Jumping the Shark ...

... with the alternate title,

"why i blame my father"

I had been toying with a paint 101 post idea for a while  …

I mean, my blog name infers that I’m some kind of paint expert, after all.  But I'm not.  I’m just a homeowner who can’t part with thousands of dollars when she knows full well she can do it herself.

... and for that I blame my father ...

Unlike most woman who blame their mothers for their childhood woes, I blame my dad. And it has nothing to do with those stereotypical abandonment daddy issues. I was never abandoned. My parents have been married close to 60 years ...

Plus I love my dad.  Adore the man.  Have the utmost respect for his integrity and unheralded work ethic.  The man is a work horse ...

... oh, and I'm his baby ...

The daddy issue -- the one that could've sent me to therapy -- was that as much as I begged and pleaded and followed him around on the weekends ...

... he would never, ever let me help with home repairs and yard work.

To my father's generation, that was "man's work."

And when it came to painting the house, my father would never even think of hiring someone for that job. So every four or five years he would paint the entire house -- inside and out -- all by himself.  Well, maybe not all by himself.  He would drag my older brother reluctantly along for the ride ...

But me?  I so very, very much wanted to paint too ...

... and was denied each and every time.

So when I moved into my first apartment I was determined to paint ... whether it needed it or not.  And I dragged my new roommates reluctantly along for the ride ...

... and I haven't stopped painting the walls where I live since that very first painted apartment...

So now as I share my oh so basic tips on how to paint a room, my biggest fear is that my blog is donning a leather jacket and water skies and venturing into shark infested waters …

#1 – Paint Matters.  I find that paying a premium for quality paint (can you say Benjamin Moore or Sherwin Williams?) pays off with less coats … which equals less work. And I can always, always get behind less work …

#2 – Paint Brushes Matter.  I don’t want paint brush hair on my walls … and am thinking you don’t want that either.  So when painting my walls my go-to paint brush brand is Purdy.  It costs a bit more but they really help me with cutting in … as in cutting in without having to painter’s tape it off first (sometimes) …

#3 – Paint & Brushes May Matter … But Ziplocs Rule.  This is a tip I glommed onto … and practice as frequently as I can. Instead of cleaning your paint brushes each day when you’re done, you can just zip them up into a Ziploc.  That’s right. Zip. Them. Up. If you’re only waiting a few days, room temp is okay.  If you’ll be waiting weeks, then stick them in the freezer … I had one covered in chalkboard paint hanging in the freezer for close to a year and it defrosted just fine.

#4 – Paint Tray Liners Don’t Just Matter … They Rock.  I hate the clean up part of the painting.  And I don’t have a slop sink so I’m hunched over the tub rubbing and scrubbing (and there may be some cursing …).  That’s why I use disposable paint tray liners.  I heart them.  I may need to marry them … or buy stock in them.

#5 – In The End, It Really Can Matter How You Apply That Paint.  Always try to keep a wet edge. I (try) to work in 3’ to 4’ square sections of wall at a time so I can cut in with the brush and then roll into a wet edge …

… I work from the top down.  Cut in along the ceiling.  Roll down.  Cut in along baseboard.  Roll up to meet the roll down.  Move ladder to the left (or right) rinse and repeat …

… and that 3’ to 4’ square section method works when painting a normal size wall in a normal size room.  Now if you happen to find yourself painting a vaulted ceiling with a very long pole? Can I recommend getting the paint up there any which way you can …

Linda is a wife, mother, Chicago homeowner … and creator and author of it all started with paint blog.  You can find her on Facebook here … and follow her on Twitter here …