Home Improvement DIY: Tips on Painting Over Red Walls

by Sky Seery on May 2nd, 2011 | 4 Comments »

Red walls are beautiful. They are bold and make a statement. Several years ago I painted our entryway red. I had a vision, but that vision didn't look as great as I thought it would in the end. I didn't take into account the fact that the wood trim would remain in it's original state, making the room dark and feel even smaller than it really was. Red walls/rooms look fantastic if they have crisp white mouldings. When it was all said and done, it took around eight coats to give an even red color and a full day of work. At the time, I swore that room would stay red forever, this girl was officially turning in her paint brush!

Eight years later and I'm ready for a change. Oh, I've been wanting to change that entryway for a good year but it took some time to talk my husband into helping me. We decided to continue the Café au Lait color from our front room into this small entryway.

We began by wiping the walls with warm water and soap. Next, we taped the woodwork and laid down dropcloths. For this project we used a Zinsser primer. I firmly believe that a good primer is key to a successful paint job. Essentially, a primer seals off the old paint, preventing "bleeding". Sometimes, red paint will seep through paint and no amount of painting over it will help. Over time the color will continue to come through. By using a primer and a good one at that, you are wiping the slate clean. Starting over fresh and giving your new color the stage. Due to the fact that we had nearly eight coats of red paint on the wall, we erred with the side of caution and gave the walls two coats of primer.

Once the primer was dried, I started cutting in the lower parts of the walls. Instead of grabbing a step-stool, I passed the bucket of paint to my husband when I couldn't reach anymore. I must say, it's pretty handy having a husband who is 6'8"! Then we gave the kids rollers and let them paint since kids love to paint. Word of caution: make sure you keep a wet rag close by.

In the end, two coats of primer and two coats of color were used. I adore the end look because it's much brighter and the small area seems bigger. The painting was a project that only took a couple of hours and gave our entryway a new, brighter, and welcoming look!

What home interior and exterior painting mishaps have you encountered in the past? What are your favorite colors to use when painting rooms in a house?

Sky Seery owns Seeryus Mama, a blog about life as a midwestern mama and the products that go along with it. Born and raised in Nebraska, it's home. Sky is married to Brandon and they are slowly updating their home with the hopes of building in the near future. They have two children, a tween and a toddler and one spoiled schnauzer. Sky works part-time as a librarian and is also attending college with the hopes of one day earning her Master's in Library Science degree.