When Doing Yourself
Getting the "right" version of a color can be tricky. Colors will look darker on the wall, but the glossier the paint, the lighter it will look. First, use swatches to narrow your choices. Once you have a handful, get small containers of the paint, and test the finalists on big pieces of poster board, says Sharon Hanby-Robie, designer and author of "Decorating without Fear." Prop the boards up in the room you'll be painting. Look them over the next few days in all kinds of light conditions, from daylight to nighttime illumination. "That's the fun thing about color -- it changes with the light," she says. Shades can also take on aspects of the other colors near them, like carpet color, which is why you want to test it out in the room before you paint. After a couple of days, you should have a favorite. And if you don't, at least you don't have to live with a bad choice until you repaint.
If you are changing the color of your room , always ask your paint provider to tint the primer the same color as the finish. This will get you better coverage and will save you time and money.
Never paint over wallpaper.
If you are planning to paint a room completely, remember to start with the ceilings, then the walls, leaving the woodwork for last.
If You Are Hiring a Contractor
Because anyone with a paintbrush and a ladder can call themselves a painter, when it comes to hiring someone to paint or stain your home or deck, you need to take extra precautions. You want to trust your home – and its contents – to a contractor who has the skill and experience to do the job properly, and without damaging your carpets or other belongings. Also, because a fresh coat of paint usually looks great, it's not always so easy to tell if a job has been done properly.
Be home for the initial meeting. The longer the contractor takes to assess the condition of your home the more realistic the estimate. Even an experienced painter will need more than a quick walk-around. Ask about the size and experience of the crew. Be wary of the promise that your job will be cheaper because it’s a demonstration project to get more work in your neighborhood.
Use online color resources from paint websites. I will recommend to you the Benjamin Moore personal color viewer, click here to see it.
Be clear about expectations. It’s not just the number of coats that are applied that determines quality and price. Preparation is key, but it’s also the area where contractor and consumer expectations go awry. If you want a surface that’s free of unevenness from prior paint jobs, you’ll need to say so, and be prepared to pay extra. But if you can live with some imperfections showing through, point out what level of prep is acceptable and what isn’t.
It is recommended that you never give a painter more than 10% of the total cost up front. Then give a third of the remaining cost on the first day of work, another third at a specified point halfway through (e.g. after the prep work is complete and primer is applied), and the final third after the final cleanup has been done and you've inspected and approved the work.
