Buying a home is an exciting milestone. And whether you find the turnkey home of your dreams or score big on a fixer-upper, odds are you’ll want to make a few small changes, like painting the walls, for example. Painting is one of the easiest and most affordable ways to make your space feel fresh and full of personality. But one question remains: should you paint before or after moving in? The truth is there are advantages to both scenarios, so let’s discuss.
Advantages of Painting Before Moving In
Painting before you move into a new place is an obvious choice. The place is presumably empty which means you don’t have to worry about preparing your home for painters. Additionally, painting before moving in means you won’t have to disrupt your daily life to let painters in and out of the house.
A few other advantages of painting before moving include:
(1) Save time and money
Painting before you move in eliminates the need for time-consuming tasks such as removing artwork from the walls and rearranging furniture–saving you time and money in the long run.
(2) Avoid the smell
Even with great ventilation, smelling paint fumes in your house isn’t pleasant or good for your health. When your house is painted before moving in, you avoid this hazard altogether.
(3) Ensure the job gets done
The longer you put a project off, the harder it is to get started. If you wait to paint until after you move in, the chances of the job getting pushed back a year or two (or indefinitely) are far higher.
(4) Easy clean-up
An empty house is easier for painters to navigate, meaning it’s easier to avoid things like drips and paint splatters. Additionally, the empty space makes clean-up faster and easier too.
Advantages of Painting After Moving In
If you are unable to paint your home prior to moving in, don’t worry. There are plenty of advantages to painting after you move in as well. Although it may take some extra work, painting after you move in gives you more time to research local painting companies and find a paint that works best for your space.
Other benefits include:
(1) Make confident colour choices
Waiting to paint until after you move in gives you a clearer vision of the final product–allowing you to feel more confident in your colour choices. For example, you may have your heart set on a warm tan, but after seeing how the light interacts with your furniture, you decide it’s best to go for a cool white instead.
(2) Get to know your home
Painting post-move-in gives you the time to better understand the flow and functionality of your home–this means you can strategically paint the rooms you use most frequently, and save the rest for a later date. This strategy is ideal for anyone on a budget who doesn’t want to take on a massive painting project all at once.
(3) Avoid damage
The last thing anyone wants is to ruin freshly painted (and freshly paid-for) walls. That said, moving furniture is tough and even the best movers aren’t immune to leaving a scuff mark or small hole in the wall. Waiting until after all the furniture is moved in means you won’t have to worry about causing damage to your new paint job.