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Painting is a great way to spruce up a room. Even painting just the baseboards can make a great change to a room. Just painting them a different color or sheen can really add some sparkle...and it's relatively cheap. There is always a little apprehension when painting around carpeting. How do you paint the entire height of the baseboard without getting paint on the carpet?
There are several ways to protect the carpet as you paint...drop cloths, plastic, paper etc. The trouble comes when the carpet meets the baseboard. You can use a large putty knife or broad knife and push the carpet down to get access to the bottom of the baseboard, but when you remove the knife the carpet tends to settle back to the baseboard and get paint on it anyway. If you try this, know that you must wipe off the putty knife after each time. It tends to accumulate paint and you will get paint on the carpet anyway.
So the best solution is to keep the carpet away from the wet baseboards until they dry. You can use 2 inch masking tape and run a strip loosely along where the carpet and baseboard meet. I say loosely because you want to let the edge of the tape touch (but not stick to) the baseboard about a half-inch up on the baseboard. You will take a putty knife and push the tape in between the carpet and baseboard and then pull the other side of the tape towards the middle of the room. Then secure the tape to the carpet by pushing it down onto the carpet. The finished product will leave a "V" shape as the carpet is pulled away from the baseboard via the tape. Just remove it after the paint is dry.
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