- Get the colour right - create a mood board using magazine pictures, fabric samples and paint swatches
- Buy the right brush - choose as large a paintbrush as you can comfortably manage. Try a four inch brush for walls and a two inch brush for doors
- Clear the room - and if you can't remove it, cover it
- Pre-wash your brush - do this before you start painting, using the solvent you will use to clean the brush. When the job's done, this makes it easy to get the paint out of your brush
- Take a break - wrap brushes and rollers tightly in cling film and place them in the fridge to stop them going hard.
- Stop drips and smudges - start with the ceilings, working down to the walls, trimmings, cabinets and doors
- Get creative - a plain canvas painted with a tester pot shade works well as a mini notice board for photos and postcards.
- Be careful with feature walls - these are usually opposite the entrance to a room, but try tacking up a few brightly coloured sheets of paper first to see if you could live with the colour
