Interior · 7 min read
How to get your home ready for interior painters: a homeowner’s checklist
A little preparation on your end makes interior painting go more smoothly. Here’s what to decide, clear, ask and expect, from choosing colors to rehanging pictures.
Key takeaways
- Settle every color and sheen in writing, by Sherwin-Williams name and number, after testing real samples on your own walls.
- Clear small items, valuables, breakables and wall hangings yourself, and ask your painter exactly what they move, cover and take down.
- Plan ahead for pets, kids, sleeping and working space, a bathroom for the painters, and heat or air conditioning that stays on while paint dries.
- Paint that feels dry isn’t cured, so go easy on fresh walls, doors and rehung pictures for the first couple of weeks.
Sherwin-Williams colors in this guide
To get your home ready for interior painters, settle your colors and sheens in writing, clear small items, valuables and wall hangings from the rooms, and plan around kids, pets and daily routines. Then walk the rooms with your painter, point out problem spots, and agree on what moves, what gets covered and who does it.
A little preparation on your end spares everyone surprises and keeps the work moving. Here’s the checklist, roughly in the order to tackle it. Our interior painting page covers how we approach the painting itself.
Have you settled on colors and sheens?
Decide before the first day, not during it. Changing a color after the walls are primed or the first coat is on can mean an extra coat, a different primer or a reshuffled schedule.
Write down the exact Sherwin-Williams name and number for every surface, room by room: walls, ceilings, trim, doors, and closets if they’re included. “Agreeable Gray SW 7029 on the walls, Extra White SW 7006 on the trim” leaves no room for confusion; “the light gray we liked” does. We paint with Sherwin-Williams, so the name and number on your list are what go in the can.
Pick a sheen for each surface, too. Flatter finishes hide flaws on walls and ceilings; glossier ones stand up to scrubbing on trim, doors and bathroom walls. Our paint sheen guide walks through the trade-offs.
Screens and paint chips mislead, so test real samples on your own walls before you commit, and look at them in morning and evening light, next to your floors and trim. If you’re still choosing, start with our color studio, then test the finalists at home.
What should you clear out before painters arrive?
Anything small, valuable or breakable should leave the rooms being painted. Painters need open floor and bare walls, and a drop cloth is no place for an heirloom.
- Small items: lamps, books, photos, plants and everything on shelves, dressers and tabletops.
- Valuables: jewelry, cash, medications, important papers and anything irreplaceable. Move them to a room that isn’t on the list, or lock them away.
- Breakables: glassware, china and collectibles, including the contents of any cabinet that will be moved. Empty furniture is lighter and easier to shift.
- Wall hangings: pictures, mirrors, clocks, shelves, curtains and rods. Tell your painter which nail holes you plan to reuse; the rest can be filled.
- Closets: if they’re being painted, empty them completely, floors and shelves included.
Clear a path from the door to each room, and set aside a spot, such as a garage bay or spare room, where ladders and supplies can wait if the job runs more than a day.
What gets moved, and what gets covered?
Every painter handles this a little differently, so ask before the first day rather than assume. Here’s what typically happens, and what’s worth clarifying.
| Item | What typically happens | What to ask |
|---|---|---|
| Furniture | Moved to the middle of the room and covered | Who moves it, and whether anything has to leave the room |
| Pianos, antiques, heavy pieces | Often left to the owner or a specialist mover | Whether the painter will move them at all |
| Wall-mounted TVs | Often taken down beforehand by the owner or an installer | Whether the wall behind it is being painted |
| Blinds, curtains and rods | Taken down when window trim is painted | Who removes and rehangs them |
| Floors and stairs | Covered with drop cloths, edges taped where needed | Canvas or plastic, and how rugs and stairs are protected |
| Light fixtures, built-ins, thermostats | Masked or loosened, then reset | Whether anything needs an electrician |
Area rugs are easier to roll up and move out than to protect in place. And if a piece of furniture matters to you, say so before anyone lifts it.
How do you plan around kids, pets and routines?
Wet paint, ladders and open cans don’t mix with toddlers or curious dogs. Decide ahead of time which rooms are off-limits and where the kids will play while work is underway.
Doors are often propped open while painters carry in drop cloths and ladders, which is exactly how cats and dogs slip out. Keep pets in a closed room away from the work, or line up a sitter for the busiest days. A wagging tail against a wet wall is harder to fix than it sounds.
Then think through your own week. If a bedroom is on the list, plan where you’ll sleep while its furniture sits in the middle of the floor. If you work from home, claim a room that isn’t being painted. And if anyone in the house is bothered by paint smell, mention it up front so rooms can be sequenced and aired out.
What about access, bathrooms and heating or cooling?
Sort out the practical details before the first morning:
- Access: who will be home, how painters get in if you’re not, and any alarm, gate or parking quirks.
- Cleanup: a utility sink or laundry tub where brushes and rollers can be washed out.
- A bathroom: painters are in your home all day, so decide which one they can use.
- Heating and cooling: keep it running at normal settings. Paint dries slowly in cold, damp or still air.
That last point matters in Michigan. Interior painting is a natural winter project, but turning the heat down at night slows drying, and cold exterior walls slow it further. In a humid summer, air conditioning or a dehumidifier helps paint dry evenly. During heavy sanding, your painter may ask to shut off forced-air heat or cover the returns so dust doesn’t travel through the house.
Which problem spots should you point out?
You know your house better than anyone. Before the job starts, walk each room, mark anything that bothers you with a small piece of low-tack painter’s tape, and go over the list with your painter.
- Water stains on ceilings, and whether the leak behind them has been fixed
- Cracks in plaster, nail pops in drywall and corners that crack every winter
- Peeling paint, especially in bathrooms and on old trim
- Crayon, marker, smoke or soot that could bleed through new paint
- Doors that stick and windows painted shut
- Old touch-ups that show as dull or shiny patches
Mention what a painter can’t see, too: a recent leak, a wall that once had wallpaper, a room nobody has painted in decades. Our guide to what good prep looks like explains how these repairs are usually handled.
Many homes in Grosse Pointe and across Metro Detroit were built before 1978 and may contain lead-based paint, which scraping and sanding can disturb. The EPA’s Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) rule requires certified firms and lead-safe work practices for paid work that disturbs painted surfaces in pre-1978 homes: more than 6 square feet per room inside, or more than 20 square feet outside. See the EPA’s RRP program page and our guide to lead paint in older homes.
What should you expect day to day?
The first day can look slow. Furniture gets moved and covered, floors get protected, plates come off, and then come the filling, sanding, caulking and spot priming. In an older home, that prep can take longer than the painting.
Many painters then work from the top down, ceilings first, with drying time between coats. Expect rooms to be out of order until they’re finished, some paint smell while work is underway, and windows open for air when the weather allows.
Ask a few things at the start: when work begins and ends each day, whether furniture goes back each evening, and who to call with a question. Before the drop cloths come up for the last time, walk every room together in good light and flag anything that needs a touch-up.
What should you do after the paint goes on?
Dry to the touch isn’t the same as cured. Most latex paint feels dry within hours but keeps hardening for weeks, and until it does, it scuffs, marks and sticks more easily. Our guide to paint dry time vs. cure time explains the difference.
- Furniture: it can go back once the paint is dry, but leave a little space between furniture and walls for the first week or two.
- Doors and windows: fresh paint can stick to fresh paint. Leave doors open overnight if you can, and close them gently for the first few days.
- Pictures: light frames can usually go back after a day or two. Hold off on heavy frames, and anything that rests flat against the wall, for a couple of weeks.
- Cleaning: dust or wipe gently if you must, but save scrubbing until the paint has cured. The label or data sheet gives the timing.
Questions
Do I need to move furniture before painters come?
Usually you only need to clear small items, valuables and breakables; many painters move larger furniture to the middle of the room and cover it. Practices vary, so ask before the first day. Pianos, delicate antiques and wall-mounted TVs are often left to the owner or a specialist.
Should I take down pictures and curtains before interior painting?
In most cases, yes. Taking down pictures, mirrors, curtains and rods yourself protects them and saves time on the first day. Tell your painter which nail holes you plan to reuse so they don’t get filled.
Can I stay home while interior painting is being done?
Most people do. Plan where you’ll sleep or work if those rooms are on the list, keep pets and small children away from the work area, and expect some paint smell and furniture out of place until each room is finished.