Painting Tips for Making the Job Easier {With an Awesome Contest}

As I mentioned in this post, I recently re-painted my kitchen. I had the pleasure of using Dutch Boy's new Refresh line of paint in the color Boulder Neutral {satin finish}. AND...the most AWESOME Purdy painting tools ever!

Purdy is currently giving YOU a chance to win a special dinner with HGTV's Lisa LaPorta in LA in their Save the Walls Contest {details at the end of this post}.

This is our before {it's also before I made my cafe curtains that are over my sink window as well as before we did our kitchen island transformation}.

I was thrilled to get rid of that mustard-yellow.

The number one way to make your painting job easier is to use the right tools for the job. You'll need an angled brush for cutting in {I prefer a 2"...I just like the way it feels in my hand}. A roller {and an extension if you're dealing with a lot of "up space"}, roller covers {be sure to select the appropriate ones for your type/texture of walls}, paint trays, painter's tape and drop cloths. I mentioned the taping/prep process in my previous post, if you're interested in reading more on that.

I am slightly obsessed with this 2" angled brush Purdy sent me. It's a dream. I cut around cabinetry without even taping in some places.

And thank you to Vilay...who was kind enough to craft this brush just for me. Yes, Purdy brushes are that awesome.

See? Cutting in without tape next to cabinetry! The angle just flows with the paint and the bristles bend in all the right places so the paint gets in the places it's supposed to.

Another tip when painting is to do all of the cutting in first. Cutting in can be a pain {and, honestly, my least favorite part of the painting process}. But, if you do it all first, it will ensure the entire job gets done all the way {and the right way}.

Another tip is to remove switch plate and outlet covers. This is so much faster than taping around them. And you get such a better painting job with you can paint right up to the opening and then put the cover back on over that paint...it's perfection.

Try not to tape against your ceiling {yes, that's my ceiling...weird angles & all}. It's easier to use a really good brush with an angle and glide it across the space where the wall and ceiling meet. Make sure there's plenty of paint on the end of the brush...it makes a smooth line that way.

After you've cut everything in, grab your roller and go to town on the larger areas. Again, the nap of the roller has to do with the texture of the wall. I opted for Purdy's roller covers made for "rough to semi-rough" textured walls. I have overly-textured {awful} walls to deal with. But my Purdy roller was fabulous! It held so much paint that reloading was minimal in a large area. The roller's nap was able to get into all of that texture and cover it with plenty of paint.

One trick for getting good edges is to take your roller's end right up to the end of your wall. Perfect every time.

In taller areas, be sure to utilize your ladder's paint features {most ladders have this}. You can hook your tray {be sure to buy a paint tray with hooks} to the ladder's fold down shelf so it remains steady {even if you don't!}...let that ladder work for you.

When you're done painting, be sure to clean everything up right away {the faster you can get to it, the easier the job will be}. I do treat roller covers as disposable. However, nice brushes like this one, deserve a good bath. This brush comb is something I will never be without! It gets into all of those hidden spots and pulls out the paint that's stuck in there. It made clean up so fast!

And there you go! I was able to paint the whole kitchen by myself with the help of Purdy's awesome tools.

 Next up, cabinets are going white!

Don't forget to register for your chance to win dinner in LA with HGTV's Lisa LaPorta! Just head over to Purdy's Save the Walls contest to enter today. You could also win one of their daily prizes as well!

{i linky party here}