Before you bust open a can of paint, you should;
1) Take some pictures of your rooms. Pictures taken will come in handy upon completion, putting decor back exactly as it was before.
2) Remove all wall hangings, leaving nails if you wish to place back exactly after painting. If you plan on re-arranging decor, simply pull the nails.
3) Now that you have taken pics, removed wall hangings, leaving or removing nails, it's time to start the preparations. This part of the painting project is the most important, as if done properly will make you a shinning star with your spouse, not to mention, will look as professional as possible.
4) Tools you will need;
a. Depending on how much painting is to be done, will determine the size of roller. Most people use the typical 9" roller with typical roller pan. If you have several rooms, and lots of sq. footage of walls/ceilings, I would recommend a 14" roller. 18" rollers are way too heavy loaded with paint for the common paint job, but has it's value when back-rolling say and exterior application. 9" rollers way too small, and 18" rollers too heavy. 14" rollers are also not available in typical retail chains such as Lowe's, Home Depot's. Here in Denver, your Sherwin-William's, Kwal-Howell's Paint Stores, Benjamin Moore's, ICI's, are the places to pick these up. The best one is Labat's with wooden handle and steel frame. No plastic fall apart made in China, after 1 hour of use. Do yourself a favor and spend a few more dollars getting the best. If you are painting ceilings with popcorn, get a 1 1/4-1 1/2"" thick roller skin, if knock-down texture, use a 3/4" skin. If painting both, get both size skins, as you will not want to intermix them. One for ceilings, one for walls. You will need a special roller pan designed for the extra wide roller, and vary in price. We use "Speed Buckets", as the are low to the ground, has a pour spout, and hangers for ladders.
b. Let's talk brushes. For goodness sakes, do not get a 1"-2" brush no matter how good looking and cute they may be. Each brush stroke requires the same amount of effort, so speed up the process with a larger one. Best brush, gives best results, and the ol' saying, you get what you pay for is so profound when buying brushes. Best brushes made are the Purdee's. Purdee's have the thickest base, holding the most paint, without running down the handle. Also, Purdee's will leave the smoothest strokes, with little to no brush strokes. Go with a 3 1/2" - 4" angle Purdee if you plan doing trim, and 4" Pip squared end for large surfaces such as doors.
c. You will need a masker and blade. 3-M has a patent on these, and you cannot go too far astray getting one, however blade is equally important. DO NOT GET A PAPER BLADE. The metal blades designed for cutting plastic will also cut paper, but metal blades designed for cutting paper, will not cut plastic. Both cost the same, however metal blades designed for cutting plastic film have a finer serrated edge, making much sharper.
d. Now you have roller/pan/masker/blade, you need to get a few more items that may be in the garage.
Proper ladders, A-frames, Extensions. One small jobs we like Little Giant's, a
versatile ladder that converts from A-frame to extension in a matter of
seconds. Just be sure it is rated for your weight. Typically a B rated is industry
standards.
Extension pole for roller. If not high ceilings, and just walls, a telescoping 4' - 8'
e-pole is the best.
Drippless Caulking gun
Razor knife with new blades
5-Way painter's tool that has a half moon cutout on one side of blade
Masking tape, (blue if your painting walls a different color than ceilings/baseboards
Plastic film, size depends on need, but if rolling/brushing, no more than 4' wide is
needed.
Brown paper, either 9" or 12" for paint grade applications. (one roll per 10' X 10' rm)
1 tube of latex caulk per 10' X 10' rm
Box of good stain rags
2 1/2 gallon cut-in bucket with ladder hook, purchased separately
Flathead screwdriver, removing switch plates, curtian rods, etc.
Tip #1
5) Tape around door jambs, and floor areas. If floor is carpeted, press carpet down, tape as low as you can to baseboard. If floor is wood, tape wood floor as close to base as you can. Once taped, it's time to caulk. Cut tube at a angle taking off just the tip. This way, only a small amount will come out of your "Drippless Caulking Gun". Caulk tape lines using finger to wipe excess, and even going a step further, wiping with a sopping wet rag. Your wipping off as much caulk as you can, leaving only a film of caulk to seal tape edge, so that paint does not migrate under it. When you pull the tape, only the finest amount is there that cannot be detected.
6) If you are rolling/brushing walls only, no need to mask entire floor, but ceilings YES. Having a good drop-cloth is a plus. We use a drop, putting down as a work station, pouring into pans/buckets. On large walls, especially high ones, a good 4' X 15' runner drop is good to have. Having more than one will most likely ensure one will always be dry, and your not tracking paint splatters on to non-covered areas. So stretch out both side by side along wall areas, moving from one to another as work finishes. Picking up last one moving down past the other. On a typical 8' ceiling height, it's good to stay away from wall surface at least 4'. 16' high wall, 8' away, using e-pole lengths accordingly.
7) Now you have the tools of the trade, your ready to really get started, and let's say your painting walls, ceiling, and trim, as most of the time this is done with different colors and sheens. You start with the top, working down, and we will be working with the top of walls first. It is much easier to mask walls than ceilings. So, take your brush with wall paint and cut in corner on wall to ceiling, not caring too much of getting wall paint on ceiling, as I will describe later. However, dark colors are harder to cover, so you be the judge. After you cut in walls to ceilings, stop, and take a break, because you will need it for the work quickly approching.
7) Finish cutting in all tape joints, around doors, electrical outlets, corners of rooms. This way you can roll with ease, overlapping paint with roller, for a "Second coat".
7) Drop floor area, pour mixed paint into speed bucket, roll into paint, getting roller thoroughly saturated and loaded with paint. Start with one corner, working along one side of ceiling.
Now here is Tip #1. As you re-dip roller, always keep roller frame pointed the same direction, as I say the frame is an arrow of direction in the way you are traveling. Do not flip roller frame back and forth rolling out surfaces, or you will have heavy, thicker lines of paint when dried. Think of frame as the arrow, and the direction you will be going, as you cannot start against a wall on ceiling with the frame pointed to wall anyway. Keep this tip throughout entire paint job, and your on your way to a uniform finish. That's not to say coming to a corner you cannot fudge a bit, feathering out last row, but use the frame as an arrow 99% of the time. Roller frames have a different amount of pressure when rolling, and will cause the uneven paint lines, if "Flipping" or reversing roller frame each time after dipping it, so you've been warned.
7) Now the ceilings have been rolled out, it's time for walls. Using ladder, cut-bucket and angle brush, you'll want to cut in walls to ceiling. Taking long strokes close to the top is after you've slowly cut in, bending bristles
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