1. Prepare your paint
Before you get cracking, head down to your nearest Bunnings to pick your desired colour. We opted for a nice light-grey to go with the ‘Coastal Luxe’ look of the Make It Yours home. This is a particularly good choice if you’re working with light-coloured nineties bricks, but feel free to choose any colour you wish – just make sure it’s the right type of paint for outdoors. You can use a paint calculator to find out the right amount of paint to purchase. Once you’ve picked your paint, give the tin a good stir using a paint stirrer.
2. Dilute with water
Once you’ve done this, pour your paint into a smaller bucket, then dilute with about ten per cent water – this makes the application much easier and will give you a nice, fine spray with your spray gun. Once you’ve added your water, mix it together again using your stirrer. Add more water or more paint until you’re happy with the consistency – you don’t want it too runny, or too thick.
3. Mask up edges
Before you get spraying, mask up any areas you don’t want to get paint on with some masking tape or painter’s tape.
4. Pour your paint into the spray gun
Once you’re happy with the consistency of your diluted paint, pour it into your spray gun – and you’re good to go! Make sure the nozzle on your gun is pointing in the direction you want the spray to go. Our bricks run side to side, so we adjusted our nozzle so it sprayed in this direction also.
5. Begin painting the exterior walls
Holding your spray gun, spray your wall from one end to the other – don’t start in the middle. You want to keep your spray gun an even distance from the wall whilst painting – being consistent with this is important for all-over coverage. It’s a lot more comfortable to use your whole arm to spray, not just your wrist, so keep this in mind before you start. When painting, be mindful of overspray – you don’t want to spray too close to your gutters and windows.
6. Use a brush and roller for trickier spots
Once you’ve sprayed your first coat, use a brush and roller to get in there and paint the trickier areas, like gutters and windows or the grooves between bricks. For these areas, use paint straight from the tin, not the diluted paint we used for the gun. Pour some into a tray and begin rolling. Handy hint: Begin by rolling ‘W’s onto your wall, then go back over with ‘M’s – this ensures a nice even coat. Use a brush to cut in along the gutter line.
7. Change the spray pattern
Once your first coat of paint is dry, change the spray pattern on your spray gun by twisting the nozzle – this will ensure you get all those nooks and crannies the second time around. Once you’ve done this, remove your painter’s tape – and the job’s done!
8. A facelift for your home
And just like that, you’ve totally transformed the whole look and feel of your home! The best bit? It hasn’t cost you an arm or a leg!
Watch the full episode
Check out the full episode from Make It Yours season one for more front yard inspiration with Dale Vine.
