A Quick Guide on How to Paint Stripes on a Wall

Paint is the thriftiest way to refresh your home, but why stop there. Remember faux finishes with paint? They aren't that popular these days, but stripes are. Striped walls are a classic choice that will never go out of style. It is fun, it is easy, and the results will amaze even your pickiest guests.

Start your project with the decision about your colour choice combination and how many colours you would want to use. After that you need to think about width of your stripes. They could be thin, thick or a combination of both. Also take into consideration if you would like them vertically or horizontally. Vertical stripes will make your walls appear taller.

Now let's start with a preparation of your walls. Make sure your walls' nail holes are filled and the surface is smooth. Next step is to prime the walls if they are never been painted, if your color change is drastic or if you have an oil based paint on the wall and you will be going with latex base on top. After your primer is dried you need to paint your walls with your main colour. Your main colour would be the one that is the most dominant. Make sure you do two coats and let it cure. Curing time is different from drying time. For most latex paints curing time is about 30 days. After your main colour is cured it is time to start on the stripes. Your tape tackiness should depend on for how long you would leave the tape on the walls before painting. Generally seven day tape is more than enough for projects like that. Start measuring from the corner. Do about 5 to 7 marks on the wall with a pencil or a chalk. Follow your marks to tape a straight line. Continue, until you finish.

There is no such thing as perfectly perpendicular walls, so don't worry if close to the corners your stripes are not perfect. At the end, it is not going to be noticeable. Don't forget to tape your ceiling, baseboards and everything else that is in a way. Also make sure you pressed your tape nicely to the wall so that the paint won't run under it. If it will run under in some areas, don't worry, just touch it up after with a very fine artist brush.

Now after you are done taping, that's where the fun begins. Depending on how wide your stripes are, use either a roller or a brush. You will need two coats of paint for your stripes as well. When you are done painting do not remove your tape right away, even though it is very tempting, let it dry first. And here you go, you have gorgeous walls! Enjoy!