Home painting ideas: here's what you'll need to update a room in your home with paint — what to buy and how to prep

London saw a huge surge in paint sales during the first few weeks of UK coronavirus lockdown — though with paint shops forced to close, their customers are opting for home deliveries.

Perfect interior painting has never been for time-poor people, especially inexperienced DIYers.

However, the war on coronavirus means that many homeowners, instructed to stay at home to save lives, can now explore websites at their leisure for advice that’s often dispensed through well-produced video clips.

The rules of painting remain pretty basic: read the invaluable small print on the can; go slowly — and don’t overload your brush with paint or it could drip, splash or splatter.

You can set up your favourite music, take plenty of breaks and stop when the daylight fades. There is a reason professional painters start so early and finish at 4pm.

1. How to prep your room

Cover everything including yourself. Use a shower cap for your head.

Pull carpet away from walls. Wash down painted walls with warm, soapy water, starting from the top. Walls must be dry, smooth and clean.

If woodwork surfaces are flaking, lightly sand them.

Put quick-dry filler into holes and level off with an old credit card.

Edge woodwork with masking tape. Then take a break to let everything dry out.

2. How to paint woodwork

Apply primer/undercoat, with a medium angled brush for a clean edge. You may need two coats.

During breaks wrap brushes in clingfilm or old plastic bags to stop them drying out.

Once primer is completely dry, lightly sand and wipe.

Apply top coat. Leave to dry, wash brushes.

Remove masking tape before paints gets completely dry.

3. How to paint your walls

Decant paint into a smaller container, then “cut in” your colour, not too thickly, with an angled one- or two-inch brush along ceiling, corners and skirting.

Before it’s completely dry, use a roller and emulsion to fill in the rest, painting a “W” shape on the wall.

Go over that with an “M” shape, adding vertical lines to fill in gaps, then reload your roller and do the next section in the same way, keeping edges “wet”.

Too much paint on a roller will drip and splash, so lightly roll the head until saturated but not dripping.

When using a brush, paint should only cover halfway up the bristles. Wipe any splashes off woodwork while they’re still damp.

Let everything dry overnight. Seal roller and brushes in an airtight plastic bag overnight, or wash out well.

Finally, apply an extra coat, or coats, to the walls and touch up the woodwork.

For an up-to-date list of suppliers still selling paint, click here.

Dulux is Britain’s favourite paint brand with around 53,500 online searches a month for its top 10 shades. Polished Pebble — a chic, modern grey — remains London’s top choice.

Dulux has suspended deliveries temporarily due to demand but there are many other brands to choose from.

Sisters Ella and Molly Shillingford have paint in their blood. Their mother, Marianne Shillingford, is the hugely popular creative director of Dulux.

She’s currently posting DIY inspiration and answering queries on Instagram — see @m_shillingford.

Ella, 27, an insurance broker and Molly, 23, a fashion assistant, bought their three-bedroom Thirties ex-council flat in Hackney two-and-a-half years ago.

“We love how cosy it feels on the first floor in the evening light. Even white paint looks warm.”

The flat hadn’t been redecorated since the Seventies, “which may sound cool,” they say, “but definitely wasn’t.”

They knew modernisation would be a big job.

“Everything was tired, outdated and needed renovating, from the plumbing to the decorating.”

Determined to do it themselves, bit by bit and learning on the go, they stripped walls, ripped out the fireplace and entirely redid the kitchen.

“Our aim is a space filled with character to reflect our personalities” — they agree Molly is “whimsical” as opposed to “industrial” Ella.

Budget and a shortage of spare time held them back. Then came the coronavirus lockdown.

“This period of isolation, while scary and uncertain, has allowed us to look at our savings and see what we can do.”

They are painting the cement floors right through the house, and designing motifs for the hallway floor in lieu of a carpet runner. Then they are going to do up the spare room.

“If lockdown goes on we’ll make a little drinks space on the balcony.”