DIY revamping of your home’s interior with paint  

Moving into a previously owned house? Are your flaking and faded walls in desperate need of a refresh? A simple, fresh coat of paint can do wonders to your house and change the way you feel, but the way you apply your paint on the walls is just as important! If you are looking at revamping your home’s colour scheme or are just looking for a project to work on, this is the perfect guide to jump-start your creative juices and help you achieve professional-quality results.

1. Choose Your Paint

The walls of your home colour your world and set the mood for your day-to-day life. Painting cool colours – blues, greens and purples make rooms appear calmer, while warmer colours such as reds, oranges and yellows give your rooms a more vibrant appearance. Neutral colours like beige and white offer more flexibility and elegance. 

Beyond colour, there are also various kinds of paints on the market you can choose from—like the Dulux Wash & Wear, which comes with KidProof Technology™, repels tough stains and makes cleaning a breeze; the perfect choice if you have little ones around the house.

Image source: Dulux Singapore

Dulux Light & Space, on the other hand, is an environmentally preferred paint and reflects up to twice as much light as traditional paints. This will lower the energy consumption of your home as less lighting and cooling technology will be needed.

2. Getting Prepared

Before everything else, plan out all the necessary tools and calculate how much paint you’ll need to cover the desired area. 

Having the proper tools is the key to making your work a lot easier and achieving efficient, polished results. Good brushes and rollers will help to ensure better coverage while sufficient high-end tape will help to seal out drips and minimise any accidental spillage.

Image source: Dulux Singapore

Here’s an easy guide to calculating the required paint for your project:

1. Measure the width and height of the area to be painted. Multiply these together to get your overall surface area.
2. Measure the width and height of any windows and/or doors, multiply and subtract from your overall surface area.
3. Multiply your new total surface area by the number of coats you’ll need – it is recommended factoring in at least 2 coats and a bit extra for touch-ups.
4. Finally, divide this total figure by the volume your paint tin can hold (m² per litre). The result is the total amount of paint needed for your project.

3. Declutter and Protect your Environment

Give yourself ample space to paint by clearing away clutter and shifting your furniture. To avoid any unwanted paint stains, cover your floors, furniture and hardware with canvas drop sheets! 

Tip: To paint patterns, simply use masking tape to cover up the parts you don’t want painted.

Image source: Dulux Singapore

4. Prepare the Surface

Your walls are your canvas, so be sure to wipe them down with a cloth or paintbrush – this will help to ensure your paint stays clean and dust-free. If you are working with older walls, take additional steps to inspect your walls for any gaps or cracks that need to be filled with water-resistant filler. Apply the filler with a filling knife to help you patch up these holes.  Allow the filler to dry before painting anything else over!

Image source: Dulux Singapore

Tip: Use a paint sealer to prime the surface and improve the adhesion and longevity of paint. 

5. Paint

Now, you are ready to paint! Start with the difficult areas first, such as the corners and edges, by using a brush. Dip the end of the brush in paint and use long continuous strokes to form a neat line along the sides. Once done, use a wide roller to fill in the space. Apply the paint from the top-right hand corner in overlapping up and down strokes! 

Image source: Dulux Singapore

Always apply more than one coat of paint, but do not paint over the first coat before it completely dries – this can leave streak marks on the surface

Image source: Dulux Singapore

And you’re done! Be patient and wait approximately 2 hours for your paint to dry. In the meantime, don’t forget to wash all your equipment; use water for emulsion paints and turpentine or thinner for oil-based paints. If you are saving paint for another D.I.Y project, store the paint in a properly sealed container and away from excessive temperature swings.

This article was written in collaboration with Dulux.