How to Stripe Walls Using Colorwash

A roll of masking tape, a bucket, your iPod all charged up and in your pocket... your ready to go.

To get started all you need is your preferred colorwash color, a bucket for mixing it, a tape measure, pencil and blue tape. Start with a white or off-white base coat of paint: Either flat, eggshell or semi-gloss.

Think about how wide you want your stripes to be (the stripes shown are 12). Begin by measuring the wall; side to side for vertical stripes. So if the width measured is 13’ or 156, divide it by 13 to get 12; if you divide by 11 you would get about 14 1/4, which would be nice too. Just be sure to divide the total width of the wall by an odd number so you will end up with an uneven amount of stripes, this way you will end up with a darker stripe on each side of the wall for balance; like bookends.

Now that you have the width of the stripe figured, grab your tape measure. For vertical stripes: From the top to bottom, 12 from the adjoining wall, measure down and make a small pencil mark on the wall and then repeat, making marks every three or so feet down the wall as if creating a connect the dots drawing. Then continue marking your wall every 12 all the way across.

Now, grab your blue tape and connect the dots. First tape the ceiling, baseboard and adjoining walls, by doing this first the tape for the stripes can be removed and still have the perimeter in place for the second colorwash. Second, be sure to put the tape on the side of the mark that is going to be the lighter stripe. This way when you put on your first coat it will be the size of the stripe you measured, NOT the size of the stripe minus the width of the tape. See pictures for examples.

Now run the line of low tack blue tape (1 or 1-1/2 will works well), along the pencil marks. Repeat this process top to bottom across the wall. After each stripe is taped off, in the stripe you are not going to colorwash on the first go around, put a little piece of tape to remind you not to colorwash that area. See photo.

Now, dilute your colorwash with water and wipe (dipping a rag into your paint mixture and wiping in between every other stripe) inside the tape lines. After the colorwashing remove tape at a 45 degree angle, let dry; then, using the same colorwash mixture, go over the whole wall, including the first layer of stripes.

This creates the striped effect - the translucent colorwash is two layers where the first stripes were applied, and a sheer single layer on the lighter stripes. A stripe is born!

You can really amaze yourself with this technique, People will come over and will not believe you did it yourself? It looks like a million dollars! Striped walls are appropriate for all rooms in the house, as well - and if you want to zip up your kitchen or bathroom with stripes, you can do that to. The taping and your first coat of colorwash should take about two and half hours.

The reason this process of one coat layered with a second coat works, is because Watercolor Walls colorwash is semi-transparent. Each layer get deeper in tone and will look more rich. Watercolor Walls has many colors to choose from and all the instructions you have just read come with the kit.

Have fun. Because after all Life’s too short for white walls.
See Our Colorwash Colors

Gingham Accent Wall by Watercolor Walls Your step-by-step guide Getting Started: * All you need is your preferred Watercolor Walls colorwash color, a bucket for mixing it, a tape measure, pencil and blue tape. Start with a white or off-white base coat of paint: flat, eggshell or semi-gloss. Think about how wide you want your Gingham stripes to be (the stripes shown are 7). Begin by measuring the wall from side to side then divide the total width of the wall by an odd number (ours was 79 so we fudged to 77). This way you will end up with an uneven amount of stripes, with a darker stripe on each side of the wall for balance; like bookends. Now that you have the width of the stripe figured, grab your tape measure. From the top of the wall to bottom, make a small pencil mark every 7, then repeat, making 7 marks top to bottom every three or so feet down the wall as if creating a connect the dots drawing. Now, grab your blue tape and connect the dots. There are two important tricks to this, first tape the ceiling, baseboard and adjoining walls, by doing this first. Taping for the stripes second allows you to remove the stripe tape and still have the perimeter in place for the second set of stripes. Second, be sure to put the tape on the side of the mark that is going to be the lighter stripe. This way when you put on your first vertical coat it will be the size of the stripe you measured (7 in this case), NOT the size of the stripe minus the width of the tape. Now run the line of low tack blue tape (1 will work well), along the pencil marks. Repeat this process top to bottom across the wall. After each stripe is taped off, in the stripe you are not going to colorwash on the first go around; put a little piece of tape to remind you not to colorwash that area. Now, dilute your colorwash with water and wipe (dipping a rag into your paint mixture and wiping in between every other stripe) inside the tapelines. After the colorwashing remove tape at a 45- degree angle, then let dry. Now you will repeat that process horizontally – measuring 7 (the same as the vertical stripe) and place tape horizontally across the wall. Using the same colorwash mixture, go in between those stripes, including where the first layer of stripes intersects. By using Watercolor Walls colorwash, which has a clear base, it gives you a deeper look where they intersect. This creates the gingham - the translucent colorwash is two layers where the first stripes meet, and a sheer single layer on the lighter stripes. Now you can go over the whole wall once done to create a one, two and three coat, which looks great too. You can really amaze yourself with this technique. People come over and cannot believe you did it yourself. It looks like a million dollars! Gingham walls are a great effect for many rooms, not just the kitchen. Try it with Portabella for a den or Curry for a bedroom. Watercolor Walls Colorwash kits has many fun projects included in the instructions. For more information, or to purchase online visit www.watercolorwalls.com. This site provides informative tips, techniques, and color swatches. . See Our Colorwash Colors Painted Clouds Go With Everything Whether your baby has hand me downs from an older sibling or a brand new everything, Clouds go with everything. If you have a little boy and sailboats are your theme, include some sailboat shaped clouds floating over a puffy white cumulonimbus on it way to dream land. Painted clouds create a feeling of whimsy and make a lofty addition to any room. You can build clouds on an accent wall, above a chair rail, on the ceiling or all over the room. The look is timeless and fits every childs room. The Cloudwash kit by Watercolor Walls has everything you need to complete your dream room. All you need is a white wall and some inspiration. Come See Pictures of our Cloud Painted rooms. © 2008 That's My Room!, All Rights Reserved