Paint a Kid’s Room with Color

Plain white walls are a blank slate for you to use some imaginative touches in your child’s bedroom. Adding a splash of color will create a fun and inspiring atmosphere. With the right materials and a touch of your creativity, adding color to your child’s room is an easy do-it-yourself project that is as rewarding as it is fun.

Visit your local True Value hardware store for the expert advice and products you need to get your painting project started. Then follow the steps below.

Step 1. Choose a Color Scheme
One way you can choose a color or color scheme for your child's room is to take inspiration from the way color affects moods and perceptions. Here's an overview:

• Green. The color of nature, green is said to reinforce self-esteem and suggest hope, restfulness and calmness.
• Blue. Shades of blue, like the ocean and the sky, evoke feelings of calm, tranquility and spirituality, so they're good choices for restful bedroom.
• Red. Used as an accent to neutral colors, red can add some life to a kid's room.
• Yellow. Cheerful and dynamic, yellow is a great choice to brighten and warm any room. It's also said to be the color of intellectuals.
• White. White represents peace, faith, joy, cleanliness and purity. It reflects light, so it can make a room appear bright, cool and spacious. But it's also the hardest room color to keep clean with little ones around.
• Purple. Various shades of purple evoke different feelings. Children typically respond to the energy of bright purple.

Step 2. Prepare the Room 
Remove the furniture from the room before you start. If you can't get all the furniture out, move it to the center of the room and cover with drop cloths. Place drop cloths or tarps on the floor and remove window coverings, switch plates and outlet covers. Use painter's tape to protect windowsills, baseboards, door hinges and the ceiling perimeter.

< back to top

Step 3. Clean & Repair Walls
Properly cleaning and repairing surfaces is extremely important when painting since paint doesn't adhere to dirt. Using a sponge or cloth, wipe down your walls with mild detergent and water, letting it dry completely. If your walls have any cracks, holes or other damage, apply a spackling compound or acrylic caulk with a putty knife. Sand with fine sandpaper once it dries.

• If you need to make repairs, add an extra day to your plans to give the compound plenty of time to dry.

Step 4. Prime the Walls
For interior painting projects, you don't necessarily have to prime the walls before you paint. But doing so will make the paint adhere and wear better, an important consideration in a child's room. Priming is also advisable if your walls are stained or you're applying a light-colored paint on dark walls. Apply True Value EasyCare^® latex primer with a brush or roller. Apply the primer in 6-ft. square sections, using a zigzag pattern of overlapping "W" strokes. Move from right to left, then left to right, spreading evenly with horizontal strokes.

• Open the windows to make sure you'll be priming and painting in a well-ventilated area.

Step 5. Paint the Walls
If you're planning on painting the ceiling, start there before painting the walls. To reach the ceiling, you can either use an extension pole that is attached to a roller or set up scaffolding. Using True Value EasyCare^® latex paint, apply the paint just like you applied the primer.

"Feather" (apply less pressure to) the edges of the squares to eliminate overlapping lines between each section. To ensure even coverage, use light strokes to re-roll across the ceiling and from bottom to top of each wall. For semi-gloss and gloss finish paints, paint over the entire surface with one-directional, overlapping, non-diagonal strokes once again. For very large areas, do two square sections at a time. If your paint has a flat finish, you don't need to blend.

• Visit TrueValuePaint.com for color selection ideas and tips.
• Use our paint calculator to estimate how much paint you need before you begin the project.
• To prevent the paint from drying unevenly, avoid stopping while you're in the middle of painting a wall. Touch up any missed spots when the paint is still wet to ensure an even sheen.
• Before you begin painting a new wall, make sure you have enough paint left in the can to finish the entire wall. The same paint color can vary slightly from one can to another, so try not to use two different paint cans on one wall.

< back to top

Step 6. Apply Wall Brushwork
Use a brush to do wall brushwork in areas your roller can't reach, like the corners and next to the doors, windows and molding.

Step 7. Paint the Second Coat
If necessary, apply a second coat of paint using the same technique as the first. You don't have to let the paint dry completely between coats, but your results will be better the longer you wait to paint your second coat.

Step 8. Clean Up
You're almost done! Thoroughly rinse your roller covers and brushes in water until the water runs clear. Store in plastic bags or hang them on nails or hooks to dry. Remove the drop cloths and pull off the painter's tape at a 45-degree angle to avoid removing any fresh paint.

• So you don't waste paint, combine any leftovers in a mixing bucket and store properly. This will also come in handy when you need to make a touch up.

Nice work! You've created a colorful and cozy place where your kid to kick back. For all of your painting projects, head to your local True Value hardware store for the products and advice you need.

For more projects, go to TrueValuePaint.com. >

< back to top

print project | email