How to Paint a Room Blue

Remove furniture and other items from the room. Painting an empty room is easier and more time efficient. Protect the floor with tarps and protect the baseboard with blue painter's tape.

Scrape off all loose paint with a paint scraper or putty knife. Dust the ceiling, walls, and windows with a broom or duster. Wash heavily soiled areas with TSP(trisodium phosphate) and warm water. Rinse the areas with clean water.

Fill nail holes and cracks with spackling. Fill gaps and cracks around windows, baseboards and doors with latex caulk. Smooth rough paint edges with 80 grit sandpaper. Smooth the spackled areas with 180 to 220 grit sandpaper.

Cut in the ceiling with a trim brush. Start in one corner and work your way around the room. Cut in about 2 inches all the way around the ceiling with long, smooth strokes. Keep a wet rag with you in case you get paint drips on the wall. Cut around light fixtures in the ceiling.

Paint the ceiling with a roller. Place the roller on an extension pole. Work your way strategically across the room until the whole ceiling is painted. Inspect the ceiling for heavy or missed spots, and examine the walls for runs and drips.

Paint the windows with a trim brush. Begin by cutting in around the glass. The trick is to let the paint flow off the edge of the brush. Use long strokes. If paint gets on the glass, wait until it dries and then scrape it off with a razor blade. Paint around the rest of the window after it has been cut in, and then paint the window frame. Remove the doorknobs and other hardware from the doors, and protect the hinges with blue painter's tape. Cut in the doors with a trim brush, and then use a roller.

Cut the walls in with a brush. Cut in around the ceiling and along the baseboard with a trim brush, and then cut in the windows and doors. The cut-in line should be around 2 inches from the ceiling and baseboard. This makes it possible to paint easily with a roller without hitting the ceiling or baseboards by accident.

Place the roller on an extension pole and paint the walls. Dip the roller and apply the paint to the middle of the wall in a diagonal pattern. Starting in the middle helps avoid heavy or excessive paint on the top part of the wall. Paint the walls by rolling with up and down movements from the ceiling toward the floor and the floor to the ceiling. Work your way around the room. Inspect for heavy and missed spots. Allow the first coat to dry for two to three hours, and then apply a second finish coat.

Finish the job by painting the baseboards. Allow the wall paint to completely dry, and then carefully remove the painter's tape. Paint the baseboard with a trim brush. Work in 3- to 4-foot sections. Cut in along the floor edge and along the wall edge, and then paint the center of the baseboard. Work your way around the room.