Painting
How to prepare your home for interior painting
By the Peak Surfaces team · · 6 min read
Preparing your home for interior painting comes down to three jobs: settle your colours and sheens before the crew arrives, clear each room of everything small, loose or precious, and plan how people and pets will move around the work. The painters take care of the rest, from shifting and covering the big furniture to masking, filling, sanding and the final clean. A few hours of organising beforehand means the first morning goes into the walls rather than your bookshelves.
The checklist below runs in the order you will need it, from colour decisions to the first weeks with new paint, for one bedroom or a whole home anywhere in Melbourne or across Victoria.
Settle colours and sheens before the first drop sheet goes down
Colour holds up more painting jobs than anything else, so decide it well before the tins arrive. Small colour chips mislead: a grey that looks soft on a card can read cold on a south-facing wall and green under evening lamps. Sheen matters just as much. Flat paint hides roller texture, which is why ceilings get it; low sheen suits bedrooms and living rooms; washable finishes suit kitchens, hallways and kids' rooms; and trim takes a harder enamel that wipes clean.
- Paint A3-sized sample patches on the brightest and darkest walls and judge them morning, afternoon and after dark.
- Decide exactly where each colour stops, such as an internal corner or the top of a dado rail.
- Write the final colour names and sheens for ceilings, walls and trim on one sheet for the painter.
Clear the room and know what the painters will cover
Your job is the small things; the painters handle the big ones. Take down pictures, mirrors, curtains and blinds, and empty shelves, bookcases, dressers and wardrobe tops. Televisions, computers, plants and rugs go to a room not on the schedule, since sanding dust gets past a drop sheet. Beds, sofas and wardrobes stay: the crew moves them to the centre, wraps them in drop sheets and plastic, protects the floors, masks skirting, windows and benches, and removes door hardware and the clip-on covers from switches and power points.
- Empty the big pieces before they are moved; a loaded bookcase is how shelves break.
- Bag hooks and brackets by room, and say which wall anchors to keep; the rest are filled and sanded flush.
- Leave a clear path from the front door to each room for ladders, planks and paint.
Repairs, filling and sanding: say what you know
Nail holes, hairline cracks, dents and chipped enamel are routine: the painters fill, sand flush and key old gloss as part of the job. Walk each room before the quote and point out anything tired, damp or loose; the repair nobody mentioned is what slows a job. Some problems need another fix first. A stain keeps bleeding through until the leak behind it is repaired and the plaster has dried out, mould must be killed before it is painted over, and cracks that reopen along one line or run diagonally from door corners can mean the house is moving, which needs a builder's opinion before any filler.
- Brown rings or tide marks on ceilings, and whether the leak behind them is fixed.
- Loose or chipped cornice, and holes bigger than a coin.
- Whether the home was painted before 1970; older coatings can contain lead, which changes how surfaces are sanded.
Crack patching, cornice repair and stain sealing before painting
Air, drying times and the order of rooms
Fresh air is the cheapest tool on a painting job. Water-based paints are low in odour, but every coat dries by letting moisture out, and a shut room in a Melbourne winter holds it for hours. Open windows where the weather allows, run fans and keep heating or cooling moderate: cold rooms slow drying, and a heatwave can dry paint so fast that roller marks stay in the film.
Dry and hard are not the same thing. Wall paint is typically touch dry within an hour or two, depending on temperature and humidity, while enamel on doors and skirting feels dry in hours but hardens for days, so leave doors ajar for the first week. Within each room the order is ceilings, walls, then trim; across the house, many painters start at the far end and work back toward the entry so finished rooms are not walked through with ladders, and bedrooms can be done one at a time if you ask when booking.
Pets, kids and getting on with life during the job
Wet paint and a curious nose do not mix. Cats walk along fresh skirting, dogs push through doors propped open for airflow, and both carry paint onto carpet before anyone notices. Children find ladders, trays and open tins just as interesting. Decide where everyone will be on each painting day before the drop sheets go down.
- Settle pets in a closed room, the backyard or with a friend, and tell the painters which doors stay shut.
- Keep young children out of the rooms being painted, even during breaks.
- Move the kettle, toaster and a few days of groceries if the kitchen is on the schedule.
- Agree how the house is accessed and locked up each day if you will be at work.
Handover, and keeping the finish looking new
Handover should happen in daylight with the painter beside you. Look along each wall at a low angle to catch thin patches, drips and wobbly cut-in lines, and check corners and the wall behind the door swing. Switch covers, hooks and door hardware should be back on, masking off, floors vacuumed, furniture returned and touch-up pots labelled by room.
The finish keeps curing after the painters have gone, so give it a week before pictures go back up and a few weeks before the first wash. Wipe scuffs as you see them with a soft cloth, store the touch-up pots with the lids tight, and touch up with a small roller rather than a brush so the texture blends in.
