No matter if you’re a new home owner or someone who has owned a home for many years, you’ve at some point probably wondered: how often should you paint your house interior? While it differs from room to room due to varying degrees of traffic and usage, the general rule is you should repaint your house interior every 3-5 years.
Keep in mind that not every household is the same. Maybe you rarely use your dining room except for the holidays. Or maybe you’re a dedicated home chef who whips up worldly cuisines a few times a week. Maybe you’ve got pets that love to take a few laps from the hallway into the living room. Whatever the case, consulting a professional can help you get a good idea of how often you should be repainting your house interior based on your unique lifestyle. That being said, here are some general rules to help you get started.
Living Rooms
Living rooms are the gathering spaces of a home. It’s where we watch the game, where we cozy up at night to watch a good TV show or movie, where we come together during the holidays to share, laugh, and tell stories. It’s no surprise that living rooms are considered a high traffic room, so when the question: how often should you paint your house interior comes up, living rooms are at the top of the list. Most experts recommend a living room be painted every 5-7 years to help ensure it continues to look fresh and welcoming for your family and guests for years to come
Dining Rooms
When we ask ourselves: how often should you paint your house interior, another room at the top of the list is the dining room. Dining rooms can function similarly to living rooms in that they are places where people often gather. Whether it’s where you share nightly dinners with your loved ones, where your kids post up to tackle their homework, or the occasional room for board game nights it’s recommended dining rooms be painted every 5-7 years.
However, you may only use the dining room for special occasions like holidays and family get-togethers, which means you won’t have to repaint as frequently. Be sure to check with a painting professional to get a better idea on how often you should repaint your dining room based on your own unique lifestyle.
Bedrooms
The great thing about adult bedrooms is that typically they rarely need to be repainted unless there is a change in decor. If you had to put a number to it, most experts would say repainting adult bedrooms every 10 years is a good amount of time.
Children’s bedrooms, on the other hand, are an entirely different story. On average, children’s bedrooms should be repainted every 2-3 years. You might be wondering why the difference in years is so great, but you’ll have to take into account that children grow and their tastes change frequently. Not to mention the scuffs, markings, and other imperfections that might accumulate on the walls from playtime and fun.
Kitchen
For many, a kitchen is like another living room, but even better because it’s got food! It’s often a high traffic gathering place where there’s sure to be some grease, stains, smoke, and other things flying onto your walls. Whether you’re the chef at home who likes to whip up delicious meals nightly, or a takeout enthusiast whose got all the best restaurants on speed dial, your kitchen walls deserve the same amount of love your food gets. It’s best to give your kitchen walls a fresh coat of paint every 3-4 years to keep it looking fresh and inviting.
Bathrooms
It can be said that bathroom walls have a lot more responsibility than other walls in the house because they need to stand up to moisture and humidity. Water-based paints are the way to go when it comes to holding up in humid areas – not only do they hold up well in all that moisture, they can easily be wiped down as well. Expect to paint your bathrooms every 3-4 years.
Hallways
Typically, hallways have the most traffic out of any other room in the house, so there’s a good chance that there’ll be scuffs, marks, scratches, and dings on your hallway walls. It’s recommended you give your hallway some new paint every 2-3 years to keep up with all the action it gets.
Mudrooms
If you’ve got a mudroom, you’ve basically got another (smaller) hallway. Mudrooms are where we come in to have a seat and take off our shoes, but more precisely it’s the room where we take off our snow, rain, and mud covered clothing – hence the name “mudroom”. Treat the mudroom like another hallway and expect to repaint it every 2-3 years.
Laundry Room
Laundry rooms are like bathrooms in the way they pick up moisture frequently from constant washing and drying. Treat your laundry room the same as a bathroom and expect to paint it every 3-4 years. Water-based paints are also the best choice for your laundry room.
How Often Should You Paint Your Ceilings
Repainting your ceilings is a great way to brighten up the room, especially because of the gradual dulling in luster and yellowing from sunlight over the years. Because ceiling paint tends to last twice as long as wall paint, it’s a great idea to repaint your ceilings every other time you paint your walls! And with a professional paint job, a ceiling can last up to 10 years!
How Often Should You Paint Your Baseboards & Trim
Your home’s interior trim is definitely something you’ll want to repaint often. Baseboards, doors, window trim, cabinets, and other decorative trim take the most beating, especially in high traffic areas of the house where your trim is susceptible to scuffs, marks, dents, and other damage. Most experts will tell you it’s a good idea to repaint your interior trim every 2-4 years. If you do go with professional services (highly recommended because painting trim can get messy) don’t be afraid to ask them to leave the leftover bucket of paint for you to do touch ups from time to time.
Did You Know Weather Can Affect Your Interior Paint
You’d never think it, but did you know weather can affect your interior paint? While this is more geographically dependent, if you live in a place like Miami near a beach where the weather is hot most of the year and your windows are often open, your walls are getting exposed to a small amount of salt in the air. Over the years, this can dull the luster on your paint. It’s a good idea to ask a professional about how the weather and climate of your area can impact not only just your exterior paints, but your interior paint as well.
