Planning 
How to Prepare Your Home for Interior Painters (Checklist)
What to do before painters arrive and what to leave to them — furniture, wall hangings, pets, colors, and what a good crew handles on its own.
Kevin Spahn, owner of Paintcrafters LLC
One week before
- Finalize colors and sheens. Paint test patches — at least a 2×2 foot square — on two walls of each room and look at them morning and evening.
- Tell us about anything unusual: fragile heirlooms, alarm sensors on window trim, rooms that must stay usable on certain days.
- Book around events. Guests, holidays and deliveries are easier when the schedule accounts for them.
The day before
- Clear shelves and surfaces. Books, photos, lamps, décor and anything breakable.
- Take down wall hangings, curtains and blinds if you can. We can remove hardware for you, but you know which pieces are delicate.
- Empty closets that are being painted.
- Move small furniture — side tables, chairs, plants — out of the room if there is space elsewhere.
Leave these to the crew
- Moving and covering large furniture (sofas, beds, dressers, pianos stay put and get covered).
- Removing outlet covers, switch plates and vent covers.
- Laying floor protection, masking trim and floors, hanging dust barriers.
- Patching nail holes and wall damage — tell us which holes to fill and which you want to keep for re-hanging.
Pets and family
Wet paint and curious pets do not mix. Plan a pet-free zone, and let us know about pets that could slip out an open door. For kids’ rooms, we schedule so bedrooms are usable by evening.
After the painters leave
Paint is dry to the touch within hours, but it keeps curing for a few weeks. For the first two weeks:
- Re-hang pictures after 24–48 hours.
- Avoid scrubbing walls; spot-clean gently if needed.
- Do not push furniture tight against fresh paint.
- Keep the leftover paint labeled by room for touch-ups.
Ready to schedule? Request a free estimate or read about our interior painting process.
