You can do this yourself. Will it end up being as good as a professional painter? Maybe not- but it'll be close. The key is to NOT skimp on your paint and rollers and brushes. This past year we painted the entire interior of my daughters new home (a fixer upper). We used Zinnsar interior primer on all surfaces and Benjamin Moore paints for the final coatings. It turned out great. Take your time and perhaps get a helper. Good Luck!

Thanks for the encouragement tommyw. Would you mind me asking what products you used on her walls and trim?

I've painted whole apartments and my old house including the exterior window trims on a second story ladder. Know what? You get better as you go along because you learn what works and what doesn't as you paint.

My advice is to start in the less important rooms (kids,guest, basement etc) and work your way forward.

The patching of nail holes with spackle is done with your finger and gone over with a little sanding sponge after it dries. It's tedious but not difficult.

If you don't have the trim sprayed, some waterbase polyurethane can be used and some comes tinted -- test on a piece of sample molding wood that was cut away so you get the true color on the stuff that was used.

There are good books on how to paint at home depot and I expect a Google search would turn up a free tutorial.

It's a big job but also a big savings. I'd say pace yourself. Don't skimp on primer. I'd take a look at BM Fresh Start, or the Zinsser is also good. You definitely want to prime new walls and let them dry well.

Keep us posted on your decision/progress. Some of us here just love to paint so we'll encourage you but of course it's nice to have a pro job as well.

I certainly think you can do the painting yourself, and if you take Rococogurl's suggestion to start in less important rooms, and gain experience, I think that you do will equal, or exceed, many professional paint jobs. (Michael/Brushworks, excepted, of course!)

You do have to use good quality paint and equipment (not just brushes and rollers, but good ladders and drop clothes, too.) And don't expect it to be done in a few days, or weeks, the way a pro crew could do it. You'll get it done easier and with less stress if you divide it into room chunks and complete full rooms before going on. While this is not the most efficient way to apint, it has the advantage of being the least disruptive, and the gives the best sense of progress as you move through the house, room by complete room. And take the time to move stuff out of the rooms, or tarp it off carefully before you begin.

Benjamin Moore makes very fine paint, and it's available almost everywhere. Other brands are good, too.

Is your woodwork natural or painted? If painted, I wouldn't hesitate to do it myself. Heck I'm 56, and I'm planning on repainting my entire house over the next two and half years, inside and out. The inside won't be very troublesome, but the outside of a 2200 sq ft, two story colonial, will require scraping all the 160 years of paint accumulation off, first. And my DH, doesn't paint, either, so it will be all me.

Fixing dings in sheet rock is not hard to learn. Ditto filling nail heads on trim, that's easy as pie. You may need to learn how to caulk along baseboards and trim sides if that hasn't been done. But you can definitely learn how to do that, too. I had to learn to caulk so I could repair some chimney flashing on the roof - I just made a jig and practiced on the ground - and in a weekend I had it down cold.

The very best reason, other than saving some much needed money, is that it will give you a huge boost in confidence about doing stuff around your house. And ever after if you feel the need to change the paint color, your hardest problem will be choosing the color, not the application.

I find painting, even including the tedious amount of prep work it entails, one of the most satisfying of all house fixes. (Only waxing a floor with paste wax and a giant buffer is more fun!) Get a good radio, and have a couple of sets of "paint clothes" to wear, and settle in. I find everybody leaves me alone with my thoughts, so it can be quite restful, too.

HTH,

Molly~

With all the above advice, you're set to go.

Relax and take it one step at a time. Make repairs, sand, fill and clean before priming. Caulk unsightly gaps and cracks after priming. Allow that to dry and plan your painting. Ceiling first, then baseboard, then other trim, windows, doors, etc., then walls last. A 2" delicate surface painter's tape lightly applied to the edge of the baseboard is required prior to wall painting to prevent specks of paint spatters on baseboard.
Use quality paint and quality tools.
Read instructions as often as needed, and follow them.

Michael

Sorry, just saw this.

You can totally do this. I'm doing it now, including the hole filling, sanding, priming. Trim, windows, doors, cabinets, walls. Primer is very important, don't skip it. Don't skip sanding either. The prep work takes forever, but it's NOT difficult, just tedious. But it is so important for the finished look. Absolutely do the "less important" rooms first, you'll get better and better and you'll learn little personal tricks that you can use to full advantage in other rooms. Get good quality drop cloths, extending poles, good Corona or Wooster brushes, good paint, that WAY cool little painting hand bucket with the magnet for the brush and the scraping lid that cost $15 and I thought was nuts but I love it :). I kind of saw it as my reward for the BIG savings (they're huge, not small) that I was getting from doing all this work myself. Since our job is 90 percent DIY, and since I have like NO skills in that area (I designed everything and did the research and shopping but that it) I felt like the painting (which is a big job) and some staining was my contribution to the marital DIY effort. It makes me feel really good. I'm starting to be really proud of what I've done.

One word of warning though! The only bad thing about DIY'ing this is you know where all the mistakes are. LOL. They may not be many, but you see them, and they'll drive you bonkers for a little while. Then you just kind of forget about them, or one day, you actually find the time to FIX them.

Good luck! Keep coming back for advice!!

Best,
Ivette

Ivette, I would love to know more about your bucket. It sounds so handy.

LOVE my little bucket, so much I'm going to mAAAAArry it. :)

It's called the "Handy Paint Pail". Manufacturer appears to be called Bercom. It's gray, with a black top and a handy handle that straps around your hand and makes the bucket SO easy to hold. I found it at my local paint store.

Ivette

Merci!

First of all Thank You to everyone who posted comments, advice and encouragement. I am very appreciative. I have decided to tackle the project.

tommyw: Thanks for the heads up on Zinnsar Primer.

rococogirl: Love that name.. Thanks for the encouragement and all the tips, I have printed everything out. I will keep you posted and if I ever figure out how to post pictures, I will do that as well.

housekeeping: I was inspired by your positive, energetic response. I have decided to paint some if not all of the rooms. I will keep your posting handy when I start feeling overwhelmed again.

brushworks/Michael: Thank you so much. Your advice and suggestions are invaluable. I appreciate all the time you take to post comments on this forum. I have printed off everything and will keep the tips close at hand.

pirula: Great advice and suggestions, thank you so much. I am going to look for one of the little buckets..

You will probably hear from me again.

I'll just ad my few words, then I gotta go!

You can do this and save tons of money. I agree with everything everyone said,,,BM paint eggshell is the best and cleans and holds up well. It is a bit pricy, but well worth it.

Practice. Don't get discouraged, and take your time. I totally agree, that prep time and attention to small details will make your project look better than some professionals. You just have to know what to do properly.

The one thing I would ad that has helped me out lots: consulting with a color specialist. This person will help you from getting overwhelmed by colors. If this isn't possible, pick 4-6 colors that you like for each room, but no more. Then eliminate the ones you least like etc. The one left is the one you use!

Don't forget to prime!! You will save money and energy if you use a "tinted primer" on walls. You may even be happy with just one coat of primer and paint.

Happy Painting!

SG

Thanks SG I appreciate your vote of confidence....

ycmom -- pics are a no brainer. Go to photobucket.com and open an account -- it's free and easy to use. Just follow the directions for creating your album and uploading. Then you copy the first link under the photo into a post here and when you preview the pic appears.

I felt completely overwhelmed when starting our new house too. It's 2000 sq ft. I painted our old house but it was only half the size. I just took it one room at a time. I did the whole house myself, trim, doors & all. When your all finished, it's such a great feeling that you did it all. I did have help priming and I painted all the ceilings the same color as that helped me with the overwhelming feeling. I didn't have to switch colors, just did all the ceilings at the same time. Then I just picked a room & painted until that room was finished. I get tons of compliments and it feels good to know that I contributed in such a big way in our new house. Good luck.

Everyone on this thread is so supportive and smart!
I'd only add one thing...
>> Tinted primers are only necessary under very deep colors.
Ask if your final colors go into a particular lines' darkest tinting base. If they do, use a GRAY primer, then TWO (sometimes 3!) topcoats of color about 5-6 hrs. apart.
>> Heavily tinted colors have 10 TIMES the colorant in them compared to an off-white, and therefore dry MUCH more slowly.
>> ALWAYS do 2 topcoats of color...this is what you look at every day, therefore it needs to have good color-depth, durabilty, and even sheen. Relying on 1 film of paint is asking a little too much from a color-layer! Besides, no-one puts on an even first coat...well, except maybe Michael!?
Good luck!
Faron