By Pocyline Karani

The week prior to last we looked at ways to get colour combination right. You may opt to change the colour of your furnishings in your 2011-remodelling project.

However, the colour of furniture like couches and sofa sets often influence the colour of soft furnishings such as throws and accent pillows.

As far as this is concerned and for a complete look, the walls also play a critical role. Adding colour to a room using paint is one sure way of getting a complete transformation in the appearance of a room.

It’s amazing how a fresh coat of properly applied paint can transform the appearance of a room. However, achieving a spectacular result is not sheer luck. The final results can be disappointing if you do not work ahead of time. A perfect wall finish is a combination of factors such as having the right paint and preparing for the project.

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Surface preparation

Preparing a surface prior to painting a wall is key to achieving a perfect finish. [PHOTOS: ALLAN OLINGO / STANDARD]

This is one overused statement. However, it is as important as realising that dazzling finish on your wall. It is indeed disheartening to spend effort and time on painting your wall only to find that the surface underneath shows imperfections.

Peel off old paint and sand the wall smooth using sand paper. If the wall had grooves and dents, apply good quality filler, patch and sand holes and cracks in the surface and give it time to dry off completely. Then sand the wall again for a smooth finish.

Get right paint

With Kenya opening up its doors to products from the far East, there are a lot of paint products in the market and all promising to give you excellent results. First, remember to choose interior paint for interior surfaces and exterior paint for exterior surfaces. Interior paint dries more quickly and has less offensive odour than exterior paint, which dries more slowly.

The sheen

Paints come in five finishes. Gloss paint, although nowadays regarded as old fashioned, holds up on areas that might require frequent cleaning like kitchen, bath cabinets and walls. Semi-gloss paint is durable, but with less shine. Satin paint is also easy to clean, but has a low shine. For walls in bedrooms, living rooms and family rooms, eggshell is a good choice, with a barely discernable gloss.

Go shopping

With your colour scheme, fabrics and excitement in tow, visit your local paint store. Having selected the colours you want, observe them in all lights of the day and night because that perfect green can look all wrong in your lounge with the lamps turned on. Find the right shade for the time you’ll be in the room most. If you work all day and are out of the house, the colour should be chosen to best suit artificial light.

Right applicator

Using a paintbrush, a paint sprayer or a roller gives different outcomes. Walls and ceilings can be sprayed although a challenging task for the novice, brushed ideal for trim paint or rolled for a very smooth finish on flat surfaces.