Move the painters tape to the painted walls, and run over the tape to make sure it sticks. Start with the trim closest to the ceiling, then move to the door and window frames.

Baseboards

After the walls and trim come the baseboards. The walls need to be dry to the touch before the baseboards can be painted. Use painters tape and tape off the painted walls to avoid getting the baseboard color on your freshly painted walls.

Use a paintbrush and carefully paint the baseboards before moving on.

Frames

Next comes the window and door frames. Before painting them, make sure all nail holes are filled. The edges of the frames need to be properly caulked first as well. If there are any rough edges, be sure to sand them before the final coat of paint as well.

Doors

The last area of the room to paint is the doors. You have two options when painting the doors of the room: speed or finish. If you want to be done quickly, you can use a brush or roller for a quick touch up. If you want the door to be on the glossier, nicely finished side, there are a couple steps to take.

If painting paneled doors, paint the panels first with a paint brush. Then do all the flat parts with a small roller. The smoother the door, the glossier your finish will be. Always make sure to follow the grain of the wood as well.

This will ensure your paint doesn’t clump up and goes on smoothly, allowing a polished look.