I am going to apologize in advance: If you think yellow is the bomb-diggety and is the BEST COLOR EVER to paint your interior walls…. You are wrong. If it was 1980, maybe.
But I’m here to tell you, beige, or rather hopsack from Valspar paint, is the best interior color on the planet. Not only for everyday living, but for resale. My buddy Girly Girl thinks so too. In fact just about every model home she does the interior design work for… she chooses the color hopsack as well. Girly Girl and I are practically twins. Okay, so maybe she wouldn’t be caught dead in a pair of 3 year old Paul Frank pajama bottoms and a tattered puffy coat at 2 in the afternoon but hey, great minds think alike.
Last winter on one my trips to our home on the east coast I painted over the barfaliciuos yellow paint and it totally changed the way I felt about the room. Instead of scrunching up my nose every time I went in there, I felt…happy. Best of all, it only took a day…one single day to feel better about life. Not too shabby of a commitment if you ask me.
Now, I just plan on working on a small project every time I head back east. I figure, in a couple of years, I can erase all of the things I hated about the house, and make it mine. Mine all mine! {Insert villain laugh here.}
In case you’ve never tackled painting your own walls, I am here to say: a monkey could do it. Or, at least a semi-nutso girl in monkey pajamas.
Supplies I like to have on hand:
- Paint {duh}
- Primer {if I am painting over a color that requires it, or painting a new color that requires it–just ask your friendly Home Depot representative if you need it for the color you’ve chosen}
- Paint can opener
- Stir Stick
- Wall spackle {to fill any holes}
- Roller
- Cutting brush
- Painter’s tape
- Sanding block
- Metal paint tray
- Plastic liner for said paint tray {because cleaning out re-usable paint trays is not worth it}
- Drop cloth
Start by patching any holes left over from pictures that were hung. Press the spackle into the hole, until you have built up a nice flat wall surface again. Then, let it DRY COMPLETELY before painting. If the holes are large, you may want to grab a putty knife to smooth the spackle. Once the spackle is dry, you can go over it lightly with the sanding block to smooth any roughness.
While your spackle is drying, tape off the room. It might be tempting to skip this step, because you think you have the steadiness of a brain surgeon. I assure you, you don’t. Take the time and tape off the room. Tape around ALL of the molding–windows, doors, baseboards. This will save you A LOT of work in the end.
Remove all of the plates from the outlets. That way, you can get in nice and close. Then, when you put them back on, the paint will look seamless.
Now lay your drop cloth on the floor. Painting comes with the weirdest “splashes,” so don’t skip this step either. Those splatters can ruin carpet really quick. Just cover it up and limit your losses. Make sure to get the drop cloth tucked right into the corner of the room and butt it up right against the baseboards.
Cut out one wall at a time {you’ll roll each wall before you move onto cutting out the next wall to ensure a uniform finish}, using the small paint brush and some paint poured into a plastic or cardboard disposable cup.
Oh, and don’t skimp on the quality of this paint brush. Cheap brushes will give you a cheap finish. Plain and simple. Cutting out the room just means painting around all of the tricky areas, like windows, ceilings and baseboards. Try to go a good 2-3″ out from whatever you are cutting around, because it will make it easier to roll the rest of the room without mishaps.
Once the spackle is dry and you’ve cut out the wall, it’s time to roll on the paint. Nest the plastic tray liner into the metal paint pan and pour some paint into it. Get paint on your roller. It should be on there nice and thick. Then, for the first roll especially, roll it out nice and slow, so it doesn’t splatter everywhere.
It’s best to roll in a V or W pattern on your wall, rather than up and down in straight lines. It will give you a more uniform finish. If you chose a color that requires a primer, you’ll have to do that step first, let it dry, then roll your actual paint on.
Finish one wall completely before moving onto the next wall. I personally like to choose the hardest wall {the one with the most cutting} first, because my motivation and patience are high in the beginning, but quickly go bye-bye as the day wears on. Make sure to adjust your drop cloth as you move walls.
Once you are done, you can allow the paint to dry out completely in the plastic trays and toss them in the garbage {they have to be dry to put them in the garbage, otherwise, you’ll have to dispose of them via the hazardous waste rules in your area}.
A fresh coat of paint really does change the way a place feels. Later yellow, hello Mr. Neutral.
~Mavis
Need a few more tips to get you started? Check out my Top 10 Painting Tips for extra tricks and tidbits.
Leslie says
When we moved into this house, we had to face horrible paint colors. Faded Safety Vest orange in the dining room. Old Guacamole Green in the kitchen and bath. Too Much Robin’s Egg blue in our bedroom. And Egg Salad yellow in the living room, other bedroom, and hall. The basement and basement stairwell was pale pink, and all the ceilings and trim upstairs were a dingy cream. And the fireplace was tan. Ugh.
For me, the ideal color is gray. It’s so calm, and soothing. I just love a gray room!
Victoria says
I’m with you as far as neutral paint, though I personally lean more white and gray. Grew up in a house with only beige and navy blue everywhere, so I’m so very done with those colors. But you are right, beige is totally legit for resale.
Catherine Foster says
I’ve done a lot of painting over the years and have done most of your good tips. I started by washing out my paint trays, but then started putting down heavy foil, instead of buying plastic insert trays–a combination of being cheap and ecological. The plastic inserts are well, just more plastic, and took up more room in the trash. Foil balls up pretty small. I’ll have to try Hopsack. My favorite creamy neutral is Shortbread, which was my paint store guy’s recommended color as well.
Amy says
Thank you for the foil tip Catherine!
Alison R. says
We have lived in 9 houses (yes 9!).
When we moved into this one:
Kitchen: St. Patrick’s Day green
Breakfast Room: Lime sherbet green
Dining Room: Top was muddy peach, bottom was old guacamole
Office: Barney the dinosaur purple
Master: Electrified turquoise
We are painting room by room, and yes: all neutrals.
Calm is good (and for resale too!) lol
Marcia says
omg this made me lol
Leslie says
Gah! I’m sure the house thanks you for lowering it’s blood pressure.
Wendy says
Mavis, I’d like to share my tip for painting rooms. I like to keep a wrung-out, wet rag around to wipe up any stray drips of paint. It’s a lifesaver!
Kitty says
I usually like your tips, but… Dump the beige. It is so 1980s & 1990s, When I go in a house and it’s painted beige I want to run screaming out or go to sleep! Paint it white if you can’t handle color. Please don’t encourage people to paint walls beige.
Teckla says
I think it depends on the person. Both white and beige come in a variety of “colors/shades” I personally find stark white terribly depressing/unsettling. For me, beige is better, although if it gets too dark toward brown or gold I get really uncomfortable. I’m personally a fan of Walmart’s “Suede” which has a very slight pink undertone. Beige may be 80s or 90s, but it works for a lot of people and is good for resale. Each to his own said the old woman as she kissed the cow! LOL
Jane says
We just moved into a new house and I am systematically covering the “not me” colors with whites and neutrals. I can handle one wall pops of color that I usually change up. That’s about it. I like my colors in my decor.
Marie says
Remove the lid from a metal gallon paint can using the opener available in the paint department (not a screwdriver). Drill a few holes evenly spaced in the rim of the paint can (where the lid seats onto the can). When you pour the paint into a smaller container, roller pan or simply closing it up for the end of the day the paint drips through the holes back into the can and does not clog up under the rim between the lid and the can! Aids in keeping excess air out of can for longer storage time too.
Also, place your paint brush under a running faucet to wet briefly. Shake out excess water, dry with a painting rag & then dip into the paint. Smooth, even finish on the walls! Spritz your roller lightly too with water, shake, wipe and load up with latex paint! Makes cleanup a breeze.
If your phone rings or kids need your attention, place roller/paint brush in a plastic bag, secure and place in the freezer. “Defrost” if left overnight & it’s ready for you to pick up where you left off!
Shell says
My house is all a pale beige. Yuck! I feel like I am living in a big baked potato every time I walk in. We are going with an off white soon.
Leslie says
Lol
Jennifer says
Lol–everyone is so particular about paint colors! My favorite beige for now is Clark Kensington’s Lampshade. BUT my painter guy says gray is extremely on trend right now. I agree and I’m into it.
Em says
Yay! My house is so old, it’s back in style again!
Maria says
my living room is painted shortbread. Has been shortbread for 16 years. I am thinking of having the whole interior of the house painted white. All of it. Bomb it white and be done with it. But if I wanted to paint it stripper yellow, I would because it’s my house and what I think is fabulous is all that matters. When I am dead and you buy my house and want to paint it whatever color, then knock yourself out.
BTW–until I started reading your blog I didn’t know you could make a principal payment on the mortgage. I started doing that last year and paid off the mortgage on July 1st. Thanks for the tip.
Sharon@MLT says
I actually love a white and yellow kitchen. It’s just a clean cheerful delightful retro look.
My entire house is done in a vivid white. Off white generally looks dirty to me. And beige, neverever.
But I’m with Maria, what makes you happy is it. And if it is Jungle Boy green, so be it. (That is a real paintcolor btw.)
Pamela says
I was just thinking I would love my kitchen to be yellow! So sunny and happy!
Brianna says
I am house hunting and hoping to buy our first house within the next 18 months. I see so many houses that look like condiments blew up on the walls ketchup red, mustard yellow, relish green, blueberry, chocolate brown, pepto pink, Crush orange, etc. It deters me because I have to think about the cost to prime and paint that wall and I would rather not live with those colors. I was amazed at how expensive it would be when I used a paint calculator for several rooms. I definitely have to keep it in mind for my house budget because I cannot stand bold or bright colors.
Lisa Millar says
Ha!!
When we were house hunting, the only conclusion I could come up with is that Tasmania was the dumping ground for all the leftover paint that the rest of Australia didn’t want and put it on sale!!
You really had to get past the interior colours when deciding on a house.
I have mostly repainted all the rooms now, but our bedroom is still a ‘gunna’ job (as in I am gunna do it sometime) The floors ceilings and dado’s are beautiful timber. The rest is purple! A REALLY ugly purple. Along with the burgundy curtains it just looks like a bad boudoir !!
Walls that I have painted are now a much much lighter cream – not a yellow cream, a warm cream. The timber is now the feature!!
Erin says
I disagree. I moved to Denmark and everyone’s walls are white. Talk about boring! Everything feels clinical and not homey or cozy at all! Give me color any day! I would rather have a crazy home with a bunch of color, than a house with the same color or white or beige. My personal opinion though, to each their own.
Linda says
For yrs every time we moved some wall in house was that awful gold. I don’t even like yellow. One wall is was awful dark purple- One day i grabbed my toddler son and went to paint store, we rented, I wasn’t going to repaint.
Lisa M.T.B. says
My least favorite colors for walls are brick red, chocolate brown, and brownish green, which I have seen mostly as accent walls. I guess these colors were popular about ten years ago. We have a few walls that are brownish green in our current home (previous owner’s choice) and I really need to get motivated to do something about that, lol. We got so tired of painting when we were working on fixing up our old place (to sell) that neither of us want to take it on.
While we were shopping for our first home, I remember seeing a kid’s bedroom painted black with multi-colored graffiti … yeah, we didn’t buy that place, but the layout was also terrible.
HeatherH says
Just went to our hardware store. They sell Valspar, but not Hopsack. They couldn’t find it in their computer either. 🙁
Perhaps I live in the boonies!!
Cathy says
Greige is the newest trend in house colors.
Gray + beige = Greige.
Personally I love color! I know if I ever want to sell my house I’m going to have to repainted everything.