INTERIOR PAINTING

Applying a fresh coat of paint can transform the interior of any home or workplace into something wonderful that revitalizes the space. Choosing the right interior painting company for this is extremely important for a job done correctly. Soho Painters can help you make your vision into a reality.
Whether it’s for residential or commercial purposes – our team follows a strict procedure that guarantees a perfectly executed project every single time. We deliver high-quality interior work in the projected time frame and budget. You’ll be confident that you’ve chosen the right team when you see the professionalism reflected inside of your home or office.

Why should you repaint your house?

There are many reasons why you would want to repaint your home. It should be important to add character to your home, personalize it, and make it a place you’re happy to go to everyday. Aside from changing colors, repainting can help protect your walls and keep the colors vibrant. Paint can chip, flake, and peel over time depending on the quality of paint used and how often that room is utilized. A fresh coat of paint will continue to protect and keep your walls vibrant.

How often should you repaint the interior of you home?

Hallways and corridors see the most traffic in a home, and as a result receive the most scuffs and scratches. Hallways and corridors should be repainted every 2-3 years to keep it looking fresh and vibrant.

Kitchens see a lot of grease/oil stains, smoke, and steam which can stain and keep odors in the walls. A thorough cleaning and painting every 3-4 years is a must if you want to keep your kitchen looking new. A satin or semi-gloss paint is recommended for durability that can withstand scrubbing and cleaning.

Living rooms and dining rooms also see a lot of traffic but often the most durable paint is used for these locations. We recommend repainting living rooms and dining rooms every 5-7 years. However, a lot of the time the baseboards and trim take a beating from foot traffic and vacuums, so we would recommend painting those every 2-3 years.

The paint in adult bedrooms can usually look good up to 10 years as they see less wear and tear. However, if you have younger children, we would recommend that you repaint every 2-3 years to maintain the durability of the paint to really clean up those crayon marks! For childrens’ bedrooms, we would recommend eggshell or satin sheen paint to make cleaning a little easier.

If you’re planning on selling your home, we recommend changing your home’s colors to something light and neutral to brighten up smaller spaces, and appeal to a wide range of buyers. Lighter colors can make the place seem larger and more neutral colors depersonalizes your home so that potential buyers can imagine themselves living there. Also, a home without peeling and cracking paint shows that you care about and maintain your home.

What kind of paint should you use?

Using a high quality paint is important because it is more durable, lasts longer, hides imperfections better, has better coverage, and spreads more uniformly. “Cheaper” paint has fewer solids in it, and therefore sticks and adheres to the wall less. Even though the paint is cheaper per gallon, you’ll probably end up using more to make up for the poor quality of paint. High quality paints can cover about 400 sq ft per gallon whereas ones of poor quality would cover about 300 sq ft. Paint of poorer quality also does not last as long, and is more likely to flake in a shorter period of time.

What are the different types of sheen of paint?

The sheen is the glossiness of the paint, or how much the paint reflects light. The basic types of sheens are fat, matte, eggshell, satin, semi-gloss, and hi-gloss.

Flat/Matte

Flat paint is non-reflective and will soak up light. It is best for hiding imperfections like scratches on your wall. Flat paint is best for low traffic areas and areas that won’t need a lot of cleaning. Flat paint is also often used adult bedrooms and ceilings.

Eggshell

Eggshell has a soft glimmer or luster although it is not quite reflective. Eggshell falls in between flat and satin on the sheen level. Like its name, it can be best compared to a chickens’ egg. It hides imperfections in the wall well, and is easier to clean than flat paint. It is best for living rooms, dining rooms, or adult bedrooms.

Satin

Satin falls right in the middle of the sheen levels. It reflects more light than an eggshell paint but less than a semi-gloss. It is quite durable and hides imperfections fairly well. It is fairly easy to clean and would work in most rooms. Satin paint tends to create warmth in a room and works well in places that don’t receive a lot of natural light.

Semi-gloss

Semi-gloss shines more than satin paint. It is durable and is a great middle ground. It is easy to clean and can be used in places with high traffic like kitchens. It can also be used as an accent on crown molding and trim to really make it stand out. Semi-gloss paint is also recommended for children’s rooms but would work in mostly any room if you like the shine. With the sheen, it will be difficult to hide imperfections in your wall.

Hi-gloss

Hi-gloss paint is super reflective and is very durable. Hi-gloss paint when done well can look like glass! It is best used as an accent on trim, baseboards, cabinets, furniture, cabinets, and doors. Hi gloss can show imperfections and can be quite difficult to apply and is best done by a professional.

What brands of paint do we recommend?

Not all paint is created equal! Some brands of paint are better than others in terms of quality and price. Like previously mentioned, the cheaper brands of paint are not always the best choice because of how much extra paint you’d need to cover the same area as a higher quality brand. Here are some of the top brands of paint we recommend:

Benjamin Moore Regal Select

We choose Benjamin Moore Regal Select almost all the time because of its coverage, color selection, lasting finish, and ability to be cleaned easily. Because this paint is not available in big box retailers like Home Depot or Lowes, many of our clients are unaware that this high quality paint even exists. The available color selections and the expertise of the Benjamin Moore service reps make it extremely easy to pick a new color or match an existing one for your home or office. Although this is not a cheap paint, like other high-end paints, it requires fewer coats, looks exponentially better and last longer than other cheaper alternatives. We always like to say that with paint you always get what you pay for.

Behr Marquee

If there isn’t a Benjamin Moore retailer in your area, the Behr Marquee paint is a good secondary choice from Home Depot. This paint and primer is great at painting over old paint and hiding imperfections in the walls. It is a premium grade paint that covers roughly 400 square feet per gallon and is low-VOC. There are five gallon options for bigger projects that help save on costs a bit and comes in a variety of colors. They have various sheens in flat/matte, eggshell, satin, and semi-gloss so you can achieve any look that your project requires. Price-wise, the Behr Marquee is a bit cheaper per gallon than the Benjamin Moore Regal Select so it will be easier on your budget as well.

Valspar Signature

If Lowe’s is closer to you than Home Depot then Valspar Signature is the paint you should choose. It has many of the features of the higher-end paints but at an extremely affordable cost. Costing less than the Behr Marquee, this paint and primer is extremely durable and resistant to scratches, spills, and stains. This paint is also mildew and fade resistant so you can be confident in its longevity. This is an acrylic paint that is low-VOC and self-priming (although there mixed reviews on how many coats you actually need). Again, you may need an extra coat when using this paint as compared to the others we recommend but nevertheless it is an extremely budget friendly option that we would recommend.

Do you need primer?

Paint primer is used to provide a surface for the new layer of paint to lock on to easily. It is also used to help smooth out surface stains and imperfections. Whether or not you will need primer depends on the condition of the surface you are working with. Here are some of the major conditions where primer will be useful:

Surface is porous

When the surface you are looking to paint is highly porous then it will absorb the new paint easily which means you will always need more paint. For example, newly installed drywall is a highly porous material which requires primer. Similarly, bare wood and masonry need primer if you are thinking of painting it.

Drywall is skim-coated

When drywall is skim-coated it is coated with a thin layer of drywall compound. Although skim coats are considered one of the higher end finishes, it is still extremely porous and will require primer for paint to stick correctly.

Glossy coat of paint

If there is an existing base coat of glossy paint, the new layer of paint will not stick well. Sanding down the glossy coat and applying a coat or two of primer will prepare surface adequately for the new layer of paint. Sometimes sandpaper may not even be required if you use a high quality primer.

Change from dark to light colors

This is probably the most practical application for using primer. Most of the time when homeowners want to change their wall colors, whether it be to change an accent wall to a neutral color to attract buyers or because they want to change the look and feel of their space, going from a darker color to a lighter color will require primer. Without primer, you’d need multiple coats of paint that still may not cover the old color completely. By treating the surface with a coat or two of white primer you can guarantee that the lighter color will stick as intended.

Although these are the most popular reasons for using primer, if you’re unsure whether your situation calls for primer or not – you can never go wrong with priming your wall. If the condition of your wall or surface isn’t perfect prior to painting, the default choice would be to prime it.

What color should I use?

Because colors are subjective and work in conjunction with other components of each room (i.e. furniture, closets, cabinets, countertops, etc.) it is hard to say which color would be the best. That’s why our experts are here to help consult you on the best colors to use for your project. Don’t hesitate to contact us or give us a call for your free consultation.