7 STEPS: Painting Your Bedroom Trim DIY

I have been painting up a storm at our house! And I know you’re wondering what I could possibly be painting since we have a completely new downstairs! But what about the upstairs? Well someone was going to have to paint the new SW Snowbound trim color on all of the trim upstairs (doors, closets, & ceilings), and unfortunately that person was me – lol! But I know you can do it, & save yourself a ton of money too! Let’s get to it! 7 STEPS: Painting Your Bedroom Trim DIY.

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7 STEPS: Painting Your Bedroom Trim DIY

So why am I painting trim?

There are three main reasons for this painting craziness:

Since we flooded, we changed all of our old trim color downstairs.
Because we flooded/remodeled, hiring a painter is not in the budget.
Remember how I tend to have these genius new year resolutions of “getting organized??” LOL!!

If you put these 3 circumstances together (and you are slightly insane) you decide to paint all of the upstairs trim, closets, ceilings, doors, and vanities yourself!!

7 STEPS: Painting Your Bedroom Trim DIY

First Things First: Paint

***For this project I used: Sherwin Williams Snowbound (SW 7004)***

OIL-BASED SEMI-GLOSS: Bedroom – Baseboards, Door Frames, All Doors
LATEX SATIN: Closet – (ceiling, walls, shelves, door frames)
LATEX FLAT: Bedroom Ceiling

These are the paint quantities that I have used at my house (upstairs):

1 gallon oil-based paint covers ~3-4 rooms and doors
1 gallon latex satin covers ~ 4 closets
1 gallon latex flat covers ~ 2 ceilings

Second: Ventilate

Please do not skip this tip!!

Oil-based paint is very strong-smelling and could make you sick.
Open a couple of windows while working and put a standing fan in the room with you.
The fan will help especially when painting the closet where the space is closed up.

Third: Protect Your Flooring

Note: We are getting new carpet, so I did not have to worry about saving the carpet with drop cloths.
But the paint splatter from the ceiling and doors will be messy, so protect your flooring!!

7 STEPS: Painting Your Bedroom Trim DIY

Supplies:

Paint: oil-based, latex satin, latex flat – 1 GALLON each
2 – 2 1/2″ angled brushes (1-oil, 1- latex) – combo set
3″ brush (oil)
large roller brush, handle, & tray, liners
large roller extender *optional* (for ceiling)
small roller brush, handle, & tray
refills (large & small roller brushes)
plastic (cover furniture)
canvas drop cloths for carpet
painter’s tape
paint brush cleaner – OIL only
ladder/step stool
goggles (for ceilings)

So let’s get to it! Here are my 7 STEPS: Painting Your Bedroom Trim DIY.

7 STEPS: Painting Your Bedroom Trim DIY

7 Steps:

Prep Area
Paint All Baseboards & Door Frames – 1st coat
Paint entire CLOSET & ceiling – 1st coat (latex)
Paint CLOSET baseboards – 2nd coat (oil)
Paint bedroom BASEBOARDS – 2nd coat
Paint bedroom CEILING (one coat only)
Paint All DOORS (2 coats)

Step #1: Prep Area

Move all furniture to middle of room – including closet
Cover all furniture with plastic
Vacuum – really good (especially where carpet meets baseboards)
Clean all baseboards and closet shelves – with a little soap and water on rag
Tape down carpet at baseboards – 2 layers
Put down canvas drop cloths

***NOTE*** We are getting new carpet, so I did not have to worry about saving the carpet with drop cloths. The paint splatter from the ceiling and doors will be messy, so protect your flooring!!

Step #2 : Paint Bedroom Baseboards & All Door Frames

TIME FRAME: 3-4 Hours

Paint all of the baseboards and door frames with the OIL-BASED paint.

I used the 2 1/2″ angles brush for the top part of the baseboards and sides of door frames (where frame meets wall) to get a straighter line. You can used tape if you want – it’s just personal preference.
I used the 3″ brush for the bottom (wider) part of the baseboard to make it easier, and less brush strokes.

TIP: Since you will be working with TWO paint brushes, use the lid of the paint can to store the 2nd paint brush. I just slid the paint can around the room with me so that I would have both brushes near me at all times.

LET DRY OVERNIGHT

Step #3: Paint Closet & Closet Ceiling

TIME FRAME: 2 Hours

Paint the walls, closet ceiling, shelves, rod, and baseboards with LATEX SATIN paint.

I used another 2 1/2″ angled paint brush for all of the corners, shelves, rod, and baseboards.
Then I used a foam roller brush for the walls and ceiling.

***NOTE*** I used all of the same paint in the closet for the first coat to make it easier. If you want to leave it with latex paint, skip STEP 4. I painted the baseboards and rod with oil-based paint for a second coat (just because I thought they would get the most scratched).

LET DRY OVERNIGHT

Steps #4 -5: Paint Closet Baseboards/Bedroom Baseboards & Door Frames (2nd Coat)

TIME FRAME : 3 Hours

Paint all of the bedroom baseboards and door frames again (2nd coat) with the OIL-BASED paint AND paint the closet baseboards/closet rod.

The second coat goes on much faster than the first coat – yay!!
It will also look whiter and will cover the pre-existing scratches better.

TIP: Oil-based paint is more durable than latex paint so I decided that the closet baseboards and rod would get the most use. I didn’t want wire coat hangers to scratch the paint off of the rod (painted with latex), or baseboards to get banged up either. Once again, personal preference.

LET DRY OVERNIGHT

Step #6: Paint Bedroom Ceilings

TIME FRAME: 3 Hours

Use LATEX FLAT paint for the ceilings.

Paint corners, tops and sides of door frames with 2 1/2″ angled brush to get into crevices. The angled brush also helps to keep paint lines straighter – especially where the wall meets the ceiling.
Then use the large roller brush.

***NOTE*** I only did one coat for the ceiling, but make sure you put a decent amount of paint on your roller brush to cover existing paint color. Ceilings are very textured and will require more paint to cover the bumps.

LET DRY OVERNIGHT

Hang in there – you’re almost done!!

Step # 7: Paint All Doors

TIME FRAME: 2 Hours (for 4 doors)

Paint the doors using the OIL-BASED paint, and do 2 coats.

My doors have an arch in them, so I painted the inset first with a brush.
Then I painted all of the flat surfaces with the smaller roller brush.

The roller brush was the bomb – it was the perfect size for painting the door!! Plus, no brush strokes!!

You can tape off the door handle, take it off, or just paint around it (like me) using the angled paint brush. I kept some paper towels and old rags around to wipe excess paint off of mine.

TIP: Don’t forget to do the inside and outside parts of the door…..as well as the hinges. I painted 2 coats on these also.

LET DRY OVERNIGHT, and paint the 2nd coat the next day.