The holidays have a funny way of making us notice things in the house that we somehow overlooked all year long.
That scuffed-up hallway is suddenly in plain sight. There are faded spots on the front door. Trim is chipped here and there. And then the afternoon sun hits the living room wall, and all the imperfections become evident.
And if you are planning on entertaining family or friends this holiday season, it might be time to take stock of the state of your home’s paint job.
You don’t have to repurpose and repaint every room in the house.
But a few strategically applied updates can help you make an existing home feel a bit cleaner and brighter before your holiday visitors arrive.
iPaint Homes specializes in repainting existing homes, which means we work with the surfaces, the colors, and any necessary repairs in an occupied home.
Here are some of the areas you might consider before the holidays start entertaining season in Arizona.
Start with the Rooms Your Guests Will See First
You likely know which rooms could use a little attention.
However, if you are prepping for guests, it might be worthwhile to begin with the rooms they will actually be seeing.
Go through your house just as a visitor would and look at:
- Front door and entryway
- Hallway
- Living room
- Kitchen
- Dining area
- Guest bathroom
- Outdoor entertaining space
You might find that your home overall is looking just fine.
While it only takes one tired hallway or one marked up living room wall to make the entire house feel dated.
Focusing on high visibility spaces can give you a much bigger return without having to repaint the entire house.
Have Another Look at the Front Door and Entryway
The front door creates the first impression.
Unfortunately, the Arizona weather is not easy on exterior doors. Sun and heat can fade paint quickly, especially on doors with afternoon exposure.
Take a look at your door for fading, peeling, cracking, and worn spots. Then walk inside.
Entryways often accumulate scuffs and marks from bags, shoes, furniture, and foot traffic. The areas near the door frame and switches will inevitably end up collecting dirt over time.
Just by giving your entryway a fresh coat of paint you can make the entire house feel cleaner and refreshed before your guests ever step into the living room.
Look at Your Living Room Walls in Natural Light
The living room is one of the focal points during the holidays.
Furniture moves. Decorations are put up. More people will gather in that room.
Which means it will be easier to notice damage.
Look at the living room walls in natural light.
There might be more to see than you expected, including:
- Scuff marks
- Nail holes
- Uneven touch-ups
- Fading paint
- Cracks
- Dirty areas near switches
- Furniture marks
- Prior repairs
Several walls with similar problems may benefit from a full-room repaint.
Especially if the paint has started to fade and peel over time.
Be Careful with Old Touch-Up Paint
Touch-up paint sounds like an easy fix.
Sometimes it is.
But old paint does not always blend as well into an existing wall as homeowners hope.
There might be a difference in fading, aging, and sheen that makes the touch-up stand out even more than the mark it was meant to cover.
Apply test paint in a small area first.
If the repair sticks out or is easily distinguishable after it dries, repainting the wall may give a cleaner look.
Pay Special Attention to Kitchen Walls Before Entertaining
With the increased number of people in the house during holidays, kitchens get a lot of action.
So they deserve extra attention.
Look for damage to walls in the cooking areas, near the switches, trash cans, breakfast bar, and doorways.
Kitchen walls accumulate grease marks, fingerprints, food splatters, and general wear and tear.
Not to mention the painted trim and doors that have been chipped and worn down over the years.
A clean repaint can instantly make your old kitchen feel refreshed without remodeling or replacing cabinets, countertops, or flooring.
Sometimes fresh paint is enough to make a huge difference in your space.
Don’t Forget About Doors, Baseboards, and Trim
Homeowners often forget about the paint on trim.
But guests see it.
Baseboards get gray and marked over time. Door frames chip. Interior doors collect fingerprints and scratches.
If your walls still look good, you might only need to paint the trim.
It will instantly clean up the room and make everything more defined.
However, preparation is crucial.
Your existing trim will likely need cleaning, sanding, filling, caulking, and sometimes priming before new paint can go on.
Simply repainting trim without preparing it will usually not give you the desired finish.
Don’t Overlook Guest Bathroom Walls
The guest bathroom is a small room and so everything is more noticeable in it.
Examine the walls for marks, wear caused by moisture, peeling, and prior repairs.
Also take a look at the door, baseboards, and trim.
Because of the size of bathrooms, a repaint can make a huge difference without being a big project.
Combination of fresh wall paint and new trim can instantly make your old bathroom look bright and clean.
Arizona Exterior Paint Needs Attention During the Holidays Too
Preparing for holidays is not limited to inside of your home.
Guests see its exterior first.
The Arizona sun, heat, dust, and wind can make your exterior paint start fading, peeling, and wearing off.
Check the front elevation of your home for:
- Faded color
- Chalky surface
- Peeling paint
- Cracking
- Bubbling
- Exposed surfaces
- Failed caulk
- Worn trim
- Faded doors
If your exterior simply needs a thorough cleaning, try that first.
Cleaning is great if your exterior paint is in good shape and just needs to be cleaned.
However, cleaning will not fix paint that has started to fail. In this case a repaint might be a better choice.
Pay Attention to Patio and Outdoor Entertaining Areas
Arizona homeowners continue using their outdoor spaces well into the holiday season.
If your gathering might spill out onto the patio, take a look before guests arrive.
Outdoor walls, doors, posts, trim and other surfaces can be affected by dust and sun exposure.
You might not need a big project.
Sometimes repainting a few surfaces on the patio can instantly make your outdoor space feel finished.
This is also the time to take a closer look at exterior doors that connect indoor and outdoor areas.
Those doors often receive more use than homeowners think.
Stick to Existing Color Scheme When Choosing New Colors
Getting your home ready for holidays doesn’t mean you need to go crazy with paint trends.
In fact, existing homes are often best off with a repaint that blends with everything else.
Take into account your floor, countertop, cabinets, furniture, stones, tile, and existing trim.
Then choose colors that complement each other and fit your house.
Warm whites, soft neutrals, and earth tones can work great in many homes because they create a clean canvas without fighting the furniture and decorations.
However, your color choice will vary depending on your particular house.
Don’t Wait Until Your Guests are On Their Way
Repainting takes more than application of paint.
It requires preparation of the surface, furniture may need moving and reassembling. Repairs need time. And so does painting.
Don’t treat repainting as one last holiday project.
Starting early will give you more time to choose colors carefully and to address existing problems properly.
Also you won’t be decorating the house while painters are working on it.
Repainting Existing Home Requires Special Preparation
Occupied and old homes rarely have perfectly smooth and intact walls.
There may be nail holes, prior touch-ups, cracks, scuffs, stains, failed caulk, and other imperfections on the walls throughout your home.
And that’s totally normal.
What is important is how well those surfaces are prepared for the new paint.
At iPaint Homes we specialize in residential repainting, which means that we prepare your existing home surfaces instead of every project requiring a brand new surface treatment.
Make Your Home Feel Ready for Holidays
Preparing your home for holiday entertaining doesn’t have to involve remodeling it.
Sometimes it’s enough to do some repainting to make a huge difference.
Start with the areas that people will notice. Have a look at your front door, entryway, living room, kitchen, bathrooms, trim, and outdoor entertaining space.
Decide which surfaces just need a cleaning and which ones have started showing their age and need repainting.
If there are several rooms and exterior areas that need repainting, iPaint Homes can help with the evaluation of your existing finish and with a professional repainting of your home.
The goal is simple: to make the house clean and ready for its visitors this holiday season.
