Color changes everything. Or lack of color, if that’s your thing. Point is, everyone knows you can give your drab, washed-out walls a burst of brilliant depth (or wash away your decorating sins with virgin white) just by picking up a paint can and having at them. That’s the power of a coat of paint: It rearranges your reality. Which is why painting is the most oft-tackled DIY home-improvement project.


While you don’t have to be a pro to learn how to paint like one, there is more to a good paint job than just slathering some color on the wall. That’s where we come in. On the following pages, This Old House technical editor Mark Powers shows how to coat your walls expertly in one weekend, from the first scratch of the pole sander to the final feather of the brush. And you won’t be wasting time taping off every corner or backtracking with the touch-up brush like an amateur. As long as you stay organized and methodical, you’ll be able to get on with the satisfying business of transforming your room—and with it your whole outlook.


Walls: Clarksville Gray (HC-102) in eggshell; trim: Abingdon Putty (HC-99) in satin; both from Benjamin Moore

Next Skill Builder: Using a Paint Roller Like a ProSkill Builder: Stay-Fresh Paint RollerSkill Builder: Screening PaintSkill Builder: Paintbrush SaverSkill Builder: Previewing Interior Paint ColorsNeed More Info? Ask a question on Painting & Finishing Tools