After Painting The Wall (above) & Before Painting The Wall (below)
Please excuse some of my unedited photos as I am yet to download photo editing software on my new computer since my old one crashed this past May…

Painting Walls

I find that adding some colors to some walls of a rental home is a good way to give characters to otherwise a very generic look. I prefer not painting too many walls just because I have to paint all the walls back to white when we move out. It will be expensive as well as a hassle.

Since I just painted many walls prior to moving out of our home we rented out in Northern Virginia, I did not feel like painting many walls of our new home in Manila myself. I started looking for a painter thinking it must be cheap to hire a painter. It is certainly cheaper to hire one compared to doing so in the United States, but I came to find out that it was not very cheap to have a painter in Manila.

Before ☆ Landing

After ☆ Landing

Before ☆ Daughter’s Room

After ☆ Daughter’s Room

Before ☆ Kids Room

After ☆ Kids Room

Before ☆ Kids Room

After ☆ Kids Room

Before ☆ Landing

After ☆ Landing

Finding A Painter in Manila

Here is my recommendation for a painter. His name is Gemmo. He was reliable and worked fast. Most importantly, his rate met my budget.

Gemmo Crisologo
(0917)355-9097

I actually had a tough time finding a painter in Manila.

Initially I received two referrals of painters. I gave the dimensions of the wall areas I wanted to have painted (pretty much the same as in the photos) and the first quote I received was 25,000 Pisos (equivalent to USD 500 at the time of the exchange rate). The second quote was 20,000 Pisos (equivalent to USD 400).

Even though it was cheaper than in the U.S., I could not make myself pay that much knowing that I would have to pay the same amount by the time I leave in order to paint the wall back to white. I would rather paint the walls myself to save the money.

I also found two other painters who were referred on the closed Facebook page for female expats in Manila called Ma’am Manila. I never heard back from either of the painters. A tough thing about referrals on a forum overseas is that you never know if the other person will respond to you.

Hopefully introducing Mr. Gemmo’s contact information on this post will help some expats.

Paint Recommendation

Dunn Edwards Paint

My recommendation for a paint brand in Manila is Dunn Edwards. A Dunn Edwards store can be found at MC Home Depot in BGC, Manila. I also bought Clark & Kensington paint in two colors at ACE Hardware. I used one of them and found that it had typical paint fume. Dunn Edwards did not have any noticeable odor. Dunn Edwards paints are apparently EG free as well as TAG/HAP free. You can read about their products here.

Dunn Edwards is a safer option for a home especially with young kids. They also have more color options in swatches and I heard that their color would come out more accurately than other brands. I found it true. The best of all, Dunn Edwards paint was significantly cheaper than Clark & Kensington.

Disclaimer: My opinion is based on my own experience. I am neither sponsored nor compensated to write about Dunn Edwards or Mr. Gummo.

MORE HOME POSTS

Transform A Rental Home To Your Own
If you would like to see the before and after photos of the living room as well as the dining room, above is the link to the post.

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