Before we moved I was given specific instructions by my 13-year-old son. "I don't want my room looking all designer-y." That was my instruction. I offered to paint graffiti on his wall...no. I offered to paint a bike scene because he's an avid mountain biker...no. I offered to stencil words relating to biking...no. Finally, I begged and pleaded and he agreed to let me paint stripes on ONE wall.
Before doing any of the painting I measured the height of the wall and came up with a scheme that worked to accommodate the height. In this case I basically have a small stripe in the centre of the wall that is surrounded on top and bottom by 2 equal, wide stripes of alternating colour. Each of the stripes has a small stripe of the alternate colour in the centre. I sketched it onto paper and added dotted lines to show which side of the line the tape should sit.
The most important tool for success in creating horizontal stripes is a level. I can't even imagine attempting this without one. I measured down to the bottom of the first stripe, marked it off and then used the level to create the line across the wall. Repeat to the bottom.
Once you complete all the lines start adding your tape. Remember when the stripe is the base colour you need to add the tape above the line rather than below. This will allow you to paint the colour onto the second stripe below.
If you're a little sleepy or your mind is wandering I suggest you come back another day. This part requires astute concentration so as not to paint the wrong colour in the wrong place. Hopefully you use a paint that is one coat only and then you can remove the tape immediately. This helps to avoid peeling the paint when you remove the tape.
TIPS & THOUGHTS
1. I recently had a discussion with
Barb about the best tape for painting stripes. I love Frog tape and used it today with much success. She recently painted black stripes on a wall and had a terrible experience with Frog Tape. Her paint required more than one coat and I guess Frog tape wasn't the right tape for paint that is going to dry and receive a second coat. She used the blue tape and thought it worked best for her in this case.
2. I have heard a lot of discussion about the headache of trying to keep vertical stripes straight and spacing them evenly across the wall. If you want stripes but are lazy like me and want to get in done asap then go for horizontal. I did this whole thing in 2 hours.
So there's a sneak peek at the boy's room. Once the rest of the place is un-decorated I'll give you a tour.
