Painting the walls inside of a home may seem like a pretty straightforward task—it’s all about getting the paint smoothly on the walls, which isn’t complicated. But if you want to do the best possible job and create a beautiful and balanced paint job that will look great for years, it’s important to utilize the full set of tools that are available. If you’re preparing for a big interior painting project, here are the tools that you’ll want to have.


Rollers: Paint rollers are usually best for painting the large, uninterrupted areas of the wall. They’re easy to use, and they’re one of the most efficient ways to paint. However, they’re usually not the best option for walls with uneven surface or for getting into corners.

Brushes: For more detailed paint work, using paint brushes gives you a more delicate tough. They’re useful for painting things like wainscoting and molding, and they’re great for getting into those edges and corners without slopping paint where you don’t want it to be.

Stepladder: When you paint the upper reaches of the wall (or the ceiling), it can put a strain on your arms. Standing on a stepladder takes a lot of the pressure off.

Extension rods: Extension rods allow you to extend your rollers to enable you to get to difficult-to-reach areas of wall or high ceilings.

Plastic: When painting, it’s a good idea to lay down plastic on the floor to protect against drips and splatters, which will happen no matter how careful you are.

Masking tape: Before you start painting, you’ll want to put up masking tape to protect corners where you don’t want the paint to go. It’s also useful for hooking your floor-protecting plastic to the lower edges of the wall.

Sandpaper: When preparing for your paint job, you might be dealing with old patches of wall paper or areas of the wall that are simply rough. It’s best to paint on a surface that is as smooth as possible, which is where sandpaper comes in. You can use it to smooth out those rough patches and lumps to make the wall surfaces more even.

Strong cleaner: No matter how careful you are, you’ll probably get paint somewhere where you don’t want it to be. Have a strong cleaning solution that is good for cleaning the types of paints you’ll be using.