Painting & Decorating · 6 min read · Beginner
How to Paint a Room (Beginner’s Complete Guide)
The step-by-step process for achieving a smooth, streak-free professional finish from ceiling to skirting.
Open the related Get Your Project Right calculator
Key points & steps
- Empty or pull furniture into the centre of the room and lay heavy-duty canvas dust sheets.
- Wash walls with sugar soap, fill any nail holes or hairline cracks, and lightly sand when dry.
- Apply low-tack masking tape to skirting boards, architrave, and socket surrounds.
- Paint the ceiling first using a roller with an extension pole, working along the shortest edge.
- Cut in around the wall edges with a 2-inch angled cutting-in brush in manageable 1–2 metre sections.
- Roll the main wall areas in a "W" or "M" pattern to spread paint evenly without roller lines.
- Allow the first coat to dry completely (usually 2–4 hours) before applying the second coat.
Practical tips
- Never press hard on the roller. Let the paint-saturated sleeve do the work.
- Keep a wet edge: avoid letting cut-in edges dry before rolling the adjacent wall section.
- Remove masking tape while the second coat is still slightly tacky to prevent tearing dry paint.
What you may need
- Emulsion paint (Matt or Eggshell)
- 9-inch medium pile roller & tray
- 2-inch angled synthetic cutting-in brush
- Telescopic extension pole
- Sugar soap & sponge
- Decorator’s filler & flexible filling knife
- 120-grit sandpaper & sanding block
- Low-tack painter’s masking tape
- Heavyweight cotton dust sheets