I finally decided to go ahead and start painting my kids’ rooms!
I’m not really big on projects, so the paint on the walls of their rooms is from before they were born. (They are now 8 and 10 years old.) Painting their rooms was something I had always meant to get around to, but it never seemed to happen for some reason. However, now that we are stuck at home due to the coronavirus pandemic, I have run out of excuses. I decided that painting my kids’ rooms was going to happen over the April break when they had no school work but were still stuck at home. Here is my advice.
Start by picking out paint colors.
Picking out paint colors really got my kids excited. Luckily, we picked up paint before the stay home, stay safe orders came out. I would recommend sending one adult into the paint store (wearing a mask, of course!) to pick up the color sample cards or else ordering paint sample cards to be sent in the mail. Once your children pick their desired colors, you can arrange for curbside pickup at the store. Just warn your children that you have ultimate veto power. You don’t want to be stuck looking at a color that you hate for years and years.
When you pick up the paint, make sure that you get all the other supplies you will need from the store. At the minimum, you will need a good paintbrush, a roller with a handle, and a roller tray. I also used blue painter’s tape to tape off the trim and ceilings. A drop cloth is also a good idea, although I just used paper leftover from a package I received in the mail.
Next, your kids need to clean their rooms.
This is why I bought the paint beforehand so that they would have some extra motivation. The less mess in the rooms, the less stuff you will have to move out in order to paint. You also need to have a space set aside to store all the stuff while you’re prepping and painting. Luckily, we have a playroom that we put everything in temporarily. After all the stuff is moved out of the way, you will need to wash the walls. You will be amazed at the amount of grime that kids accumulate on their walls. Just make sure to use a rag and not a paper towel or anything else that might shred and leave small pieces behind on the wall. Let the wall dry before you start painting.
To begin the process, tape off the trim and ceilings.
Remove light switch and outlet covers. Just make sure to keep the screws with the covers so they don’t get lost! To paint, I started by using a brush to paint around all the edges, where a roller can’t reach. Then I followed up by painting the bigger, open spaces with a roller. You will most likely need to use two coats of paint. If you are painting over a dark color, you will want to use a primer before painting. Let the paint dry between coats.
We had some problems with the tape pulling up some of the paint. We found that it worked better if we used a box cutter to cut a line between the paint and the tape. If an adult is painting, you can get by with painting very carefully around the edges without tape, but I wouldn’t recommend doing that if your kids want to help paint. My kids loved helping and they learned a lot through this project! I, on the other hand, ended up very sore!
Finish off the painting project by putting everything back.
This is a great time for kids to change the layout of their furniture! It’s also a great chance to sort through belongings as they are coming back into the room. I helped my son sort through all his books before returning to them to his bookshelf and he found a lot of titles he had outgrown. Hang the curtains back up. Screw the light switch and outlet covers back on. Move all the stuff back into the room. Done!
Painting my kids’ rooms was an easy project with a big, colorful payoff!
