Sufficient quantities of paint for the entire job (see Step 1).

Enough quick-drying primer or undercoat to cover the room once (see Step 1).

A few two-inch foam brushes or a two-inch bristle brush.

A ribbed paint tray or a five gallon bucket with paint screen.

A four-foot long roller handle extension.

Several drop cloths, cloth or plastic. Get enough to cover the floor and any immovable furniture in the room.

A paint stir, or small piece of scrap lumber.

A big roll of three-inch wide masking tape.

3-5 thin strips of cardboard, if you have wall-to-wall carpeting.

A quart or two of paint thinner, if you're using oil-based paints.

Optional:

A six-foot stepladder. This will reduce strain on your arms, especially if you're less than eight feet tall.

A plastic paint shield, with handle, for quickly masking areas around trim or carpeting. See Step 7.

A small amount of primer tint to match your final paint color. See Step 1.

Allocate a full weekend (or equivalent chunk of time) to do this. For example: on Friday evening do the prep work. Spend the next morning dropclothing, taping, and painting your first coat. When that coat is dry (about two to four hours), you'll spend the afternoon putting on the second coat (and possibly the third coat), and painting the trim. The following day can be spent touching up, cleaning up, moving the furniture back in, and getting some rest.

2torial #0494: Learn2 Paint a Room Coat of any colors! Make no mistake about it, painting a room is messy, time-consuming work. On the other hand, it's kind of fun, not very difficult, and you can save a lot of money by doing it yourself. First, make sure that you've got good lighting in the room, and open the windows and doors for ventilation. Toddlers and pets shouldn't have access to the area, and keep things off of windowsills so they don't fall ten stories down. If you're repainting a room, you'll need to do some prep work if you want the paint to stick to the wall. Don't skimp on the expense when it comes to buying paint or brushes. That el cheapo paint could end up costing you more than a more costly high-quality one: the "bargain" paints rarely cover or wear as well as better paint, which means you'll either need to add multiple coats this time around or repaint sooner. And cheap brushes shed bristles, which end up stuck to your wall, looking like the proverbial fly in the ointment. You don't need to buy top-of-the-line materials, just don't cut too many corners. Keep in mind that paint splatters--there's no way around it, no matter how fastidious your painting style. Wear old clothes and shoes. Buy a couple of those cheap paper hats that your local paint store carries. Wearing some kind of glasses (if only to keep paint from splattering into your eyes) is also a good move. Step 1