Spruce Up a Guest Room

Place drop cloths or tarps on the floor and remove window coverings, switch plates and outlet covers. Remove furniture or place it in the center of the room and cover with drop cloths. Use painter’s tape to protect windowsills, baseboards, door hinges and the ceiling perimeter.

Paint doesn’t adhere to dirt. Using a sponge or cloth, wipe down your walls with mild detergent and water, and allow the surface to dry. If your walls have cracks, holes or other damage, apply spackling compound with a putty knife. Sand with fine-grit sandpaper once the repair spots have set.

Helpful Tip

If you need to make repairs, add an extra day to your plans to give the compound time to dry.

Apply a coat of True Value EasyCare® Ultra Premium latex primer/sealer before you paint so that the paint adheres better and lasts longer. Additionally, priming is necessary if your walls are stained, you wish to use light-colored paint over dark walls, or when you’re painting a bright color such as yellow or red. Apply primer with a brush or roller, using the same technique as painting. You can also skip priming by painting with True Value EasyCare® Ultra Premium latex paint and primer in-one.

Safety Alert!

Open windows to make sure you’ll be painting in a well-ventilated area. Use a box fan placed in windows or doorways to help with ventilation.

Pour True Value EasyCare® Ultra Premium latex paint and primer in-one into a paint tray or coffee can (any similarly sized container will do) and coat your brush with 1" of paint. Apply to the upper perimeter of the wall and to any areas you can’t reach with a roller. Don’t worry if you splash any paint on the wall — you’ll cover it later. Use an angled sash brush to cut in at the edges where the walls and ceiling meet and lay on the paint about 1/4" from the edge of the surface. On your second pass, apply more pressure to carefully push the paint into place. Do not cut in on the entire ceiling prior to painting the walls. Only cut in as much as you can in about a 20-minute span. If you cut in along the entire ceiling at once, the paint will dry and when you “roll” the paint in Step 4, you may end up with ”hatbanding”. This means that the cut-in sections will appear darker than the rest of the wall, producing an uneven finish.

Helpful Tip

When you’re cutting in, look just ahead of the brush to ensure a straight line and give the paint a clean edge.

Coat a roller by rolling it in your paint tray and then paint widthwise in 6-ft. square sections, using a zigzag pattern of overlapping “W” strokes. Move from one side to the other and then again in the opposite direction, spreading evenly with horizontal strokes.

Feather (apply less pressure to) the edges of the squares to eliminate overlapping lines between each section. To ensure even coverage, use light strokes to re-roll across the ceiling and from bottom to top of each wall. If your paint has a flat finish, you don’t need to blend. Otherwise, go over the entire surface (for very large areas, do two square sections at a time) with one-directional, overlapping, non-diagonal strokes once again.

Helpful Tip

One gallon of paint usually covers 300 to 400 square feet. Don’t forget to double your measurements for two coats.

Slide the roller cover a little bit off the holder to get closer to doors, ceilings and windows.

Touch up any missed spots when the paint is still wet to ensure an even sheen.

Before you begin painting a new wall, make sure you have enough paint left in the can to finish the entire wall. The same paint color can vary slightly from one can to another, so try not to use two different cans on one wall.

Use a brush coated with 1" of paint to do wall brushwork in areas your roller can’t reach, like the corners and next to the doors, windows and molding.

If necessary, apply a second coat of paint using the same techniques as the first. You don’t have to let the paint completely dry between coats, but your results will be better the longer you wait.

Thoroughly rinse your roller covers and brushes in water until the water runs clear, and then shake out excess water or place them in a brush/roller spinner to remove excess liquid. Store in protective sleeves and hang them on nails or hooks. Remove the drop cloths and pull off the painter’s tape at a 45-degree angle to avoid removing any fresh paint.

Great job! You’re done and you have an inviting new space for your holiday guests.