Painting Trim 101

Wanna know how to paint trim without taking it off the wall? Here you go!

When I mentioned that we were planning to repaint all the trim in our house, the overwhelming piece of advice I received was "take the trim off to paint it!" But looking at the trim, it seemed difficult. Way. Too. Difficult. But the gnarly scratches on almost every inch of the trim couldn't stay, and I really had my heart set on white.

I told you... I think they had a baby tiger.

Not even the windowsills are safe. Nice water stains!

So we went to Menard's to get paint and supplies. First purchase was the green thing - it's a long piece with a metal straight edge. Second purchase was the floor protectors - long, thin pieces of plastic that fit between the trim and the carpet, both pushing the carpet out of the way and protecting it from the paint. Here's what it looks like in action:

The metal straight edge was amazing for painting the top of the trim, and it saved a ton of time because we didn't have to tape anything off! The plastic pieces work great for the bottom, but you have to leave them in place until you're entirely done or paint will get on the carpet when you move it. I cannot recommend these enough!!

Before and afters:

I love how the look brightens up the whole room!

Painting trim is definitely tedious, but it's not so bad if you turn on some iTunes and take your time! We have the master bedroom done, most of the banister, and half of the living room. I'm hoping we'll be all done in the next couple of days and it will make our home look a little more like ours!