To Paint or Not?

Getting your house ready to put on the market is a big decision. Along with that decision, usually comes a few decisions that your United Country Midwest Lifestyle Properties agent will help you make. One of those decisions may be to paint or not?

If you have a high-end type home, everything must ‘shine like a new penny’. But for the average homeowner, painting might not be necessary. The decision to paint or not will depend on the market. If you have some extra money to spend, it never hurts to give high-traffic areas a fresh coat of paint.

Today we’ll talk about why you would want to paint the interior walls of your home and we’ll discuss all things paint: brands, types and types and finishes.

Why should I paint?

After I do the initial walk-through of your home, I will make my recommendations for anything that would be a potential hang-up for a buyer. Some hang-ups are: flooring, windows and the color of the interior walls. While we recognize every owner personalizes each home for selling your home, it’s about making your house appealing to someone else.

A fresh coat of paint boosts your home’s resale value and creates a welcoming impression showing that you valued and cared for your home. A professional painter will tell you that interior walls need to be repainted every 5-7 years and high-traffic areas like kitchens and hallways every 2-4 years.

You should paint any room that looks like the color is fading, be too ‘loud’ of a color, or perhaps a wall may need some small repairs- dings in the drywall, etc. We’ll take a walk around your homes interior and discuss where painting would be most effective.

United Country Midwest Lifestyle Property agents understand painting is time consuming and can be expensive. Let us give you a little help with what type of paint you should use and work with your budget on what you can afford to spend.

Where should I start?

For the average homeowner, high-traffic areas and the kitchen are two popular areas that need to be painted. The type of paint you use on your walls will be determined by the area you will be painting. Using a good brand of paint and proper prepping will determine the longevity, too.

Paint types

There are several types of paint: primer, oil-based, latex and acrylic. Use primer paint as a base coat on drywall before adding color to block stains and cover imperfections. It adheres well to smooth surfaces and is successful in covering metal, plastic and vinyl. It will give you a great starting point to apply a new color. Primer is an extra step, and it will require a few coats of your newest color to get a good finish.

Oil-based paints, because of the hard finish they produce, are excellent for covering baseboards, trim, doors, cabinets, woodwork, and floors. Though they have high VOCs, take longer to dry, and are hard to cleanup (you’ll need a solvent) as opposed to water clean-up of latex paints; oil-based paints adhere better and produce a glossy smooth finish.

Latex paint is a favorite for many folks as it has low VOCs; dries quicker than oil-based paints and offers quick water clean-up. Latex paint is also easier to apply and maintain, making it an affordable paint. There is a down-side to latex paint. Latex does not resist scratching or scrapes, and won’t adhere well to rough surfaces.

Acrylic paint, like latex paint, is water based. But unlike most latex paints, acrylic paint contains silicone oils, defoamers, and plasticizers. These additives make acrylic paint very flexible; even some level of resistance to damage, mold, UV rays and water. This makes it great exterior paint because of its durability, but is more expensive and difficult to work with.

Paint finishes

Once you’ve determined what type of paint you want, you can move on to the color, and then the type of finish you’d like. There are five types of finishes!

Flat/matte finish is non-reflective, making it great for hiding blemishes. It also has a low-luster finish and has high-color saturation, making it a rich-looking and sophisticated. It is the least durable of all the finishes because of its low-sheen. Flat finish paint is great is bedrooms and living rooms.

Eggshell has a little more sheen to it than flat/matte, which makes it more durable! You shouldn’t use eggshell finish in bathrooms or other humid locations. It’s widely popular in hallways, kitchens, bedrooms, and living rooms.

Satin, one step up from eggshell, and right in the middle of glossy paint and flat paint. Satin is so versatile and is a popular choice for bedrooms and living rooms. It’s tough enough to take on high-traffic areas, kitchens and staircases. Having a satin finish for your bathroom is an excellent choice! Its smooth, slightly reflective surfaces make it an easy keeper. Because it reflects light, you will want to fix any wall imperfections before you paint.

Semi-gloss is very impact, stain and water-resistant, because of its lower pigment concentration. This makes semi-gloss a perfect finish for trim, doors, and high-traffic areas. Semi-gloss and gloss are great for high-traffic areas and easily wiped clean if it gets dirty.

Gloss, our last finish, is the most reflective. Despite its less common use compared to the other finishes listed above, its stellar durability makes gloss the primary choice for interior molding and trim. Gloss will not produce rich colors and can be fussy to work with.

Brands

There are many excellent brands to choose from, here are the top ten according to Honest Brand Reviews, July 3rd, 2024: Sherwin Williams, Benjamin Moore, Behr, Glidden, Rust-Oleum, PPG Diamond, Valspar, Kilz, and Diamond Bright.

Whatever brand, color or finish you chose, it will add to the look and value of your home. A worthy investment in our book!

Your local hardware store paint supplier will be an excellent source for painting advice, just like your United Country Midwest Lifestyle Properties agent is an outstanding local real estate resource! Tap into our expertise and top-notch, award-winning real estate service! Call us at 608-742-5000 and see why people and properties are our two favorite investments.