Ceiling Painting Tips & Tricks

Today we were supposed to share the reveal of our half bath in all of it’s trimmed out beauty. Well, things went terribly wrong yesterday andddd the trim is not complete. The good news is that we found out it was completely user-error aka we don’ messed up so hopefully next week we can fix it and share the finished space!

So, instead, I thought I’d share a little post on painting ceilings. This was by far, the most terrible/tiring/frustrating job so far, until I learned how to do it right! We started out with line marks galore (even after 2 coats of primer and 2 coats of paint) and after multiple attempts, my arms were beyond tired. Every single thing on this list was something I tried that either worked for me, or didn’t, so hopefully this helps you in any future ceiling painting adventures!

Let’s start out with the don’ts to get those out of the way first.

 

Don’t:

• Use a regular sized roller – this leaves room for more line marks. Line marks = Devil. (If you’re like me, you will also be too tired to shake your fist angrily at those lines.)
• Use a nicer roller where the paint goes in the stick – this roller is standard sized, and unless you are built/cut/muscular/a Ken doll, adding the paint in the stick makes the roller extremely heavy to hold over your head for minutes at a time. Side note- these are awesome for walls though!
• Roll perpendicular to the entry – if you do end up with any sort of line, you will see it right when you walk in the room.
• Strain your neck – find an angle that works for you and use it. Mine happened to be straight above my head because of my height.
• Play golf/hit balls the day before. Your arms will hate you even more.

 

Do:

• Use an extra long roller – Mine was 20″ long – Less room for line marks and covers more ceiling in less rolls. It is a few dollars more, but we decided it was worth the investment and we can use it for other projects on our list.
• Use a roller extension rod (this may go without saying, but it makes life much easier)
• Use a ton of paint – I heavily reloaded the roller after every section.
• Work in roughly 4’x4′ sections at a time.
• Roll parallel to the entry – this way, if there does happen to be one line, it won’t be as noticeable when you enter the room.
• If you are adding crown, there is no real need to cut in. Save yourself some time and just roll as close to the wall as possible.
• Wear clothes you don’t mind getting paint on & protective glasses. Paint will spray, everywhere.
• Cover your floors. We painted while it was just subfloor to avoid this, and it was an awesome option if you’re at that point!
• End this job with a drink of choice and give your arms a day off after you’re done.

 

This is what your view is going to look like for a while, but hopefully these tips make it a shorter process : ) I should also note that I used Behr’s ceiling paint in our house- nothing super fancy. It was cheaper than other options and with these tips worked like a charm.

Do you have any tips or tricks to add? What kind of projects are you tackling this weekend? Hope you have a fabulous one!

 

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