Painting a room is one of the most affordable and effective ways to give your home a fresh look. Whether you’re preparing to sell your house or want to update your living space, a new coat of paint can dramatically improve the appearance of any room.
However, the painting process can often feel time-consuming, particularly for those with little experience. Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to speed up the painting process without compromising quality.
This guide will walk you through the quickest and most efficient steps to paint a room. Whether you’re an experienced DIY enthusiast or a complete beginner, these tips will help you save time while achieving professional-looking results.
Let’s get straight to the point
Gather all necessary tools like quality paint, angled brushes, rollers, and drop cloths to paint a room efficiently. Prepare the room by clearing furniture, cleaning walls, and skipping painter’s tape.
Use built-in primer paints to skip priming if possible. Start with the ceiling, using flat paint, then roll large areas before cutting in for faster coverage. Apply thin coats to speed up drying, ventilate the room or use fans for quicker results.
After painting, clean up and inspect for any touch-ups. These steps ensure a fast and smooth paint job.
Gather Your Tools And Materials: Be Prepared
Before you start painting, the first and most crucial step is ensuring that you have all the necessary supplies. One of the biggest time-wasters during any DIY project is going to the hardware store because you forgot something. Preparation is key to keeping the project moving smoothly.
Essential Tools And Supplies
Here’s a list of the tools and supplies you’ll need to get started:
- High-quality paint: Using good paint can save time because it often provides better coverage, reducing the number of coats required.
- Angled brushes: A 2—to 2.5-inch angled brush will help you cut neatly around the edges and corners.
- Paint rollers: Get a smaller roller for tight spaces and a larger one for the walls and ceiling.
- Paint tray and stir sticks: Always stir your paint before use to ensure even colour distribution.
- Fabric drop cloths: These cloths protect your floors and furniture from paint splatters. They are better than plastic ones because they absorb spills.
- Putty knife: Use this to fix any wall imperfections before painting.
- Cleaning rags and a step stool: Keep rags on hand for cleaning up mistakes, and use a step stool to reach high areas.
By gathering everything in advance, you’ll avoid unnecessary interruptions and stay focused on the job.
Preparing The Room: The Key To A Quick Job
The next step is preparing the room for painting. Properly preparing your space will make the painting process smoother and quicker in the long run.
Clear The Room And Protect Your Belongings
Start by clearing out as much furniture and decor from the room as possible. If you can’t remove everything, move large furniture items to the centre of the room and cover them with drop cloths to protect them from paint splatters.
This will give you enough space to move freely and work more efficiently.
Clean The Walls
Many people overlook cleaning the walls beforehand when painting. Dust, dirt, and grime can prevent paint from adhering properly to the surface, leading to a subpar finish.
Take a clean cloth or a duster and wipe down the walls thoroughly. Pay special attention to the skirting boards, as dust accumulates there.
If the walls are particularly dirty, you should use a damp cloth or mild detergent solution. Allow the walls to dry completely before you start painting.
Skip The Painter’s Tape (If You Have A Steady Hand)
Taping off corners and trim is one of the most time-consuming parts of painting. However, if you have a steady hand and invest in a quality angled brush, you can skip this step and still achieve clean, sharp edges.
Tips For Skipping The Tape:
- Use a high-quality, angled brush to ensure clean, precise edges.
- Hold a putty knife or a straight-edge tool against the trim while painting to prevent accidental smudging.
- If you make a mistake, quickly clean it with a damp cloth before the paint dries.
By avoiding painter’s tape, you can shave significant time off the overall project without sacrificing neatness.
Should You Prime The Walls? When To Skip It
Many people wonder whether they can skip priming to save time. The answer depends on the condition of your walls and the paint you’re using.
If you’re painting over a similar colour or the existing paint is in good condition, you may not need a separate primer. Many high-quality paints come with built-in primers that allow you to skip this step.
However, priming is necessary to achieve good coverage if you’re painting over a dark colour with a lighter one or dealing with a a new plasterboard. In these cases, opt for a paint-and-primer combination product to save time and reduce the number of steps in your project.
Start With The Ceiling: Work From The Top Down
To paint a room efficiently, always start with the ceiling. This prevents drips from ruining freshly painted walls and allows you to work more freely.
Why Choose A Flat Finish For Ceilings?
Flat paint for ceilings is a great time saver because flat finishes are more forgiving than glossy ones. They help hide imperfections and usually require fewer coats.
Plus, a flat finish will maintain its look for a long time because ceilings typically don’t get much wear and tear.
Rolling Vs. Cutting: Which Should You Do First?
When painting a room, many people begin by cutting in—painting the edges and corners with a brush before filling in the larger areas with a roller. However, you can roll the large areas and cut them in afterwards to speed up the process.
Why Roll First?
Rolling the walls first covers more ground quickly and helps you see progress faster. Once you’ve rolled the large areas, you can go back and cut in around the edges.
This method can save time because it allows you to fix any mistakes with the brush later instead of worrying about neatness immediately.
Apply Thin Coats: Speed Up Drying Time
One of people’s biggest mistakes when painting is applying thick coats to finish faster. However, thick coats take longer to dry and are more likely to drip, which can slow down the process.
How To Speed Up Drying Time
- Apply thin, even layers: Thinner coats dry faster, creating a more even finish.
- Ventilate the room: Open windows to improve airflow, which helps the paint dry quicker.
- Use a fan: An oscillating fan can circulate air around the room and help speed up drying.
- Hairdryer for quick touch-ups: If you’re in a rush, use a hairdryer on the cool setting to dry small areas faster. Keep it a few inches from the wall to avoid bubbling the paint.
Final Steps: Clean Up And Inspect Your Work
Once you’ve finished painting, clean up your work area and inspect the room for any spots that need touch-ups. Remove the drop cloths, move your furniture back into place, and make sure the room is clean before you call the job finished.
Touching Up Imperfections
If you notice any small imperfections or spots you missed, don’t panic. Keep some extra paint on hand for touch-ups.
Use a small brush to correct minor issues, like drips or uneven edges.
Conclusion
Painting a room doesn’t have to be a drawn-out process. With the right preparation, tools, and techniques, you can finish painting quickly and achieve a professional result.
Following these steps will help you get the job done in less time, leaving you with a beautifully painted room that looks like a pro did it. Whether you’re giving your home a facelift or preparing it for sale, a fresh coat of paint is one of the best ways to enhance any space.
By following the tips outlined in this guide, you’ll be able to paint efficiently and with confidence.
FAQs
Can You Paint A Room In One Day?
A potential obstacle to overcome when attempting to complete the painting of a room in a single day Priming the surface, applying two coats of paint, and allowing at least six hours for each coat to dry are necessary steps to take before painting a light colour over a dark wall or covering stains.
How Fast Can A Room Be Painted?
When painting an average room with an average painter, it might take anywhere from forty-five minutes to an hour to apply the first coat of paint to the walls and ceilings, and it might take only fifty percent of that amount of time to apply the second coat. Professional painters can typically complete the task even more quickly.
Do I Paint Trim Or Walls First?
Start by painting the moulding, then move on to the ceilings and walls.
When painting a room, professionals will typically work in a specific order. They begin by painting the trim, then move on to the ceiling, and finally they paint the walls. This is due to the fact that taping off the trim is a much simpler and quicker process than taping off the walls.
Can I Just Paint Over Old Paint?
When the new paint is the opposite shade of the old paint, you have a few options to choose from if the wall is in good condition and the paints are chemically the same (for example, both latex). You can first apply a primer to completely cover the previous colour, and then follow up with either one or two coats of the new paint.
Do Professional Painters Wash Walls Before Painting?
Yes! When painting the exterior of a building, we will typically power-wash the surface, but occasionally we will scrub it by hand to ensure that it is clean and free of any surface contaminants. Inside, power washing with a pressure washer is not an option; however, in many instances, the walls need to be washed before the application of paint.
