Family Room Stripes

I painted the family room in August. I had purchased two tints of paint at the same time which I touched on in this post. I haven’t taken pictures because besides the paint, I’m still not happy with this room. Small steps… I know.

Another small step was taken yesterday and today when I taped the walls and then painted. It looks great! Just wait till I show you the pictures.

How to Paint Stripes

Materials needed:

• leveler
• marking device (I started with pencil but moved to chalk because it’s easier to erase if necessary)
• painters tape (masking tape does not equal painters tape – take the time to find your painters tape or go and buy some)
• paint
• paint brush

First. Decide how many stripes you want and how wide (long?) they should be. I made mine 9” except for the very top and bottom stripes. I don’t have a picture of why but I didn’t do stripes on the whole wall. There is an opening to the craft/dining room and then a small portion of wall that wasn’t painted with the stripes. I started the lines at the top of opening so the lines didn’t look weird. It makes sense… I promise.

Second. You mark where your lines go. I did this by marking where I wanted the first line for about a foot. Then I used the level to mark it the rest of the way across the wall. I did it this way because our ceiling is not straight. If I had measured down from the ceiling the whole way across, I would have ended up with crooked lines.

Third. Place your painters tape along the lines. Make sure you do them on the right side of the lines. The first line will be on top of your marks. The second line of tape will be on the bottom of your marks. Repeat. When you’re done taping, your stripes will look uneven but we’re only painting every other stripes so it’s okay. Also tape where your stripes begin and end.

Fourth. This step is optional but I took my wall color (the lovely light gray) and painted where the tape met the wall on the inside of the stripes I would be painting. If any paint seeps under the tape, it will be the original wall color and not your stripe color.

Fifth. If you did step four, wait for it to dry completely. Then paint with your stripes color.

Sixth. Repeat step five unless you don’t see a need for a second coat of paint.

Seventh. Remove the tape before the paint dries. The paint is less likely to pull off or flake that way.

Eighth. Step back and admire. Don’t ask your husband how it looks because he’ll only say that he doesn’t dislike it and you will be sad that he didn’t just say that he liked it.

Above: Wall with just tape (no, I didn’t tape the thermostat, just painted around it)

Above: First coat of paint done and still drying.

Shadow with typical Asian greeting. This wall is HARD to photograph well!

Second coat done and tape is off. It looks so good!

A second picture because I just couldn’t resist.

After stenciling my living room wall, I wasn’t sure if I could like something as simple as stripes. But when I had the idea over the summer, I was pretty much sold on it. I totally love it now that the stripes are painted! Stripes are definitely easier to paint but it is just as big of an impact as the stencil.