5 Proper Tips for Painting Your Home on Chicago's North Shore

Summer is typically the season that North Shore homeowners decide to tackle all of the necessary home improvement projects. Whether they include landscaping, cleaning out the garage or renovating the kitchen, each project has a proper way to achieve the look you want.

Painting is no exception either! If the rooms in your North Shore home could use a fresh coat of paint this summer, keep the following in mind to achieve great results and impress your guests (and if you're planning to sell, homebuyers!).

Clean the ceiling and walls
Before you can start rolling on a fresh coat of paint, it's important to clean the surfaces you intend to makeover. Remove any dust, dirt or grease spots as they can ruin the look of a smooth finish. You can clean these spots with water, a mild dishwashing detergent and a sponge. After, simply rinse with water to remove residue.

Cut in around the edges
Using a two inch trim brush, "cut in" with about three inches of paint along the edges where the ceiling meets the wall. Alternate between cutting in and painting the ceiling to keep a wet edge and prevent any lines from showing.

Paint the ceiling width-wise
Remove any excess paint on your roller by rolling it back and forth on the paint tray. Make sure you're painting across the width of the ceiling, instead of length-wise, and roll across your body instead of along your body. Start near the corner of the room and always blend the paint into the ceiling line painted prior.

Next, the walls
Once the ceiling has dried, "cut in" once again with a trim brush in the corner of the room where you started. Cut in about two to three inches from doors, windows and moldings and then use your roller to fill in the rest of the field.

Paint the trim
You can begin painting the trim when the walls have dried, using painter's tape to tape along the where the trim meets the wall. Start by painting the tops of the doors and windows first and then work your way down so you can remove drips as you go. The baseboards should be the last thing you paint.

Giving your home in Glencoe, Winnetka, Deerfield, Northbrook, Highland Park a fresh coat of paint is just one of many ways to impress homebuyers on the North Shore this summer. If you have questions about the real estate market or how you can go about selling your home, do not hesitate to contact me!

Janie Bress
Your North Shore Real Estate Expert

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