How to Paint A Room with Carpeting

Whenever I begin a room makeover, I always start with paint. The wall color lays the foundation for the design and painting a room makes it feel fresh and new. Today I am going to take you through how to paint a carpeted room in 5 easy steps.

If you are new here, I am participating in the Spring One Room Challenge and updating my 7-year-old boy’s bedroom! Take a tour of his bedroom and check out my design plans here. The One Room Challenge is an online experience where designers, bloggers, and social media accounts renovate a space in their home and share all of the details throughout the 8-week process. It is a great way to get inspired and motivated to complete a project in your home.

The walls don’t look too bad in the before picture of my son’s bedroom, but they were quite scuffed and yellowed from over the years.

I planned to paint a fresh coat of white to brighten up the room. It is amazing what new paint on the ceiling walls, and trim can do to make a room feel like new! I chose a warm, neutral paint color for the base of my design – Alabaster by Sherwin Williams.

My goal is to design a room that will allow him to grow up in this space without any major changes. I want him to feel inspired in this space that brings him joy. I will be adding elements of his personality with the decor in the bedroom that I will be sharing in the coming weeks. Let’s get started!

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How to Paint a Room with Carpeting

*This post is sponsored by FrogTape. All content and opinions are my own.

Watch the full video tutorial on YouTube below!

For a full list of items used, scroll to the bottom of this post!

Step 1 | Prep the Room for Paint

Apply FrogTape around the perimeter of the room. Lay it right against the baseboard and press down tight to the carpeting. This will allow you to paint the entire baseboard without getting any paint on the carpet. Apply tape to the perimeter of the windows as well to paint the window trim.

Fill any nail holes with spackle. You can use a putty knife if you prefer, but I just use my fingers to apply the spackle and remove any access on the wall.

Let the spackle dry for one to two hours. Once it is dry, use a sanding block to make the wall smooth.

Lay down your drop cloth to protect the floor and furniture when painting. Finally, remove the faceplates of your outlets and switches to paint around each.

Step 2 | Paint the Ceiling

My go-to ceiling paint is the standard white in a flat sheen. Begin by trimming out the ceiling with your paintbrush. Don’t worry about painting a straight line at the edge because you will be painting over the walls with your wall color.

Once you have painted the perimeter of the ceiling, use your short nap roller sleeve to paint the remainder of the ceiling. Attach the extension pole to easily reach the ceiling with your roller. When painting the ceiling, use long strokes and applying even pressure.

Roll over any paint creases that may appear if you apply too much pressure on the ceiling. Applying two coats of ceiling paint will provide the best results.

Step 3 | Paint the Baseboards & Trim

Next, I paint the baseboards and trim around the windows and doors using semi-gloss paint in standard white. Because I paint the walls last, I do not worry about painting within the lines where the trim meets the wall. Again, two coats of paint will give full coverage and provide the best results.

Step 4 | Paint the Walls

I chose Alabaster by Sherwin Williams for the wall color, which is one of my favorite neutrals. I like to start by painting the trim against the ceiling. Because I am painting this room a warm white and I am confident in my steady hand from many years of practice, I will cut around the ceiling, baseboards, and window trim on my own.

If I was not confident in painting straight lines or if I was painting a darker color on the wall, I would apply the yellow FrogTape, which is best for delicate or freshly painted surfaces. Taping out all of the trim will create a nice crisp paint line.

I use my paintbrush to trim against the ceiling, baseboards, window and door trim, the corners of the room, and around the outlets and switches. Then I use my paint roller to paint the rest of the walls. Apply two coats of paint on the wall.

Step 5 | Clean Up

Pick up the drop cloths and attach the outlet and light switch faceplates. Remove the FrogTape around the windows and carpeting.

Move your furniture back in its place and enjoy your freshly painted walls!

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Source List

• Paint for the ceiling, trim, and walls (check out this paint sheen cheat sheet)
• FrogTape – to protect the carpeting and crisp paint lines
• Dropcloth – to protect the floor and furniture (you can also use old bedsheets)
• Spackle & sanding block – to fill any holes in the wall and sand smooth once it dries
• Paint tray and liner & paint cup & cup liner – using a liner makes for easy cleanup once the paint job is finished
• Paint roller & sleeve – My walls are smooth so I use a shorter paint roller nap (use a thicker nap for more textured walls)
• Angled paintbrush – I prefer 2 to 2 1/4 inch size brush
• Extension Pole – to paint the ceiling
• Step Ladder

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I hope this quick tutorial gives you the push you need to tackle that paint project that has been on your list for months! By prepping your space and using the right materials, you can paint your house and achieve professional results. Check back in next week to see how I am incorporating Thomas’s love of the mountains!

P.S. Don’t forget to check out the progress from all of the other OCR participants on the One Room Challenge blog!

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Want to save this tutorial to reference once you start your next project? I’ve got you covered! Use the pin below to easily find your way back to this tutorial.