One of the most inexpensive ways to freshen up your home is by painting the walls. Using colours other than white can dramatically change the interior design and mood of your home. You can make a statement with a bold colour of a single wall or have a soft backdrop to a more muted interior. Whatever you decide to do, painting and decorating the interior walls is the easiest way to improve the look of your home. There are a few things to consider before you start painting.

1. Prepare the room

When you clear up the room from all the furniture, you are making your painting job much easier. If you are painting a large room, move everything to the middle and cover with old sheets or plastic. It's important to wipe the walls down because there is buildup on the walls of dirt, dist and sometimes oil from your hands. This will allow the paint to adhere to the walls. Cover the floors, tape off adjacent walls, light switches, outlets and windows trim.

2. Sample the paint colour

It's an important step to buy a sample once you have a colour in mind. Paint a section of the wall and observe the colour during daytime and night. This will show you what the colour will truly look like on your walls. If necessary, get a few samples and check them all out. You might be surprised how a colour you like actually looks bad and something you haven't really considered seems perfect on your walls.

3. Don't be afraid to experiment with colour

Don't be overwhelmed by colour. You can actually create something really exciting and create a specific feeling in a room by choosing a colour different than white or beige. For example, dark colours add depth to the space. It is a good choice for a large room with high ceilings. On the opposite, if you have a small room, try brighter colours because they will open up the space and create a feeling of the room being larger.

4. The finish is important

There are three main finishes- high gloss, flat paint and eggshell. High gloss is durable and easy to maintain, but it highlights imperfections in the walls. Flat paint will hide them but it is more prone to damage. Eggshell finish is the best option in most cases as it provides some gloss which makes it easy to clean but it's not as easily damaged as flat paint.

5. Determine how much paint you need

You need to know the square footage of your room in order to buy enough paint and consider how many coats of paint you will want to do. It can be really frustrating to run out of paint during your project. Use the free paint calculators online or ask at the store to calculate it for you. If you use primer, one coat will most likely be enough and if not, trust you will need two coats.

6. Use a primer to save on paint

Priming is an important step in the preparation of a paint project. It provides a base for the paint to adhere to by sealing the walls. The primer also prevents shiny spots on the walls, which is a possible occurrence when paint is placed directly on spackling. You should still clean the walls whether or not you use a primer.

7. Brush corners before rolling

Make sure to use a quality brush to paint about an inch out from the baseboard, corners and the ceiling. These areas cannot be reached by a roller. Use the roller after brushing to cover any brush marks.

8. Think about hiring a professional

While you can certainly do a good job painting yourself, if you haven't done it before, consider hiring a professional. Professional painters are experienced, have an established technics to do it efficiently and fast.