When Should You Re-Paint Your Interior?

Typically you will want to re-paint your walls every few years. Or if you're someone that loves change, as often as you like. The main reason to re-paint your interior is to fix up damaged walls, clean up scratched and burnished paint or to add some refreshing new colour. Trim and doors will usually last longer than walls because its typically painted in a higher durability coating such as semi-gloss. The higher acrylic content (which is what makes it so shiny) is what gives you that durable barrier.

Changing the colour of your home can be a great and quick way to give it a fresh new feel. There's just something amazing about coming home after its been painted and seeing a whole new colour in your house.

The most common type or "sheen" of paint for painting interior walls is eggshell, but I prefer a matt finish as it has a lower gloss value and gives the walls a softer look to them. Benjamin Moore's Regal Matt and Sherwin Williams Duration Home Matt are 2 of the best options, with the Duration Home giving you a touch more washability and durability over the Regal.

For bathrooms you may want a slightly higher gloss value to your paint, this will help to hide the streaks on the walls from steamy showers or baths. Eggshell will be just fine, it's what we usually use, but it can show the water marks a little more. These easily wash off but a Pearl or Satin finish can help hide this. The trade off you make is the more shine you add to the walls, the more imperfections in them will become noticeable.

If you're considering doing a top to bottom re-paint, you will want to start from the top and work your way down. Do the ceiling, then your trim and doors, then on to the walls. Its much easier for you to cut the wall colour to the trim than the other way around. Make sure all surfaces get a good sanding before each coat to knock down any imperfections, only sand the ceiling if it is a smooth ceiling, not a stipple or texture ceiling.

Painting your home is absolutely something you can do, we even have a course we offer to teach you this at your home (check out our Master Class). If you don't have the time or ability but can afford to hire a professional, this is definitely the way to go. The project will done quicker, cleaner, and the overall finish will look best.

In the end it doesn't matter if you hire someone, or you do the job yourself. If your home needs a new look or a clean up, painting is a quick and affordable way to achieve this!