Inside and out, house painting is a big job! You want an end product that will protect your home from the elements and increase its value and appeal. For your home's exterior, you want to be sure your new coat of paint can survive hot summers and cold winters without blistering, cracking or peeling, and that it will properly seal your home's interior from moisture, mildew, dry rot, termites and other damaging environmental factors.

For your home's interior house painting, design and durability are important factors. You want to make sure the job works well with your interior decor, is done neatly and completely, and without damage to your ceilings, floors, woodwork and furnishings. Use quality paint, good brushes and rollers and systematic application.

Before you start your house-painting project, empty the room of as much furniture as possible. Leave yourself a clear work area at least 3 feet from each wall. Protect all floors from drips, spills, and spatter with tarps or drop cloths. Remove all the door and window hardware, including hinges, latches, knobs, and strike plates.

If walls and ceilings are bare plaster, coat with oil-based or all-purpose house painting acrylic primer. Use lightweight Spackle and a putty knife to fill small holes or cracks. Spot prime or completely re-prime the walls, depending on size and amount of patching.

With a house painting brush, apply a narrow 2 -inch band of paint along the edges of the ceiling. Cut in around the window and door trim first, then to the baseboard and to the ceiling or crown molding. Paint the walls using a roller on an extension handle. Section the wall off in squares roughly 3 or 4 feet wide, and work from the top down. You never really appreciate how smooth a painting job can go and how much better it can look after it's all done!