Mess-Free Painting Tips

Make your painting projects easier

Painting a room gives it an instant makeover but cleaning up during and after can feel like it takes forever. These tips will help you minimize the mess while you paint and cut your cleanup time in half.

Tip 1: Mess-proof painting
The plastic-wrapped case that holds 24 bottles of water is a perfectly sealed tray for your paint cans, brushes and trays. Sloshed or dripped paint won't spill onto a drop cloth and be tracked all over the house. When you're opening the water bottle package, cut the plastic about 5 in. higher than the top of the box and then fold it in.

Cut your clean up time in half »

Our Favorite Painting Equipment

Tips on tools and products for better painting

Tip 1: The best way to work up high
We discovered this work platform five years ago—and we've been using it daily in our photo studio ever since. It's the perfect height to stand on to reach the top of 8-ft. walls, making it ideal for painting along ceilings. Truth be told, we spend a lot of time sitting on it too.

Anyone can do a top-notch job with these hints »

Decorative Painting Techniques

Three wall finishes, materials and techniques

Technique 1: Random rectangles
Four layers of glazed boxes overlap to create this contemporary design. We chose golden hues, but you could produce the same effect using different colors. In general, use a darker or more opaque color for the first layer of boxes, and lighten the color and increase the transparency for each of the three succeeding layers. Where layers overlap, new shades and colors will appear. That's why it's essential to create a sample board before you start.

Learn how to complete all three techniques »

Do you have a great tip to share?

We’re always looking for great tips and we’ll pay $100 for any we publish in The Family Handyman magazine. Submit your tip »