for those of you who have painted

The walls of our apartment are flat white... Literally the apartment had just been built and we moved in Late Nov. 2004

The walls are still squeeky clean and now we want to add a little color to our very white apartment


Do we still need to use a primer before we actually paint?

You don't have to, unless you're planning to paint a dark color (in which case you should use a tinted primer - it will cut down on the # of coats).

You should clean the walls first to get rid of any dust or grease or anything. The paint will adhere better to a clean area.

Have fun!! It's amazing to see the difference a little color can make!

When I bought my house about 5 years ago, I didn't prime because I was using all light colors. In the years since, I could see lines and imperfections that would have been covered with primer. As of now, we've repainted everything again, mostly with darker colors, and we always prime (and use good paintbrushes and rollers, and only Benjamin Moore paint).