Budget to paint the interior of your home

Painting your home interiors at least once in two years not only revives the strength of the walls, but also gives you a chance to uplift your space. Whether you plan to do it yourself or hire a contractor, you need to have a budget in place to ensure that you don’t go overboard. While you can apply for a top-up loan on your existing home loan to finance this activity, here’s what you need to plan when it comes to redoing the interiors with paint.

Choose the type of paint you want to use and work out the cost

The cost of painting the interiors of your home depends on the number of rooms you want to paint, the size of each room, and the colours and treatment you choose. Once you estimate this, choose the colour for each room or wall based on a shade card from companies like Asian Paints, Nerolac, and Berger Paints, etc. This may seem like an easy process, but it is the most crucial part and determines the maximum cost of the paintwork.

Based on your chosen colour, experts from leading brands will show you how each will look on your walls using computer graphics. Once you have finished making your selection, you will have to pick the type of paint. Different rooms have varied requirement, so the quality of paint you use on each wall will depend on the room usage. For example, the kitchen should have plastic paint on the walls owing to the excessive oil and heat it attracts, which you can easily clean if the surface is oil painted. Once the variety is also determined, then the expert will give you the standard price for paintwork of the entire house cumulatively based on all the parameters.

Ask for customised quotes from contractors to compare the choose the right one

Paint work at home also requires use of a primer and incurs a labour cost. Standard paint work in a metro city for a 1700 sq. ft. 1 BHK with one bathroom will cost you Rs. 14,000 onwards, exclusive of labour and primer cost. There are various estimate calculators available online, where you can tweak variables like carpet area of each room, number of rooms, and type of colour, etc., to arrive at an economical figure. Keep this research handy while approaching individual contractors and branded solution providers to get quotes for your premises. You can then compare the quoted prices and appoint the final contractor for the job.

Plan ahead when it comes to painting accessories and their prices

Normally, the provision of roller brushes, painting tools and other accessories like cloth, bucket, distemper, etc., are the responsibility of your contractors. But, in case you request a specialised effect on your walls such as spray painting, fluorescent colour, glow in the dark ceiling, etc., it is best to clarify the requirements of accessories with your contractor beforehand. Special painting procedures require specific application kits, brushes and sometimes very skilled individuals. In this case, you will have to bear additional costs.

Remove furniture and expensive upholstery from the rooms before the work starts

Adding a fresh coat of paint to your walls can be expensive, and you want to avoid damaging your existing furniture and furnishings in the process. So, remove all your décor items and furniture from the room where the paint work is being carried out, and ask your hired staff to proceed from room to room. Remember to plan this in advance, so that you have enough time to shift the furniture before the job starts. If you cannot remove items, have your contractor cover them with plastic or fabric protective sheets.

Use plastic sheets or newspapers to cover marble slabs, floors and mirrors to avoid paint stains. Don’t forget to cover doors and windows to keep them neat and free of paint too.

These 4 tips will come in handy when you’re planning and executing a home painting project. Simply ensure that you’ve planned the financial aspects and taken your family’s convenience into account before you proceed.