Spoonful of Imagination

Add it to a Family for Something Beautiful

  • Home
  • Our Family
    • Our Home
  • Courses
  • Shop
  • Contact

DIY Wall Stripes

May 6, 2013 By Erica Deuel 10 Comments

It’s hard to believe I was moving into this house a week ago. It’s been a wild week. In true Erica fashion, I postponed unpacking any boxes to re-paint and decorate my sweet little girl’s room. I’m serious. Trucks unloaded on Monday night, and I was painting on Tuesday. I’m kinda crazy like that. Here’s a quick time lapse video Matt put together of our move-in and part of my paint project. Below the video I walk you through the step by step on how to do your own DIY wall stripes.

I was pretty intimidated with these stripes. For starters, this room is brand new. New carpet, new walls, new paint… and here’s me, the messiest painter in the world, diving in with a large project on day one. But hey, if you are going to make a house a home, you’ve got to make it your own. So why not???

painting a room teal

taped off room to paint

DIY Wall Stripes

Step one: Decide on your stripes. Do you want them to be vertical or horizontal? How wide do you want them to be? I wanted horizontal and I went with 12″ inch stripes. Part of this was determined by our wall. From floor to ceiling it is 8′ feet. Going with 12″ inch stripes would give me eight stripes, four with the color I picked and four of the base coat that was already on the wall. One thing that was messing me up with the measurement was the floorboard trim. Matt convinced me to just count that into my measurement and treat that as part of the first stripe. The reality is the furniture blocks most of the baseboard anyway and this allows the higher up stripes to be even and stand out.

Step two: Measuring. Using a tape measure I ran the tape from floor to ceiling (this is a lot easier with two people) and lightly marked with pencil every 12″ inches. I started these markings close to one end of the wall by the corner. Then using a long level we made markings every two feet or so off the original markings. Make sure to take extra time on those initial measurements as they are so crucial. From there you can trust your level to keep you honest as you work your way across the wall. (If you are going with vertical stripes just take the same concepts and flip them vertical.)

taping lines off to stripe wall

Step three: Tape off your stripes. Following your hash marks you carefully line up the tape down the wall. This may seem obvious, but be sure to keep your tape on the inside of your non-paint stripes. The point there is to make sure that you have left 12″ inches open on the stripes you are going to paint. I then used the tape to add some “x” marks on the stripes I wasn’t going to paint. For real, I’m a messy painter and I don’t trust myself. Matt did have fun adding a ton of those marks to “make the video look cool.” I think I would have been ok with one “x” per line. 🙂 Finally, do whatever taping you need to do to tape off other walls, ceilings, baseboards, etc.

DIY paint striped wall

Step four: Paint! You should now be ready to open up the paint cans and start the fun part – adding color! Paint the coats necessary for your project and follow your paint’s instructions on dry times and re-coating. I’ve been using Disney’s new paint line that I absolutely love. Because I used “Fashionista” which is a bold color, it needed two coats. Several other applications I’ve painted (using their paint) has only needed one coat. I’ll tell you more about that soon. I waited the recommended four hours and then added my second coat.

painting a striped wall

Step five: Peel tape and admire. This is truly the best part of this kind of project, but it makes me so nervous. I’m always worried (when I peel the tape) I’m going to find some kind of disaster that I have to fix. The only time I’ve ever had a real problem here is on a longer term project where I had left the tape on for over a week. Since then I’ve always been sure to peel the tape quickly. The paint is usually dry to touch in 20-30 minutes and that is when I like to peel the tape.

how to paint a striped wall

Tips: When it comes to the measuring, not all walls are going to be exactly 8′ feet. Many houses are often not square and there can be dips and curves that mess up your measurements and perfect lines. Don’t worry about this! Do the best you can to compensate in your measurements but just realize that if your lines are 1/8-1/4 inch off it’s going to be difficult to pick that up when you step back and look at the wall. Once furniture and wall hangings are added into the mix most of the imperfections will never be seen again.

Also, my wall already had a base coat that I was happy to integrate into my stripes. If that’s not the case for you, I would recommend painting the whole wall with your lighter color to create your own base coat. Once it has fully dried you can then follow the steps above to add your stripes with your second color. This will keep you from having to measure out and tape twice.

Do you have any other tips to add to painting your own stripes?

happy girl loves her new room

So, was I crazy to start such a massive project the first day I woke up in my new house? Probably. But it was worth it to see the look on this little girl’s face. Coming later this week will be a full room reveal with more pictures and details. Until then, have a great week!

signature

 

Share this:

  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)

Related

Filed Under: DIY, Home, Tips + Tricks, Uncategorized Tagged With: bedroom makeover, DIY, Go pro camera, paint, striped wall, time lapse video

Comments

  1. Jill says

    May 7, 2013 at 5:41 am

    I love it! Such a bold statement wall and I love that it’s a back drop for the bed. Is there a reason you chose frog tape for the baseboard but blue tape for the stripes?

    P.S. the video was awesome, great job Matt!

    Reply
    • ericadeuel says

      May 10, 2013 at 12:23 pm

      Hahaha I love you Jill! Great observation! No, there is no reason. I started with Frog Tape because I saw in the back of my country living magazine that Frog Tape is having a room makeover contest and I wanted to submit this room, but then I ran out of Frog tape late one night…and just started using what we had already on hand. I think I will still try to submit this room 🙂

      Reply
  2. Christina says

    May 7, 2013 at 9:21 am

    just gorgeous. so proud! can’t wait to see how everything comes together!!!!!

    Reply
    • ericadeuel says

      May 10, 2013 at 12:21 pm

      Thank you Christina! I love you and miss you dearly!!!

      Reply
  3. Valerie @ Making It Worthy says

    May 7, 2013 at 12:51 pm

    Looks great Erica! I love those bold stripes. Looking forward to the rest of the room reveal. Come check mine out if you get the chance. Kid rooms are so much fun to me, I would totally paint a room over unpacking boxes (if I could get away with it). 🙂

    Reply
    • ericadeuel says

      May 10, 2013 at 12:21 pm

      Valerie!!! Your room is stunning!! The idea to do your daughter’s silhouettes is amazing!!! I love it!!! I adore the bubble wall with the great slate paint as well. It is truly beautiful! Incredible job!!! Oh and thanks for your sweet words about my room 🙂

      Reply
  4. Marlena Burgher says

    May 20, 2013 at 10:46 am

    Excellent Job!!! And thank you so much for the easy how to steps!!! This will be my project for the week!!! I love the colors you used, would you mind at all sharing the names, I would so appreciate it!!! Also, how much paint did you by, and use per wall, an how much of the paint went to the stripes themselves?

    Reply
    • ericadeuel says

      May 23, 2013 at 9:25 pm

      yay! I am so glad I could help you Marlena! I don’t mind sharing at all! I used Disney’s new line of Glidden paint sold exclusively at Wal-mart for the pink color. It is called Fashionista. The other color is just the base wall color that was already there. I’m not sure of the name but I know it is a Sherwin Williams paint. I bought a gallon of the Fashionista, and I have SO much left over. I did two coats, but my stripes are wide and it didn’t require a lot of paint! I wouldn’t be surprised if you could get away with a quart of paint (depending on the size of your room). I hope this helps!

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Easy Way To Paint Stripes On Wall | Fashion Your Home says:
    June 29, 2016 at 12:15 pm

    […] Easy Way To Paint Stripes On Wall 1024 X 768 Disclaimer : We do not own any of these pictures/graphics. All the images are not under our Copyrights and belong to their respective owners. All Pictures have been taken from different sources, If any Graphic / Image is offensive or under your Copyrights then please E-mail us via contact page to get it removed. […]

    Reply
  2. Painting Stripes On Wall | Fashion Your Home says:
    June 30, 2016 at 9:53 am

    […] Painting Stripes On Wall 1024 X 768 Disclaimer : We do not own any of these pictures/graphics. All the images are not under our Copyrights and belong to their respective owners. All Pictures have been taken from different sources, If any Graphic / Image is offensive or under your Copyrights then please E-mail us via contact page to get it removed. […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube
YouTube-Channel
Erica Deuel

Subscribe for Weekly Updates!




Most Popular Posts

DIY {easy} Burlap Wreath
Painting Flower Pot Party Tips
Cheap lamp to Industrial Beauty
Chiffon Flower Tutorial
DIY Outdoor Checker Board
Repurpose Old Kitchen Chairs
DIY Bookends (what you can make for being a hoarder)
The Encanto, Madrigal's House Craft For Kids
DIY Ruffled Shower Curtain
The Way I Thrift

Categories

  • All About the Kids
  • art journal
  • Blogging
  • Christmas
  • Craft Projects
  • Dancing Zebras
  • DIY
  • Eddy's postcards
  • Embroidery Journal
  • Family
  • Featured
  • Foster Care
  • Giveaways
  • Guest Posts
  • Home
  • Homeschooling
  • Kid Activities
  • Kid Craft
  • My Heart
  • Our Outings
  • Project Spotlight
  • Send Out Love
  • Shop
  • Sponsored Posts
  • Spoonful Lab
  • Spoonful Tribe
  • Tips + Tricks
  • Traveling
  • Uncategorized
  • Vlog

Favorite Categories

Subscribe for Weekly Updates!

Favorite Categories

© 2023 Spoonful of Imagination, Inc.