Take Time to Prepare

• Properly preparing a room for painting can be a long and frustrating task, but it saves time and aggravation later. Remove the furniture from the room; that's less work than spending the next two days painting around it. Take off the socket plates. Repair any wall damage, and make sure the wall is clean and free of glossy buildup. (Sand it down if necessary.) Use painter's tape to protect all trim, fixtures and other areas that won't be painted in the first steps. Spread tarps around the whole floor. Set up a staging area for the paint and equipment in the middle of the room, with thick plastic tarps under it for spills.
  
  

Work From the Top Down

• You always want to start with the ceiling because it will drip on everything under it. Start with a coat of good primer. Use a brush to cut in the corners and around fixtures, then use a roller to do the central spans. When rolling out the paint, lay it in long, overlapping ``M'' patterns, making sure to go back over any lines or drips. Primer should be allowed to dry for two hours before applying your first coat of paint. Plan on doing two thin coats rather than trying to cover it all at once with one thick coat.
  
  

Finish With the Trim

• Do the trim after the rest of the walls and ceiling are completely done (because the roller will have spattered some paint on the trim anyway). Make sure that the paint on the walls and ceiling is dry. Remove the painter's tape from the trim and put it on the walls, to protect them from the trim paint. Use a brush on all the trim, painting in slow, careful strokes to avoid drips. Use two thin coats.