Okay, how do you determine...

[Rajah]

... how much paint it will take to paint a room?

I want to paint my craft room in either a light blue or a soft teal. My desire to spruce up my craft room has been growing and growing lately, so I'd like to look into it.

How do you know how much paint to get? The room's about 12" x 11", with a large window and two doors.

 

[DoeWDW]

Tammi, how high is the ceiling?

 

[Rajah]

Ummm... I think 9"

 

[Rajah]

Bah. And, of course, you recognize that each time I've been saying " (inches) I've been meaning ' (feet)



Sigh. Gonna be a long week, I can tell.

 

[Mishetta]

Gee, I would guess one gallon & you'd have plenty left over! Of course, we always do a white ceiling, but even still....not more than 1 gallon would do it.

 

[Serena]

Tammi, take your measurements to the store and on the back of the cans, they tell you about how much you need. Or one of the nice gentlemen there can help you figure it out. They help me all the time, when I'm doing something.

 

[CEDmom]

Try going to www.benjaminmoore.com they have a paint calculator as well as all their colors online.

 

[DoeWDW]

Okay, let's see -

12' x 9' = 108 square feet x 2 walls = 216 square feet.
11' x 9' = 99 square feet x 2 walls = 198 square feet.
216 square feet + 198 square feet = 414 square feet.

The windows & door probably account for about 14 square feet so when you go to get the paint, tell them you need to cover about 400 square feet.

If you get a really good quality paint that will cover in one coat, you'll need less. The people that sell the paint should know how much you'll need if you give them the square footage.

If my math is wrong, I'm sure someone here will correct it.

Hope it turns out beautiful!!

 

[doxdogy]

Here you go. A paint calculator. Never used it before, but it allows for one or two coats of paint.

http://www.remodelonline.com/directories/construction/paint_calculator.html

 

[Crankyshank]

A lot of it depends on the paint and the color and the walls. Some walls just absorb the paint and you have to do more coats than you would using something else.

I would think you'd be fine with a gallon, but you may want to just double check with the salesperson when you buy it

 

[Rajah]

Thanks everyone. I just found the Behr color calculators and color play-thing where you can test out your colors on a sample room. How *cool* is that.

Next question -- I *know* for a fact *someone* on the DIS here has used this because that's where I heard of them, but I don't remember *who*.

Somewhere out there is some kind of painting set that will allow you to essentially make your walls two-toned where the colors overlap. Like clouds or texture. You use the regular roller to put the main color up, then use their special roller to put up the accent/texture/etc.

Anyone have any idea what I'm talking about? I'm considering trying that out, too, to give it some variety.

Any things to keep in mind when painting a room? Besides obviously usint painter's tape to cover up the trim when you're not painting it, put drop-cloths on the floor below where you're painting, let it dry fully, etc? It's been...oh...nearly 20 years since I helped paint a room, and that was *my* room when I wanted it pink before we even moved to Texas. I was, oh, 9 or 10 at the time. LOL!

 

[jsmith]

you are talking about sponging or ragging on paint-you paint the room with a base color-like light blue-then with a sponge or a special rag roller you put an accent glaze color on the wall over it-it looks really cool-i want to do this in a bedroom.

 

[Rajah]

Very similar, only this was a kit that came with a second roller that had the texture you added on. Same idea, just a little easier.

 

[Lanshark]

Wall Magic. I've done a 20 foot high foyer and my kitchen. It looks great but it took many tries before I got the look I wanted.

 

[speedi-deedi]

I used a product called a Woolie. You basically put some splotches of paint on the wall of each color you want to mix in, and then use this "Woolie" to blend it and work it in. My sister and I have both used it....we're amazed at how much faster it is than sponging or ragging. I think the key is that you're not painting 'layer by layer'. You do everything at once. You can control how much of each color shows up by using more or less of certain paint when you do the 'splotches' step.

You know, I can tell by writing this that the Woolie Co. will not be hiring me to do their technical writing. LOL.

 

[jamsmom]

One can tell I have never painted because I was thinking a gallon per wall.

 

[disneychrista]

Twice as much as you would think you'd need

I just got done painting our new (to us) house and so far I am at about $500 in paint. My Mickey Red Room took 5 gallons alone and it is just an "average" size master bedroom. Of course we paint over dark blue for one wall and I was told that it wouldn't need to be primed (WRONG!!).

 

[disykat]

For some reason I think it may have been binny that did the paint techniques - I kind of remember some posts about it too.

 

[Jeafl]

I am the queen of faux finishes! One of my current favorites is the tone on tone stripe. You paint the whole room whatever color you want then tape off either vertical or horizontal stripes with painter's tape. Paint every other stripe with a thin coat of polyurethane. It gives the effect of a solid, but with the texture of a stripe. It's very easy.

Also, bagging is VERY easy. Let me know if you would like detailed instructions. If I lived closer, I'd come over and help you!

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I do know that when my painter came over he told me the secret to a clean look is to use good new rollers and to paint the entire wall (corner to corner) completely and quickly before it dries.

If your teal is dark then you might consider priming with the proper color. Doesn't sound like you need it though.
For example we did a dark burgundy and it was primed with a grey primer. It took 3 coats but the color is very rich because the grey ensures that the burgundy does not have a pink hue.