Has anyone painted walls with red paint?

[Teresa in MO]

I think we are going to paint an accent wall in our kitchen red. I was just reading online how difficult painting with red is. We are painting over a white wall. I did read where we will probably need a gray primer. Any other tips? Also, I picked up color sample charts from Home Depot. The colors I really want our a Martha Stewert Living color, but we really like the Behr paint. Does anyone know if they will mix up the MS color in Behr paint?

[prairiegirl]

I painted two walls in our family room a brick red. I didn't know anything, at that time, about painting the walls with primer first and it turned out fine. I had to do two coats but that was it. The color underneath was a pale green (almost white.)

[simka2]

We just had a primer tinted. I think it was a pink color ;) Then it was no problem.

[Purpledaizy]

Ugh we did this and what a @#$% mess. Whatever you do don't use Ralph Lauren. We heard painting with red was difficult and thought the fancy name and expensive price would be worth it WRONG. Even with primer it was blotchy, uneven and the paint was difficult to work with. Good luck, I hope it works out bettter for for you!

[elegantlion]

Do a coat of tinted primer, yes it will be pink. Red may require more than two coats. Make sure you paint the entire wall at once, allowing ample time for drying in between coats.

 

Red can beautiful as an accent wall. We have red and gold in our classroom and ds has two red walls in his bedroom.

[Guest Alte Veste Academy]

I think we are going to paint an accent wall in our kitchen red. I was just reading online how difficult painting with red is. We are painting over a white wall. I did read where we will probably need a gray primer. Any other tips? Also, I picked up color sample charts from Home Depot. The colors I really want our a Martha Stewert Living color, but we really like the Behr paint. Does anyone know if they will mix up the MS color in Behr paint?

 

I painted one of our rooms with American Tradition's Radiant Red. It was fabulous. However, I tested out five different red paint samples on gray primer first. One coat gray primer, one coat red. Done. Beautiful samples. Then when I went to purchase the gallon sizes, the clerk told me about the tinted red primer (yes, it was pink on the walls, as the others have said) that was supposedly better than gray (and the gray was listed in the instructions on the can). So, I bought it despite instructions and having had such success with the gray primer. BIG mistake because it took me 3 (THREE!!!) coats of the tinted primer and then two coats of red. Much more effort than the gray would have been. (I was covering a light yellow wall--BAD yellow, fluorescent actually...oooops!)

 

I don't know about them mixing one color into a different brand. I once had someone willing to do it but she told me she couldn't guarantee the color would be the same. Another guy, another time, wouldn't do it at all. I think it can depend on what clerk is working that day. I will say that DH has painted 5 rooms in our house (one room 3 different times :tongue_smilie:) and has worked with Behr, Sherwin Williams and American Tradition (now Valspar) and says hands-down that the AT/V is the easiest to work with.

 

ETA: DEFINITELY paint samples! It's so worth the price! My color choice is almost never the same as I first think it would be after the samples are on the wall.

Edited May 21, 2010 by Alte Veste Academy

[SproutMamaK]

I'd worry more about hte quality of the primer than the quality of the paint itself. If you have a good primer, the paint tends to spread more evenly, etc. Just my experience. Our bedroom is painted red. We originally chose one colour that we thought we "deep and dark". On our walls, even after 3 coats (and a tinted primer), it was BRIGHT! We went back to the store and had them add as much black as they could to the remaining cans, and did another 2 coats, which ended up looking fabulous.

 

So my advice would be - get a good (tinted) primer, choose a colour that's a shade or two darker than you think you want (unless you WANT clown-nose red), and be prepared to do at least 2 or 3 coats. I have to say, I LOVe our red room, LOVE it. I want to do another room in red, but all of our remaining room are so small that it wouldn't work. Although you may be on to something with doing on wall in the kitchen..... I may steal your plan!

[TandLMommy28]

We did my son's room in DARK, deep red and it came out AWESOME, although the process was painful... :)

 

Here's a link to the finished product... we did two coats of tinted primer (mostly because the walls were in bad shape after we pulled the wall paper down) and then three coats of red, four on the edges, which were harder to darken up. We also only did half the wall to avoid the room being too dark...

 

http://s20.photobucket.com/albums/b238/Gusabotory/?action=view&current=mayjune20081312.jpg

[grace'smom]

We did our kitchen a nice, dark burgandy color. Almost the color of red wine. It took two coats of interior BEHR flat paint on very "thirsty" new house walls. We LOVE Behr. We've tried many other brands and Behr never fails us.

 

That being said- one thing to know about the burgandy paint or red paint- I don't know if anyone else has this problem. When you touch the walls hard, like a kid dragging their nails across it, you have to wipe it with a wet cloth because their hand leaves white streaks on the wall. Not a huge thing, my daughter rarely does this, but every once in a while I see where she rode her nails across the wall in a streak. She might just be a weird kid though...

[Beach Mom]

Our dining room is red from chair rail up, it is one of my favorite colors in the house.

 

Like others said priming is the key.

 

One thing we found is that how red looks on a wall can change drastically from night to day and room to room depending on the light. What we did was paint some decent size samples so we could view in in the actual light of the room before we selected the final cover. Some turned quite purple at dusk, others were WAY too pink. Once we found the right color, we primed and painted two coats. My recommendation is not to use flat paint. You cannot touch up red flat without it showing. We used an eggshell and it has been easy to wipe off and touch up.

 

Happy Painting!

[NoPlaceLikeHome]

My dh painted a bathroom blood red on my mother's advice for selling our house. We thought she was nuts and were practically crying during the process because we were thinking it was a mistake. It did take several coats to get the job done, but in the end it was well worth it:D My mom was right and the bathroom looked spectacular;)

[Joyfullyblessed]

My living room used to be a gorgeous deep red. I used BEHR paint called Red, Red Wine. I LOVE BEHR paint and will not use anything else.

 

Painting my living room red was hard, but not impossible. I used a tinted primer, and then painted on two more coats of the red to eliminate any uneven looking areas. My room was big, so it took quite a while, but the results were wonderful.

 

I used a 2" Purdy brand paint brush (& a very steady hand, especially with red) to do the cut in work, then good quality rollers for the main part of the walls (so I didn't get little fuzzies on the wall). Also, I go with an eggshell finish in the paint. It adds just a touch of sheen and is easier to wash than using a flat paint.

 

Now, I have since painted that room a light, smokey blue and again I used a tinted primer, then one coat of the regular paint & had NO problem covering my deep red.

 

Now, my kitchen is more in the deep red/orange family. Again, I used BEHR paint with a tinted primer and one coat of the regular paint. It went over a sunny yellow and was very easy. I LOVE the results of that because I have LOTS of white in my kitchen and the contrast is just beautiful in my opinion.

 

Good luck with whatever you decide. Painting red is a little more work than other colors, but soooo beautiful and worth it in the end. :)

[Leanna Tomlinson]

Years ago I "ragged" our powder room with rose and red. All my friends thought it was gorgeous. My husband said he felt like he was going potty at the "gates of hell". ;)

[DianeW88]

I did this with a wall around the fireplace in my family room and I LOVE it! Our wall started out white, too, and I didn't use a primer. I did however, end up using SIX coats of Laura Ashley "Berry #6" paint. It turned out perfectly though. And, 9 years later....I still love it. After I did my red wall....four of my neighbors who saw it went and did the same thing in their houses. So I guess it looks good. :lol:

 

Diane W.

married 22 years

homeschooling 3 kiddos for 16 years

[happyhomemaker25]

We painted our walls in our room a dark burgundy. We used Lowes brand paint and it only took about two coats and no primer. We swear by that stuff now. :)

[happyhomemaker25]

Years ago I "ragged" our powder room with rose and red. All my friends thought it was gorgeous. My husband said he felt like he was going potty at the "gates of hell". ;)

 

When I did our bedroom in burgundy I used black iron sconces and mirrors and picture frames to decorate. My husband still calls it the dungeon room. LOL

[delaney]

We have dark red in our kitchen and it took 4 coats over white. I have heard that black works well for a primer. Wish we had used one!

[LauraGB]

In ds's room we did one wall in deep red. His was Ralph Lauren. I agree with the pp who used RL - careful painting, 3 coats to get it streak free. We did use a primer in his room because we had just re-drywalled and plastered his walls at that time.

 

I used to have red accent walls (I *think* it was Behr, and it was called Hearthstone) in my kitchen, dining room and hallway. I am happy to say that I recently went with green on those same walls and I used only 1 coat (can you believe it?!) of Behr w/Primer. Awesome stuff.

[milovany]

We have all the walls in our living room painted a wonderful red, and I knew nothing about priming first. We just went over the old (white-ish) paint. I did cringe after the first coat because it was looking pink, but once the second coat went on, I was :D. I probably would do one more coat if I could, but it's fine and we love it!

[abbeyej]

If I were to do it again, I would do two coats of primer tinted *exactly* the final color. And I would plan on a minimum of 4 coats of the final paint. We used Behr and I'm happy with the results. But it did take a *number* of coats, even with a dark (not matching) primer.

[BeckyFL]

We did the bottom have of the boy's room in Benjamin Moore raspberry swirl I think it was called. We used their Aura paint which is not cheap but it covered beautifully in 2 coats, no primer. We were painting over gray.

[Mejane]

Ugh we did this and what a @#$% mess. Whatever you do don't use Ralph Lauren. We heard painting with red was difficult and thought the fancy name and expensive price would be worth it WRONG. Even with primer it was blotchy, uneven and the paint was difficult to work with. Good luck, I hope it works out bettter for for you!

 

We had the same trouble with Lauren's navy blue. Five years later, it still rubs off if you touch it. :glare:

 

Our dining room is red. We used Sherwin Williams paint, and it took three coats. It's pretty, but what a hassle.

[Aubrey]

We did a shade of red--a little more brick than true red--on two walls--3?--of the dining area in our old house. We knew nothing about priming for dark colors, but I think we primed the whole house w/ basic Kilz. It took a couple of coats & turned out *beautiful.* I love red.

[DarlaS]

I have a red wall and I only did 2 coats. I used the same dark gray primer I used in the room we painted a dark blue. Both dark colors only needed two coats so gray seems to be the primer of choice for dark colors.

 

I can't imagine how pink primer would help. Isn't pink what you're trying to avoid by using the dark gray? Red + White = pink, so it hardly seems that would save many coats at all.

 

I used Behr paint, but plan to use Valspar in the future. It really does seem to get better coverage for me. In fact, I'm planning to do that room again.

[KidsHappen]

My dining room and one wall in my bathroom is deep red. We used Bullseye Primer and Valspar paint. It took two coats of primer and three coats of paint but they came out perfectly.

 

We also did a very deep fushia in one of my girls rooms. Same way two coats primer and three coats paint. It turned out fine as well except for the dripping and removed pieces from where my hubby pulled down the paint way too late.

 

I have yet to repaint a red one so I don;t know how that will go but I imagine it will be harder.

[Deidre in GA]

i recently redecorated ds16's room. he really wanted a red accent wall. wish someone had told me about the gray primer (his wall was white) because it took 4 coats! we used Olympic Low VOC paint.

[Dandelion]

I painted our dining room red and it's my favorite room in the house...

 

Based on several recommendations, I used Glidden's "Gripper Grey" as the primer (may have been recommended in this thread already - I haven't read the replies) and then used Glidden Eggshell Premium Paint in "Victorian Red". I did two coats of the red and it turned out beautifully.

 

I had initially done a small section of wall with no primer (just to test out the whole "red is impossible without primer" theory myself) and it was a mess! Definitely get a good quality primer - and I highly recommend "Gripper Grey"!

[Oak Knoll Mom]

I painted our kitchen with a Ralph Lauren red, and, unlike a pp, I had a great experience with it. We used a primer intended to go under red paint and only needed one coat of red to get a fabulous color. I don't remember what the primer was, but I do remember that it was Barney purple.

[Guest Alte Veste Academy]

I have a red wall and I only did 2 coats. I used the same dark gray primer I used in the room we painted a dark blue. Both dark colors only needed two coats so gray seems to be the primer of choice for dark colors.

 

I can't imagine how pink primer would help. Isn't pink what you're trying to avoid by using the dark gray? Red + White = pink, so it hardly seems that would save many coats at all.

 

Exactly! After having tried all my samples with one coat of gray and one coat of red, I was not a happy painter to have been sold the tinted primer and have to do soooo many coats.

 

I have yet to repaint a red one so I don;t know how that will go but I imagine it will be harder.

 

I have since repainted our red room (was ds7's room but made into the schoolroom when he and ds4 got bunks...is now the playroom but anyway...:D). When you do it, get what they call high-hide primer. I went from deep red to butter yellow with great success, using two coats of the high-hide primer and one coat of the yellow.