Choosing Paint

A fresh coat of paint can dramatically change the look of your home - and for the least amount of money. I plan to paint all six rooms of my home - all with a different color scheme. This will make paint a little more pricey. You could probably get more bang for your buck by choosing one color and painting the whole house. Additionally, you could opt to check out your local paint store for already mixed colors. They tend to sell those for much cheaper. They are usually "Oopsies" or cans of paint that weren't purchased by the customers who requested them.

One hurdle I have to clear - nicotine stains on the walls. The previous owners of my home were fairly heavy smokers. My walls are quite obviously stained orange. You can google for some nicotine removal strategies like I did, or you can just check out this link: Removing Nicotine From Walls. I already attempted to wash my walls - mainly those in the dining room area where the majority of the smoking took place. Because I plan to repaint the walls anyways, I tried a sink full of very hot water, bleach and pine-sol. It did make a difference, but a heavy coat of primer (or 2... or 3...) will be required in order to cover the stains. Whatever you do, be prepared to destroy whatever you use to clean the walls. I made the poor choice to scrub the walls using my sponge mop so I could reach the full height of the wall. I completely destroyed said mop.

I did some research for good primers to use and I'm honestly still undecided. It seems a case by case scenario greatly affects the outcome of each brand's use. I've heard both good and bad about several brands so I'm not really sure what will be best. I'd suggest talking to your local paint store about it and seeing what they reccomend. One thing I do know, I will be covering the walls in very thick layers of primer to even out some of the dings and scratches - and more importantly keeping the remaining nicotine from soaking through.

As far as choosing colors is concerned, stores like Lowe's and Home Depot have great color booklets that you can pick up for free. They have some good ideas in them. Additionally, you can get great color ideas using your favorite household accesories, bedding set, etc. You can take a pillow or picture of a piece of furniture to the store and use it to find matching and coordinating colors to enhance the room.

Most importantly... Choose colors you like that work well for the room you plan to use them in. Use colors to bring warmth to open spaces, light to small areas and life to dull areas of your home. The right colors can drastically change and enhance your home for a small price.