Walls might get most of the attention in a room, however getting the perfect finish to your ceiling will make a huge amount of difference to the overall look of your room.

Painting a ceiling can sometimes be slightly daunting, however if you have the correct equipment – such as a good long reach paint roller – and follow some simple rules, the whole process is actually a really easy one.

Firstly, you’ll want to purchase good quality ceiling paint. This is specially designed to produce less drips, and is also generally flat, as opposed to glossy. Most people choose to paint their ceiling white, however you can easily find ceiling paints that are different colours. If you do choose to paint your ceiling a different colour, make sure it complements the colour you’ve chosen for your walls, as otherwise you might find yourself having to repaint earlier than you planned…

Next, it is really important to prepare the ceiling before you start adding paint. After all, it probably hasn’t been painted for years, so there will undoubtedly be some dirt and small dents found on it. So, you’ll need to sand the ceiling first – there are many good long reach sanders on the market – and then clean the ceiling properly. Once you’ve done this, you can pop open the can of paint and start painting!

Before you get the roller out, you’ll first need to cut in. Don’t do it all at once though – instead, cut in section by section. Each time you’ve done around a couple of metres of cutting in, get out your long reach paint roller and paint the area of the ceiling you’ve just cut in. By working in stages, you minimise boredom, and you’ll also find it easier to blend the edges with the rest of the ceiling. The best tool for cutting in quickly is the Fastrim Cutting-In Paint Roller

But how do you use a paint roller properly? Well, the key is speed. You’ll need to work in small sections – around 6ft wide each – and move between these sections quickly. This means that you won’t let the paint dry before moving onto the adjoining section, which is called “keeping a wet edge” in the industry. You’ll also want to use a long reach paint roller, as a standard paint roller will lead to lots of uncomfortable stretching as you try to reach the ceiling. See paintstick - the fastest paint roller.

So, painting a ceiling really is pretty simple, and with just a few hours of work you can completely transform the look of any room in the house!