Essential Painting Tools for Beginners: Top Suggestions For New Painters

This article contains information about essential painting tools for beginners.

With the exception of one room, we slathered paint on every wall in our two-story home within the first 18 months that we lived here. In fact, most of the walls were painted in the first six months (I was anxious to rock and roll with the projects!) The dull yellows and bright greens that covered our house when we moved in were an eyesore to say the least, so my anxiousness to make this house a home that we loved pushed me to learn how to paint quickly and paint well.

Having the right tools helps make painting a relatively fast, super easy, inexpensive way to freshen up your home. Most average-sized rooms should only take you a day (roughly four hours of total work) if you have the right tools (and good paint) on hand.

Seriously, it’s as easy as this:

• First, paint the trim.
• Next, roll the walls while the trim dries.
• Once you’ve rolled the walls, do a second coat on the trim.
• While the trim dries, roll a second coat on the walls. DONE. It shouldn’t be any harder than that!

I am writing today’s post with a few audiences in mind:

1.) The girl who wants to be more involved in fixing up her home but typically leaves “house stuff” to her husband (something so many people say).

2.) The reader who knows how to paint but could use new tools to make projects faster and cleaner.

3.) The reader who has never held a paint brush but wants to learn how (this was me a few years ago).

I’m far from a painting professional (of course), but I’d love to share a complete list of products I love that will help you tackle the transformation of your house one wall at a time in the most efficient way possible. I promise that if I can paint our entire home with very little (if any) frustration, you can certainly do the same! It really is as easy as having the right tools on hand.

Essential Painting Tools for Beginners

Trim brush

Forgot the time-consuming task of taping off your trim and door frames. All you need is this Premium XL Polyester Tight Spots trim brush from Sherwin Williams. I’ve used a few that claim to be similar, but this specific brush gives you a perfectly smooth job when painting along trim. Worth the trip to Sherwin Williams just for this brush!

Tape

For projects where tape is needed (i.e. painting stripes), save yourself a huge headache and buy no other tape except . Once you put the tape on the wall, run your finger along the edges to make sure it’s completely down. Wait until your project is 100% dry, and then pull up the tape. I know from experience that the paint will bleed through this tape is you pull it up before it’s dry. Wait until it’s dry, and you’ll have perfect lines every single time.

Plastic drop cloth

I like using because paint won’t seep through like it would with old bed sheets. I would fold mine in half and then drag it around as necessary. Easy.

Brush comb

My MIL introduced me to , and I won’t attempt cleaning my brushes without this ever again! You’ll get the most longevity out of your brush cleaning them thoroughly with this comb.

Roller

Ah, this is a dream! For rooms with lower to standard ceiling heights, this roller will eliminate the need to use a ladder.

Ladder

This is light enough to carry around, easy to store, and folds in and out in a pinch. It’s tall enough to help you reach some tricky spots but short enough where most people would feel comfortable standing on it. It also has a pull-up area to place a cup of paint, a hammer, screws, etc. We use and abuse this ladder and truly love it!

9″ Foam Roller Covers

These are my because they roll paint on evenly and are almost more affordable than most. I ditched them after each room was complete, so I didn’t want anything expensive.

9″ Metal Pan

Your pan doesn’t have to be fancy. We use and put liners in it.

Paint Roller Tray Liners for Metal Tray

We bought this pack in bulk and use one for each job.

Saran Wrap (seriously)

If you’re taking a break from painting that’s less than 24 hours, go ahead and tightly wrap your brush or roller with saran wrap. This will keep your brush’s paint wet and ready to go either later that day or the next day when it’s time to paint again.

Solo Cup

I guess you could drink some beer or wine out of these while you’re painting, but I preferred to use one while painting around trim. Whatever you prefer. 😉 I’d put a little paint in it and carry it around the room with me. You could buy a fancier hand-held cup with liners at the store, but solo cups work well. Plus, you can ditch them afterwards!

Let’s chat!

Do you have any other essential painting tools that you’d add to this list that help make your life easier when it comes to painting?

PS: Want to see our entire home transformation? Take a look at our home tour to see a ton of before and afters!

What are your go-to painting tools for beginners? Let me know!