From me to you.

The painting is well underway at the old house... and since there is no furniture, television or radio there now... I had A LOT of time to think. I thought a lot about painting... and what I've learned in the past few months. Then I thought, "Why not pass along these valuable tips to you folks in case you are contemplating painting your own four walls??" So my friends, here are some tips you might want to consider before picking up that paint brush.

1.) WHEN IT COMES TO COLOR - CHOOSE WISELY. Those little paint swatches might look great taped to your wall... just remember that it will be 100 times brighter and bigger once you get it up there. If you have color phobia you will want to stick to the swatches labeled "Whites and Neutrals." They actually end up a lot darker than white or neutral so I think you'll be happy with the end result.

2.) PRIME IT. I used to skip this step. I thought I was better than that. I didn't need primer! Then we moved into a house with wallpaper and I was forced to investigate primer and actually use it on the wall. What a difference!! I kid you not! Not only does it fill in the imperfections, it makes your color truer with no bleeding from the previous color. **Caution: If you use oil based Killz - open a window - or else you can find yourself sitting on the couch eating an entire bag of Doritos and watching cartoons.

3.) ROLLERS ARE NOT WORTH SAVING. I used to spend hours trying to get all the paint out from the roller. Why??? You can never get all the paint out. It's impossible. And after you use it once, it's never the same again.
The same can be said for the "freezer trick." It doesn't work. Inevitably you'll forget you put it in there and then you either have to wait until it defrosts, or you end up painting ice on your walls. Forget it!! I say - buy a new roller every time you paint. They are cheap enough that you can do this. Typically a pack of three is 5 bucks. Money well spent in my book.

4.) BLUE TAPE IS FOR SUCKERS. Have you ever EVER taped the trim/door knob/floor/window/etc. with that blue "Painters Tape" and then pulled it up after you were done... and found that it didn't seep under the tape? No of course not. So why even bother? Just be sloppy and touch up later with a really small brush.

5.) ALWAYS PAINT BAREFOOT. So you can feel if you stepped in a splatter before you go walking all through the house trailing little blue dots wherever you go.

Most importantly - HAVE FUN WITH IT! It's just paint. If you hate it, you can change it for as little as $20. Just keep that in mind when you are crying over your decision to paint the dining room purple.