Prepping bare wood

To prepare wood for painting, lightly sand wood with fine sandpaper. Seal wood with a water-based sealer, making sure to cover front, back, and edges and use flat or foam brushes to apply. The sealer makes the grain rise so sand the wood a second time and wipe again with tack cloth.

Painting Tips & Ideas

Caring for Paintbrushes

Chalkboard Paint
A chalkboard is great for jotting down notes and a great place for kids to draw, but they can be expensive. An easy and inexpensive way to make your own is with chalkboard paint! It looks like any other spray paint, but it dries to a chalkboard finish...

Choosing Paint Colors
Painting a room can be a big project if you don't know where to begin. I have some advice...

Color Washing
If you thought color washing was a difficult paint technique to achieve, think again...

Discontinued Wallpaper Books
Discontinued wallpaper books have page after page of untapped potential for your home. I'll tell you a few of my ideas...

Estimate Wallpaper
You think you're ready to wallpaper, but you're not sure where to start...

Hanging Border
Hanging a wallpaper border is an easy project that can give any room a whole new look...

Lumpy Paint
One of the best ways to ensure a great paint finish is to make sure that you start out with smooth paint...

Magnetic Paint
If the fridge has become command central and you can't even see the door anymore, make a magnetic memo board, it's really easy...

Painting tips & tricks of the day

When you accidentally drip paint on an adjacent surface, wipe it off immediately. Otherwise it can start to dry and will be much more difficult to remove later.

Brushes and rollers can last through many projects if properly cared for. Clean them thoroughly. Wrap and store brushes in a paper towel to help them maintain their cutting edge.

When painting with dramatically different colors, apply the lighter color first and the darker color last.