DIY painting

[hhh0809]

Any advice for painting bedroom walls and ceiling for absolute beginners? Watched a few YouTube videos but not sure how difficult it is practically. What type of paint is less harmful for health or voc-free, or at least not smelling bad?

What kind of walls do you have? Plasterboard? Plaster? Wallpapered?

It’s very easy! Cover furniture/floor p, , use masking tape to create neat lines for eg skirting

Most people use water based emulsion for ceilings (commonly pure brilliant white), & walls (deluxe Jasmin white is a cool proof and non streaky choice - not the most exciting )

Use a brush to cut in, rollers to do the room, don’t overload to avoid drips , & stagger your lines (like an H) so you don’t end up with an obvious join at your shoulder height which is a common mistake

Ceilings are a bit of hassle tbh if high or a large room - but walls are nothing

If you like, post a picture of your room

Plaster. Painted some years ago. I wanna change the colour of these old surfaces to white ones.

Should be nice & easy: use Matt emulsion. It’s low VOC and will smell a bit but not awful. Plaster that has been painted is ideal surface, 2 coats should do it

Pick a dry day & put heating on and open windows

A good primer is your friend. It will help the paint stick better and reduce the costs you need. I always use a trade vinyl matt emulsion. Buy decent rollers and brushes - not necessarily hugely expensive ones but not the B&Q value ones, I promise you it makes a difference.

Painting isn’t difficult per se, it’s just tedious and I personally seem to have issues with keeping paint on the roller and the walls rather than on me and the floor - I wish you better luck.

Agree matt emulsion would be good, or a satin. Avoid gloss.

If you are going from a darker colour to white, you may need a coat of primer before you do the coats of paint. This will stop old colour seeping through.

For ceiling you can get long rollers so you can stand on floor and do them.

I prefer satin for the walls as it doesn't seem to pick up the dust as much as matt. Polycell ceiling paint (for the ceiling obvs). It goes on really nicely and hides all the little cracks that ceilings seem to develop over time.
As ComtesseDeSpair said, spend a bit extra on brushes and rollers. Harris seem quite reasonable and don't cost the earth.

I can recommend Harris brushes, too. They clean up well.
My advice is to make sure everything is covered, because you will splash, however careful you are.
Choose a decent ish emulsion, dulux, or similar.

Try to make sure you end your session when you've completed a wall up to the corner.
Start clearing up at least half hour before you think you need to.

You can wrap tin foil around brushes you've not cleaned and they'll keep soft until the next day.

Make sure you wipe down all woodwork first - you dont want to paint dust. Fill and then sand any cracks. If you prep properly it will look better. Two thin coats rather than one thick.

Sugar soap and sand the woodwork, quick wash of the walls with damp sponge or again sugar soap if the walls haven't been touched for a while. Get rid of all dust using damp sponge and let dry (won't be long at all).
Get a roller set with short pile for plastered walls, get a cutting in (angled) brush for the edges it makes life simpler. I personally prefer oil based paint for woodwork but it's personal preference (it does stink and cleaning required white spirit instead of just water). Buy Dulux trade paint, it has higher pigment and is simply better! Water the emulsion down a bit, don't dilute the oil based paint.
Get a roller pole to make life easier.

Painting walls - Load the paint on the roller from the tray, start about 1/3 way up the wall with an upstroke and roll back down. First rolls will be awkward as paint is bedding in to the roller but you'll get the hang of it. Any lines created by edge of roller just go over very lightly to remove.
Cut in using angled brush.
Paint skirting etc using angled brush.

It's not complicated and once you start you'll find you have your own way of doing it. My personal hate is ceilings...

The preparation will (and should) take longer than the actual painting. Make sure you properly dry between costs and ventilate the room well. Take your time cutting in, it looks so much better at the end and is quicker in the long run.

It's very easy really. Irl I don't know anyone who would actually pay for a decorator unless it was a particularly hard spot (eg staircase) or they were old / ill / posh

Excellent advice here already, not much to add except but decent paint. It costs a lot more but saves time and money in the long run.

Thanks everyone for the advice. Much appreciated! Three months into pregnancy now so am a bit cautious on the paint. Any recommendations for a voc-low/free paint brand? Is Dulux a good choice?