Applying interior paint in a room can liven up and old space, making it feel fresh and new–but many homeowners are intimidated by interior painting projects and either hire expensive painters to do the work, or never paint their home at all. However, anyone can paint a room. Here are step-by-step painting instructions on doing it yourself, including the painting supplies you’ll need.

Step #1: Chose a Paint Color

It sounds obvious, but the first step of the process is to choose an interior paint color for the room. Look through home magazines or online photos, or visit friends’ homes to see what colors you like best.  Take a trip to a home improvement store, where there will likely be a plethora of interior paint samples to choose from.

Step #2: Get the Right Interior Paint

If you haven’t bought interior paint before, talk with someone at the store to ensure you’re purchasing the best paint for interior paint projects. Do you need high gloss paint? Texturized paint? Primer? Making sure you have the right interior paint the first time will save you time and money.

Step #3: Prep the Walls

As the next task in your step-by-step painting process, you need to give your walls some TLC. Use painting supplies to cover any existing holes, and sand where necessary. Wipe down the walls and trim with a rag to ensure a smooth surface. If you’re using dark interior paint colors, it might also be necessary to prep the wall with a primer.

Step #4: Get Painting Supplies Organized

Have your painting supplies in place and ready to go, including:

• A dipping tray
• Paper towels
• Paint rollers and extensions
• Paint stick
• Touch-up brushes.

Step #5: Start from the Top Down and Outside In

If interior paint projects include painting the ceiling, you’ll want to do this before you paint the walls. Allow ample time for the ceiling to dry. Next, you want to trim the windows, doors and baseboards. You can do this with a small paint brush. After you trim, begin applying interior paint to the walls using a paint roller, again starting from the top of the wall to the bottom.

Step #6: Repeat

On almost any color you chose, it’s likely you will need to do more than one coat of paint, and you may need to use a primer. In particular, with very dark interior paint colors, multiple coats might be necessary.  Make sure to rinse painting supplies, especially paint brushes, between uses to keep them in good condition. Keep paint cans closed when not in use, so that the interior paint won’t dry out between uses.