A weekend is the ideal time to revamp a room and it’s surprising how much you can get done in just two days, especially if you do the fiddly bits beforehand.
A fresh lick of paint in a tired-looking room can really make a difference to the overall look and, if you’re lucky, you may find that giving your windowsills a good clean may mean you don’t have to paint them at all.
Before you begin, it’s important to make sure you’re prepared – by getting in the tools you need, prepping surfaces and buying the right sort of paint.
Here are some top tips for getting your room ready for a weekend makeover project.
“The key to decorating a room in a weekend is all in the prep – that means having everything you need to hit the ground running on Saturday morning,” says Marianne Shillingford, creative director of Dulux.
Clearing the space before the weekend and moving furniture out of the room will also save precious time you can dedicate to painting on the day, while a deep clean is also an important step.
The key tools you need to prep your room for a weekend of painting
Give your windowsills and skirting boards a scrub down with some cleaning solution and your walls a clean with some sugar soap, which will get rid of any unwanted marks before you start.
“Before painting, walls and ceilings should be clean, dust-free, smooth and completely dry,” says Jason Hines, senior buyer at Homebase. “Wash them down with detergent or sugar soap. Then rinse with clean water and let them dry.”
“You might even get lucky and find that cleaning skirting boards, window frames and doors means you don’t actually need to paint them,” says Shillingford.
Get your odd jobs out of the way first
Have a hole that needs filling or a rough bit of wall that needs sanding down?
These odd jobs can often slow things down if you do them on the day, but getting them out of the way before the weekend means you can concentrate fully on painting on Saturday and Sunday.
“If the plaster is gloss painted, rub the wall down with 40 grit abrasive paper wrapped around a cork block,” Hines advises.
The key tools you’ll need
Sugar soap
Decorators caulk (flexible filler)
Masking tape
Two-inch paint brushes
Paint stirring sticks
Dust sheet
Roller pole extension
Sanding pads
Small radiator roller
Quick-drying paint
“If you have new plasterwork you will need to remove any blistering and fill in any blemishes.”
Make a list of tools you need, see our video above, and shop for them the weekend before or during the week leading up to your DIY weekend.
Decorator’s caulk, a filler for gaps and cracks, and masking tape should be high on your list. A favourite is Frog Tape, but everyday use masking tape could also come in handy.
Use good-quality acrylic brushes rather than natural hog bristle which can hold too much paint.
Other key tools include a roller pole extension, to help you paint the walls and the ceiling, and a plastic paint kettle with a lid which provides airtight storage for small amounts of paint – easier to work with than a large tin – and the lid keeps the paint from drying out overnight.
Saving money on your paint may not necessarily save you time. In fact buying cheaper paint, which often needs an extra coat or two, can actually take longer to dry and end up eating into your weekend project.
One option to consider is using water-based paint over oil-based as it dries a lot quicker, doesn’t smell and is also better for the environment.
“Choose a quick-dry, water-based paint for a weekend project,” says Shillingford. “Oil-based paints take eight hours to dry, while water-based paints dry in an hour.”
Buy the right paint for the job
As well as investing in quick-drying paint, it’s important to choose the right type for the surface being painted.
- Gloss paints are best for woodwork
- Eggshell, satin, silk or matt are all emulsion paints for walls and ceilings
- Matt is non-reflective; eggshell has a subtle cracked effect; and silk or satin paints have a slight sheen
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