How to paint your new home: DIY painting guide

Painting a room doesn’t have to be complicated. If you take the right steps then you can finish a room in about a day, elevating your home design without breaking the bank.

To help your home get it’s fresh new look without streaky paint patches, we have compiled our best DIY painting tips, to help give your home a professional look and feel.

How long should you wait before painting a new home?

Painting a brand new home is a little different to repainting an existing room. New plasterboard, cornices and joint compound need to be fully dry before you seal and paint them. Paint over walls that are still curing and you can trap moisture, which shows up later as patchy colour, flashing or peeling. The right time to start depends on your build, the season and how the home has been finished, so it pays to check with your builder before you open the first tin. As your local builder, we can help you work out when your walls are ready to paint.

Our Step-by-Step DIY Painting Guide

What you’ll need: tools and materials

• Paint in your chosen colour and finish, plus primer or sealer
• Filler for holes and cracks, and sandpaper to smooth the patches
• Sugar soap and a sponge mop to clean the walls
• Painter’s tape (the blue kind) for trims, cornices and switches
• A roller for flat walls and a paintbrush for cutting in and textured walls
• Drop cloths or plastic sheeting to protect your floors and furniture
• Clear safety glasses
• A tape measure so you can work out how much paint to buy

Step 1 – Selecting the right colour for the room

The first step for DIY room painting is to select a colour, or colours for the room. The colours that you select should be based on the function of the room and your preferences. A good idea is to select a colour or a combination of colours by using colours from your bedspread or from a piece of art that will be hanging in your room. You may also want to browse through paint samples to find a colour that you like. Also, keep in mind how much light the room gets during the day – a room that doesn’t receive a lot of light will go better with a lighter colour to avoid dark unwelcome rooms.

Step 2 – Select a paint finish

After you have selected a paint colour your next step will be to select a paint finish. There are several paint finishes that you can choose from.
These include;

• Matte
• Eggshell
• Flat enamel
• Satin
• Glossy finishes

Matte and flat enamel don’t have shine and they are great for covering imperfections on your walls, however, they aren’t washable. Eggshell and satin finishes have a semi-shine and they are washable. Glossy finishes are very shiny, they are washable, and they are very durable, however, they are not typically used for wall paint. When deciding which paint finish to select, consider the design of your home, whether that be farmhouse or a granny flat.

Step 3 – Measure your room

Now that you know what paint you want to use, you need to work out how much you will need. Measure the height and width of each wall, then add the areas together to get the total square metres you need to cover. To turn that into litres, divide the total square metres by the coverage rate printed on the tin, then multiply by the number of coats you plan to do. Take your measurements with you when you shop for paint. If you have recently built your home, or you are lucky enough to have the plans, take them along to the paint centre so the staff can help you get the amount right.

Step 4 – Prep your walls and the room

Before you paint your walls you need to prep them. Start by filling in holes and wiping them down. Allow the patches to dry and give them a light sand, the filler you use will recommend which grade of sandpaper is best.

Once your walls are smooth, you’ll need to wipe down all the spaces to remove dust and dirt. Sugar soap and a sponge mop is the easiest way to do this, and it doesn’t take long to dry. Once dry, tape off wall trims, cornices, door frames, window frames and light switches using painter’s tape (usually blue). This is a special tape in that it won’t peel off the paint when you remove the tape, though it does help to still remove it slowly. It’s also a good time to cover your floor. If you haven’t installed your floors or carpet yet, it doesn’t matter if you get paint on the slab, just be wary of carrying paint on your shoes.

Whether you’re in bustling Perth or the relaxed South West, prepping your walls thoroughly is crucial to avoid issues later on. In more rural areas, like Bridgetown or Manjimup, where homes may encounter more dust or outdoor conditions, it’s even more important to ensure a clean, smooth surface before painting.

Step 5 – Prime your walls 

On a new home, priming is not optional. Fresh plasterboard and the joint compound over the seams are porous, so they soak up your top coat unevenly and leave patchy, flashing marks if you paint straight over them. A primer or sealer coat gives the colour one even surface to sit on, helps the paint stick, and reduces the number of top coats you need. Primer is a different product to your wall paint, and it does a job that a base coat of ordinary paint cannot. If you are not sure which primer suits your walls, ask your builder or the paint centre.

Step 6 – Paint your walls

It’s time to give your current home design a fresh new look! After your primer has dried you can paint your walls. If you have flat walls then a roller will work well for applying the paint. However, if you have textured walls then you will probably want to use a paintbrush. This will help to reduce splatters and mess. After your first coat dries you will want to touch up areas that are spotty.

Step 7 – Add trim

If you want your room to have a professional look then you will want to add trim to your room after you paint the main colour. Trim can be mouldings or wallpaper border. It can also be a paint technique.

Here are a couple of extra tips which may help with your project

• Take your time with prep work, the best painters will put a lot of time into making sure everything is neat and ready for a display home finish.
• If you are painting over a number of days and using the same colour, instead of washing your brushes each day and wasting water, wrap them up in Glad Wrap or plastic bags each night. This will keep them moist so you can start painting straight away.
• Wear clear safety glasses when painting – paint in the eye can be quite painful and can potentially cause a lot of damage.
• There’s no need to purchase the ‘Rolls Royce’ of paint brushes, but don’t compromise on the equipment you use either. Cheap brushes will leave bristles in your paintwork and be less comfortable to work with – it’s not fun painting with blisters!
• To add character and personality to a room, consider adding a feature wall or the use of stencils and pinstripes. Painting with items such as sponges can also add a lot of character to a feature wall and is very cost-effective.
• Despite being called odourless, many paints do still emit an odour so you may find it best once you’ve finished to close the door and leave the window open to let it air out before moving everything in.
• If you have bulky furniture, it’s often best to move the furniture in and cover it with plastic and drop cloths to avoid damaging your walls with fresh paint when moving in.

Looking for inspiration?

Know you need a fresh coat but not sure what finish or colour would look best? We have an extensive online library filled with images of our award-winning home designs.