How to Paint an Entryway

An entryway is an important part of a house. This is the area where guests are greeted and where the style of the house is staged. Because guests often pause in the entryway it is important to orchestrate the area to be welcoming and functional as well as stylish. The ceiling and light fixture should be large enough to direct light throughout the space, and the walls and ceiling should be painted in colors that reflect your style and the overall style of the house. Does this Spark an idea?

Instructions

1

Measure the dimensions of the entryway and transfer those measurements to graph paper. Draw the location of walls, doors, windows, niches, doorways and floor transitions.

2

Remove everything from the entry. Remove switchplates and outlet covers with a screwdriver. Tape off the trim using a low tack painter's tape and place a drop cloth over the floor.

3

Note on the side of your graph paper the color of the fixed items in the room. Note the floor color, metal color of doorknobs and light fixtures, wood color, trim color. Look into adjacent rooms and note the primary colors that will be visible from the entry. Companion or shared colors are those that flow from one room to another. Your colors should relate to or be comfortable with those immediately adjacent to them, both in proximity and visually.

4

Determine if your foyer or entryway has a natural focal point wall. Some entryways have a wall that is parallel to the front door. This is the first and most prominent wall the guest sees when entering the home. By default, this may be a focal wall. You may only have a short piece of wall and many doorways. Again, this would force your existing wall to become a focal wall. A focal wall may be painted a stronger color than adjacent walls to bring the attention to the wall.

5

Select colors using a paint color fan for both wall and ceiling colors. Generally you should select three or four colors so that you have comparisons. Often a color looks different on a paint chip than on the walls in the space. If you have a strong focal wall, select a somewhat darker color for that wall. Purchase sample paints and paint patches on the walls and ceiling to test the colors in the room. Select the colors you like the best for the room.

6

Paint the ceiling first. In general a ceiling color should be several shades lighter than the primary wall color. This will make a ceiling feel light and taller. Continue the ceiling color down onto the walls by a few inches. Use an angled paint brush for the corners and a roller for the flat areas.

7

Cut in along the edges of the ceiling and trim, around outlets and along the baseboard with the wall paint. Paint your primary wall color first. Use a brush for cutting in and a roller and tray for the flat areas of the wall. Paint your focal wall last. Cut in first and roll last. Many focal walls require more than two coats of paint. Allow each coat to dry before you apply another one.

8

Paint your trim last. Usually trim is a bright white, semi-gloss paint. Cream color may make your trim look dirty. Tape off your edges to keep paint off your newly painted walls.