Brush in Hand

A New Dad's Painting and Decorating Primer

By I.J. Schecter

As a new father or dad-to-be, you face certain challenges. Some choosing a crib, distinguishing sleepers from onesies, changing diapers occasionally obscured by moving limbs may be daunting simply because you haven't paid them much thought before. Others, like painting your baby's nursery, may intimidate you for the same reason installing shelves might: You aren't a born handyman, and regrettably, you now realize you tuned out your dad whenever he was trying to show you how to do stuff around the house.

Don't panic. Painting isn't that different from skydiving: Once you learn a few pointers and throw yourself into it, it can be as exhilarating as scoring an improbable basket in your weekly game of pick-up.

1. Step back.
   You've given yourself the Lombardi-esque pep talk. Now you want to dive in, inexperience or not. Wait. Assess things first, visualizing your plan of attack. There are enough different types of paints, brushes and rollers to make your head spin if you don't know why one is different from the next. (Know the difference between oil paints versus latex? Synthetic bristle brushes versus natural bristle?) Ask a professional what you'll need to do the job properly. There's nothing worse than standing halfway up your ladder and staring at a part of the wall that you now realize requires a type of brush or roller that is nowhere in sight.
2. Prepare the room.
   Critical to any paint job is the preparation of your workspace, a step that may equal or exceed the time you'll take to do the actual painting. First, get all furniture out of the room. Then remove hardware on the doors and walls (like knobs, hinges, switch plates and outlet covers painting around them will cause streaks and drip lines). Lay painter's tape along the edges of the floors, walls and ceiling. Place drop cloths down (preferably canvas instead of plastic avoid using newspaper) and secure them as though you were marking off makeshift goalposts in a backyard football game.
3. Set up your home base.
   Your tool station should include not only key painting tools but also incidental items like a screwdriver to open the paint can, damp rags to wipe up spills or dab away excess paint and plastic bags in which to store the brushes during breaks (not that you'll need any).
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