The Ultimate Collegiate Guide to Painting Your Apartment

By Tamiera Vandegrift on May 23, 2017

One of the most exciting things to experience once you are out of your parents’ house is the experience of moving into your own house or apartment for the very first time.

Once you move into your new apartment or house, a new realm of possibility appears. Now you’re finally free to mount that “Johnny Cash flips the bird” poster on your wall and play your Spotify playlists as loud as you would like. Plus, you will now have the opportunity to do the one thing that most parents (at least my parents) always forbid: painting the walls.

Sure, you probably drew on the walls with crayons as a child, but have you ever had the opportunity to give your new place your own personal color treatment? Well, now you do. Consider me your own personal tour guide through this new, exciting world of home décor. Keep reading to discover the ultimate guide to painting your new apartment or house!

Be conscientious

Well, the first step to the freedom of adulthood is also acknowledging the fact that you also have adult responsibilities. Before you even think about thinking about painting the walls of your living space, review your lease. Your landlord might have some serious rules against some decorative actions, especially painting the walls.

However, even if the lease mentions these restrictions, it is still worth asking or trying to make some sort of compromise. Maybe your landlord will allow you to paint the walls a light beige or even a gentle blue. Do not push your luck by suggesting a violently clashing shade of violet or an electric green.

Either respect your landlord’s wishes and do not pass Go or successfully reach a compromise that works out in everyone’s favor. Either way, a brief experience with the rainbow world of your dreams will not be worth the mountain of trouble you will find yourself in if you go against the orders of your lease. Be smart. Be responsible.

Image via: www.pexels.com

Choose wisely

When it comes to painting, you probably know that there is a literal rainbow of colors to choose from. You have the entire spectrum at your fingertips, but now it’s time to remember the difference between things you can do versus things you should do.

For instance, your landlord will probably want you to paint the original color of the space over whatever color you chose to decorate this space with. My best advice is to make this process easier on yourself so that future you will not absolutely loathe current you for making a bad choice.

With that being said, you might want to consider choosing a light color rather than any dark or bold shades. While these more intense shades may be more attractive, they will also be hard to remove. It will take hours of repainting and priming when you will definitely be exhausted from moving all of your belongings. A few months or a year of decorations will not be worth the stress when move-out time rolls around. Keep this in mind when choosing a color.

Test your paints

You have been window shopping for days. You have finally found the perfect shade of whatever to decorate your walls with.  On the drive home, you keep envisioning how gorgeous the color will look against the sunshine. You come through the front door, you open up the can, and grab your paintbrush and — NOTHING. You will do absolutely nothing.

Do not go crazy and start painting your walls just yet. A common mistake that too many house painters face is that they assume the color on the outside of the can will be the color of their walls in the end. While this works out for some, the paint could potentially dry as a lighter or darker color than you might have wanted. This is a huge problem if you chose an intense color for your walls. Before you go crazy and begin this painting adventure, be smart.

Paint a “test patch” if you will so that you can see how it looks on your wall and decide whether or not you like it after a few days. If it turns out to be less than what you wanted, at least you will have the opportunity to change your mind.

Image via: www.pexels.com

Protect everything

Cover every inch of furniture, tile, carpet, etc. with drop cloths or old sheets. If you should stain the apartment with any drops of paint, you will infuriate your landlord and they will wish that they never allowed you to paint in the first place. Keep your landlord’s opinion of you on the up and up and they will be less likely to harp on you for other matters, but that’s a whole other story.

The bottom line is that even though you now have the permission to paint, you still need to respect the space. Be safe. Be responsible. Happy painting!

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