How To Paint Trim Like A Pro
We actually get a lot of edging, cutting in, and trim-painting questions so we figured we’d share our secret… this amazing little short handled 2″ angled brush:
Whipping it out to clean up the baseboards and paint a crisp line where the walls meet the ceilings in our recent bathroom striping project reminded us just how stellar this little guy really is. Things were so smooth and fabulous that I ended up touching up nearly every baseboard in the house while I was at it. It’s kind of addicting when things are so easy.
So here’s the scoop: it’s available at Duron and Sherwin-Williams stores and it’s called the Premium XL Tight Spots 2″ Angle Short Handle Brush (with comfort grip- ooh la la). I should also clarify that we don’t work for Duron or Sherwin Williams, nor are they paying us to write about this magical little brush, we’ve just tried a ton of products and approaches to cutting in, edging, and painting trim and this baby is by far the easiest to control. In short: the short handled easy-grip design makes staying in the lines like loving Nate Berkus (read: super easy).
Before we discovered this miracle worker we tried painter’s tape (time consuming and not as crisp) and cutting in by hand with a regular angled brush (better but still a bit nerve-wracking and not at all error-proof). Enter this lifesaver, stage left. Rooms that once would have taken a full day to paint the baseboards, trim around the windows and crown molding with tongue-sticking-out-intensity can now be completed in less than two hours (and my tongue remains in my mouth). Really. It’s awesome. And it’s only… wait for it… $4.99.
Life is good.
So there you have it, our secret to avoiding wall paint on the baseboards, trim paint on the walls, wavy ceiling edges, and everything else that threatens to sabotage a good paint job. What about you guys? Do you have any secret home improvement weapons? Do tell.
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Took your advice and looked for a brush like this at Home Depot (we have some gift cards). We just painted the living room in our 1920′s home Robin’s Egg Blue and are in the middle of painting the dining room a pale green. The prior owners painted the trim with latex paint…over oil paint. While painting the living room, we discovered this as the painters tape peeled up significant portions of the trim paint. We don’t have the time or the money right now to get all the trim done (lots and lots of trim and dental molding). So, I got a SHUR-LINE brush (about $6) that was almost a carbon copy of the brush you described here and it made cutting in our dining room a breeze! Thanks for the suggestion!
Hi,
Just wanted to say “thank you” for the brush recommendation. I wasn’t able to find this exact one at Sherwin Williams, but did purchase a Premium XL 2″ angled brush with a longer handle. My mom, who has been doing home renovation projects for as long as I can remember, said “this is the best trim brush I’ve ever used!”
Thanks for the advice! Much appreciated!
Amber
So I’ve read through all of the comments and responses to this post and I have to admit I’m still a little confused about sanding/not sanding, priming/not priming — depending on the surface you are working with?? My trim is not real wood (I don’t think) has never been painted, and looks semi-shiny. My home was built in the 90′s if that gives you any clues. Whatever I do, I want it to last and not peel! Thinking about painting the interior doors as well. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!! Thank you! Love your blog!
A light sanding because it’s semi-shiny should yield perfect results when followed with oil-based primer and latex paint! Good luck!
xo,
s
Our family recently moved into a new house that has wood trim throughout (doors, windows, everything…all wood with an orangish tone). I would paint it all white in a heartbeat, except the actual windows are the same color of wood…even the dividers between the panes. I’m worried that white trim on top of brown windows would be a big eye-sore. Any thoughts?
Our original windows had wood mullions and we painted as much as we could white (the interior wood slivers weren’t apparent at all). No one really cranes their neck to see the wood between the panes so if you paint the fronts it does the trick.
xo,
s
Thanks for your response:) Unfortunately, the mullions we have are actually inside the two panes of glass so there is no way to paint them. And the windows themselves (Pella) are surrounded by the wood. I dont know if I should just paint the trim, leaving the windows brown or paint the wood around the windows as well, leaving the mullions I can’t get to brown. Or I could just live with orangish brown everything…no option sounds appealing at this point!
Right, we understand that (that’s how our old windows were too). We just painted all the wood that we could reach (trim, mullions, etc) but of course we couldn’t get between the glass. It still looked great!
xo,
s
oh yay! so there is hope:) I really appreciate your insight! Wont my husband be excited to hear all the fun projects we’re going to be working on this winter (hehehe).
Haha, good luck!
xo,
s
I guess I should read through all 161 comments here, but… the house we are buying has lots of stained oak trim. I want to paint it and see varying opinions on painting oak. Any thoughts?
If you’re asking if we think you should paint oak trim- we definitely believe that’s a subjective thing! If you’re worried abour resale value many realtors are now advising clients to paint trim since wood-toned baseboards and molding can look dated and crisp white trim can really make a house feel fresh and current (we agree, after all we painted all of our original 50′s oak trim and even out cabinets) – but it’s certainly a decision every homeowner must make on their own so go with your gut! As for how to do it, oil based primer followed by latex semi-gloss paint is the way to go.
xo,
s
here’s my problem with painting trim…Hope you have amazing advice like you do everything else! I painted the trim in my bathroom. It was the easiest room to start with. My problem is though that I have horribly shedding dogs. I kept getting dog hair everywhere on the trim and it was sticking to it. My issue is with the living room and bedrooms. We have carpet. I know if I paint the trim it will get dog hair all over it even if i clean right before. They will just walk by and hair flies!!! UGH! Did you ever run into this problem with you little dog??
Hey Malorie,
Burger hardly sheds at all (he has very short hair and is bald on his entire underside) but perhaps you can keep your dogs in another part of the house when you paint each room- just long enough for the room to dry. For example, keep the dog in the living room when you paint the bedrooms for a few hours, and keep the dog in the bedrooms when you paint the living room. Hair shouldn’t stick to the trim at all after about 4 hours or so of drying time. Maybe even less. Good luck!
xo,
s
amei voceis dois, sao uns amores, uma simpatia incrivel a casa ficou um sonho e o bebe e lindo, muitas felicidades tudo de bom. nao falo ingles o portugues e alemao.
love your site reference it all the time, what is your favorite trim to use….color, type and finish, just painted a room with gray and will have a chair with some off white in it, but i feel bright white would be best to brighten the room, but i am afraid because of the chair that has off white in it. I also don’t know what the best finish is to use…..
Thanks so much
Cheryl
Hey Cheryl,
You can’t go wrong with Benjamin Moore’s Decorators White in semi-gloss. It’s not too stark and not too creamy. Juuuust right.
xo,
s
Thanks for the advice, took it and it looks amazing. I am doing a baby’s room inspired by you guys, will send pics as soon as it is done, thanks so much for everything you guys do!
I too am deciding what colour trim would look good in our house. We have pine trims/windows throughout and our new TV cabnet/cupboards are cream with a wood top. We also plan to paint our wood kitchen the same cream as the TV cabnet. Do you think I need to stick with cream trim or could I choose white? Any suggestions?
Hey Joanne,
There are no hard and fast rules so we say go for cream and white if you’d like or just stick with cream if that’s what you prefer. It’s all about personal preference!
xo,
s
We are in the process of re-doing our daughters room from the floor up. Literally, new floors, trim, crown molding – the works. I NEED a paint brush that won’t leave whiskers everywhere! Have you found a brand of brushes that won’t lose their bristles while I am painting?
Yes, this one. It’s the only brush I use. Ever. I still have the one I blogged about here (it’s old but in great shape!) and it doesn’t leave whiskers anywhere.
xo,
s
Here is my tip on white paint. When I paint a room a medium toned color I usually get my white trim and or ceiling paint tinted. This will lower the contrast and make the room feel softer. For instance I painted my dinning room a medium gray. Then painted the ceiling and crown molding an extremely light gray. In the room it looked as if the ceiling was white. This is because of the adaptive nature of the eye. But be careful of tinting a color. I have had success tinting paint a extremely light sandy yellow and still coming off white but a red or green might come off disastrous. It is probably safe to stay in the yellow/orange or blue families as they are pleasant and natural light colors.
Love your recent posts! We just got through the last room in our new house painting all the trim white. We used the same type of awesome brush! And we had soo much trim to paint that we took off the baseboard trim because we thought it would be easier to paint it separately and then reattach it. I think it was quicker than edging against the floor, but a pain to nail the trim back on perfectly. Agreed that painting trim is a tedious pain, but so worth it!
And one more note, we just talked to our realtor about how painting trim affects resale value, and he also said it usually increases the value these days because of the crisp, clean look it gives.
Hey Callie,
Amen! We’ve heard the same thing here in VA from two different realtors! So anyone who is dying to paint their wood trim but is worried about resale should go for it for sure!!!
xo,
s
I am relatively new to your blog and remembered seeing something about an amazing brush for cutting in. Went and picked it up tonight for $4.99 and it is all I could have hoped for! Amazing!! Thank yo SO much for sharing. Cutting in is absolutely my least favorie part of painting, but it was a breeze tonight!
I was at Home Depot picking up some paint samples and just thought I’d take a chance and check if they had the short handle brush….and they DID! :) The brand is Wooster. I headed home immediately and tried it out. It works great, thanks for the heads up on yet another great tip!!!
I love your site, guys! Maybe I’ve missed it, but have you guys ever posted on how to keep your paint brushes from “splitting?” Every now and then the bristles of the brush will split into two or three clumps that no amount of washing seems to get rid of. Tips or tricks?
We’ve heard good things about brush combs (to get the bristles cleaner so they dry straighter and last longer). I’m just a compulsive rinse-er (like 15 mins a brush) and mine last for years but I’m crazy. Haha. And I don’t use my good brushes with primer or anything oil-based since that can be harder to un-do (I use my sub-par brushes for that, haha).
xo,
s
I purchased the trim brush you suggested this weekend for a bedroom paint project and you are absolutely right… A-mazing! I didn’t use painter’s tape at all and this little ditty did a fabulous job! No more painter’s tape for me!!
So glad!
xo,
s
God bless you and your cutting in technique!! I have always HATED painting because the prep took sooo much longer than the actual painting. We just painted our dining room and it was awesome. Not having to tape everything made all the difference. You guys rock!
Hey guys, I have some trim issues. A few months ago I painted our trim. I primed it, but did not sand it before I painted. I have two little dudes who run cars into it on a daily basis and have noticed little spots coming off. Is it because I didn’t sand it first or does this just happen to painted trim? AWWWWW Does this happen to your painted trim?
Thanks, for any advice
Sarah
Hmm, if you used oil-based primer and sanded (the most reliable method for durability) it might still happen. The thing about anything that’s painted being scraped with little metal wheels and stuff is that it’ll probably scuff and peel. I wonder if your best move would be just to sand the sills (or the part of the trim where they run their cars) and apply oil-based primer and then some white semi-gloss paint followed by a few thin and even coats of water based poly like Safecoat Acrylaq (other brands can yellow, which definitely isn’t fun). That might give them maximum durability in those “high traffic” (har har) areas. Good luck!
xo,
s
Another amateur question here… but do you use primer when you’re painting trim? We have oak trim throughout the house and while the wood is of lovely quality and in great shape, I’m not feelin’ the lite oak stain. Planning on painting but I’m wondering if using a primer will help keep the deep grain from showing through? Curious WWJ&SD? ;)
Thanks!
Pros say it is the best way to go, but we’ve done it without (just takes a few more coats of paint). Oil-based primer can block bleed through issues but it’s fumey so we don’t use it and haven’t had issues yet. It’s a gamble though!
xo,
s
What colors are good other than white for trimming and bedroom doors?
Soft gray. Or rich cream. Or deep charcoal. Or sandy tan or a deeper chocolate. Hmm, or weathered gray-blue. We’ve even seen glossy red or aqua trim in a white room with poppy accessories and it was surprisingly awesome.
xo,
s
I’ve love reading blogs (especially yours!) but I’ve never left a comment until now. THAT BRUSH HAS CHANGED MY LIFE!!! While I realize that might sound dramatic, I mean it! I painted my family room last night and it went so quickly! I’m so happy to be done with tape! Thank you!!
Wahoo!!!! So excited for you. Isn’t it amazing?
xo,
s
i just found that keeping a damp (good quality) brush and a sponge nearby REALLY help with the cutting in of paint on the floor moulding! if I ding the floor, I “reverse cut in” the wet brush along the floor and blot on the sponge until the floor “ding” is gone. it makes the line between the moulding and the floor flawless. my dining room trim looks like a professional….forget the messy painter’s tape…that stuff still bleeds and leaves a mess. good luck!
So smart! Love that tip.
xo,
s
I always hated carrying gallon size paint cans either when buying from the store or when taking them back to be shaken. The metal handle always hurt my hand. Then I found the HandiGrip Grocery Bag Handle at The Container Store. It’s meant for grocery bags but works perfectly with the metal handle. Thank you for all the tips you have shared! I hope this one helps you. Here is the link to the handle: http://www.containerstore.com/shop?productId=10005432&N=&Ntt=handle
Thanks for the tip! We’ll have to check it out!
xo,
s
I am a HUGE fan of your site!! Your rooms always look fabulous! So, we have an old house (built in 1920) and I want to give our living room and dining room a face lift. We have all wood trim and hardwood foors. A fireplace with red brick and a wooden mantle. I want to paint the trim white along with the fireplace. My dilemma is what to do with the front door, the door into the sun-room and the closet door. If I paint the trim white, would it look odd to leave my doors oak? I love the idea of fresh white trim with bamboo shades, flowing white curtains and a fresh look on the fireplace. But…the doors are leaving me confused! Thanks!!!
You can definitely leave the doors oak or paint them! We’ve seen it done both ways and both look great!
xo,
s
I have a similar question to Kate (above). We moved into an older house with wood floors and oak trim. There is white wainscoting in the bathroom (which I love), but there was previously oak trim. We painted that white and painted the bathroom closet door white and everything looks great. It looks odd (to me) to have the entrance door to the bathroom oak because it’s next to the closet door that’s white. However we are still on the fence about doing the trim in the dining room/living room/downstairs areas white… and, at any rate, it will be awhile before we tackle that project. Is it super weird to have the inside of the door of the bathroom painted white so when it’s closed it looks seamless with the rest of the bathroom? The outside would be oak so that when the door is closed, it would match the trim and the other downstairs doors. Does this make sense? Am I crazy? AHHHHHHH…..
Oh yeah- that totally makes sense and is a-ok! We have the front of our house door painted yellow but it’s white on the inside!
xo,
s
Thank you so much for this tip! My boyfriend recently bought a foreclosed house (1960′s ranch) and we’ve been fixing it up bit by bit. Thanks to your suggestion, we bought this brush and trim work has been sooooo easy! A friend even told us it looked like professionals had done the painting! We still laid painter’s taped down along the floor (I’m a bit accident prone,) but that was just as a precaution. Plus, we’re beginners. But it made going along the ceiling effortless and getting in the corners so easy. We love your blog and go to it when we need tips and hints for our work, especially since the houses are similar in style and from a similar era. Thank you so much!
Yay! So glad!
xo,
s
I just bought the generic version of the short brush after reading your post. I painted my entire living room without hand cramps for the first time. One million thank-yous.
Wahoo! So glad!
xo,
s
Wow! You’re blog is awesome! My husband and I just painted our kitchen and dining room. We used red as an accent color and we found out quick how hard it is to pain with red! I am going to go to the store today and get your recommended brush. We masked the ceilings and trim and it turned out horrible! I just spent all morning trying to get the paint off the trim. The primer and paint both seeped through the tape :( Now I have to go back and touch all of it up…so that brush will be perfect! Now, question…what is the best finish to use for bedrooms? We are using Valspar paint. Is eggshell the best? We used satin in the kitchen and dining room since that’s what they suggested. I hope we didn’t screw up there! Thanks again for all of your advice :)
Oh yes, satin in the kitchen is great and you can go with eggshell everywhere else! We go with satin everywhere since it’s so easy to wipe down and doesn’t look too shiny but we use eggshell for dark rooms (like our deep teal guest room) – just so it’s not too shiny. Good luck!
xo,
s
I’m so glad you guys are spreading the word not to use painter’s tape for cutting in — using it almost always ends in tears.
Instead, use a quality paint and a good brush like a Purdy, Wooster — or the little flexible guy you used on this project — to make cutting in a relaxing, almost meditative experience.
I used this paint brush recently on a project forgetting entirely you had recommended it here. I came back to leave a note about how wonderful it was to work with and lo and behold – it’s the same one. I feel lame heralding the joys of this paint brush, but it really is AWESOME.
Haha- it really is, right?
xo,
s
I’ve become such a pro with this brush, I don’t tape off at all anymore! I just painted my bathroom (that has a lot of trim in it) and didn’t tape off at all. Thank you so much for the tip on this cutting in brush!
Wahooo! Isn’t it addicting? I can’t get over how much fun it is to hear people say they love my little favorite brush. It’s the best, right?
xo,
s
My husband and I are painting the trim in our home that was built in the early 2000′s. It is the builder grade light stained oak. We are going to take it all off to paint it simply because we have carpet throughout the majority of our home. My question for you is have you ever rolled the paint on the trim?? When you use this brush, do you see brush strokes? I am asking because we are also replacing all of the doors and will be painting the new ones white to match the trim and I really don’t want to paint the doors with a brush… Any thoughts??
If it has grooves in it like most trim you’ll probably need to use a brush. If you apply it thinly and evenly with one coat of stainblocking primer you shouldn’t have any brush strokes. Oh but use semi-gloss and not high gloss to cut down on the chance of them. As for the doors, you can roll those! Good luck!
xo,
s
We are planning to paint all of the stained oak trim on our new house white. The doors are slab doors that are also oak. Will it look strange to paint these white as well? My other option is to replace them with white 6 paneled doors. For some reason I worry he plain slab door will look strange in white.
Oh no, we have those all over our house (and in our first house) and we painted them all semi-gloss white! You might want to use primer first- but they’ll look great in the end. Oh and a small foam roller gets them nice and smooth!
xo,
s
do you suggest taking them down or leaving them up to paint?
Leaving them up for sure!
xo,
s
I painted the ceiling a couple weeks ago, and I am about to paint the walls… can I skip the tape on the ceiling too with this (amazing) brush? I watched your video but I keep thinking this is a different angle and I might accidentally brush the ceiling with it…
Oh yes, I think if you’re on a good ladder with leverage you can, but if you’re wobbling on your tiptoes it makes the most sense to tape off the ceiling just in case.
xo
s
So paint bleed….there is a product called OOPS! Comes in a small can and will clean the paint off with a little rubbing.
Edging, tried the brush technique and was not successful. Even had my son give me a demo. I could do the vertical OK but not the horizontal. I have always liked the edger pads that Shur-Line makes. Takes a bit to get used to how much to dip it in the paint tray, but it works! My young friend, who painted some for a living while going to school, does not recommend them. But I find them to be a breeze in getting the edging done.
Do you paint the trim before or after you do the walls? I’m about to embark on a large painting project and haven’t decided if I’ll paint the trim or leave it wood. If I decide to paint it, I’m not sure if I should do it first or second. Thoughts?
The pros usually do trim first and then walls. We have done it in both orders and it’s not too bad either way, so don’t worry if you already have done walls and want to go back and do trim. Good luck!
xo
s
I know this post is pretty old, but they still sell this paintbrush at SW. I bought it hoping it would eliminate the need for taping our stairs before painting (I have about 50 spindles to paint). It worked! You saved me hours of frustration, thank you so much!!!!
I finished reading this post and literally went straight to Sherwin Williams for the tight spot brush. I paint every night and every weekend. This brush changes EVERYTHING. I love it!!!
So glad!
xo
s
Hey guys,
I’ve been thinking of painting our baseboards and trim, but have been told it is a real pain in the butt and not to. We have quite a lot of trim etc, and that intimidates me! Right now they are a light beige and I would love them to be white because we will be painting our cabinets white and putting some white subway tile in next month. When you moved in did you paint all your baseboards and trim? If so were you ready to kill yourselves after?
Thanks so much!
Steph :)
I did it in the entire first house, and it sucked but going one room at a time was best and in the end was SO GLAD I DID IT! Made the entire room look new, so room by room we were getting a new house! Haha. Hope it’s not as bad as you think- sometimes those jobs are :)
xo
s