A PROFESSIONAL decorator has shared five tips and DIY fan should take note of.

Charlotte Allen, who is based in Cornwall, explained how you can get a professional finish on your home even if you're a complete novice.

According to Charlotte, you should never use a dry roller when painting.

Instead, she recommended dampening it with a splash of water before it even touches any paint.

"This helps your roller to hold more paint straight away," the pro explained.

And when it comes to getting perfectly straight lines, the trick is to paint over the masking tape right away.

READ MORE ON DIY

DIY whizz transforms a £2 lamp from a charity shop with the weirdest ingredients

Time-strapped mum gives garden quick glow up with B&Q and Poundland buys

Adding a layer of your base colour over the top of the masking tape will help seal it, meaning you'll get perfectly crisp and clean lines.

Forgetting to add five percent water to any water-based paints is also a big mistake, Charlotte said.

"This helps your paint to flow better and go further," she explained.

The decorating pro's final tip is to "always prime bare wood before applying any type of paint."

Most read in Fabulous

Likewise, if you have silk walls but want to paint them matte, you should lightly sand them down first.

After sharing her savvy advice on Instagram (@charlottedecorator) other DIY fans chimed in, thanking her for the practical help.

One said: "These tips are actually realistic and productive well done."

A second agreed: "Both times we've hired pro decorators they've added a little water to the water based paints and the finish was so smooth.

"We used the same paint for another room and didn't do this. No matter what we did, you can see roller and paintbrush lines in it because it was so thick."

And another said: "I just painted two rooms and wish I had watched this first! Well now I know."

Source: Read Full Article