Dress up a Wall by Painting Stripes

Stripes can make any room more sophisticated and while you could add stripes to a wall with wallpaper, it’s easy and more affordable to paint stripes on a wall. Depending on the colors you choose, you can create bold contrast, subtle elegance or make a whimsical statement. Painting stripes on a wall is an easy technique that even a beginner can master.

Here are three steps for creating successful stripes.

Apply the Basecoat

If primer is needed, apply that first; primer is needed on new drywall or if you are painting over a dark color. Let the primer dry according to label directions. Then apply the lighter of the two stripe colors to the entire wall. Let it dry completely before moving on to the step 2.

Mark the Lines & Paint the Stripes

Once the base coat is dry, mark out the lines for the stripes with blue painter’s tape. Blue painter’s tape won’t peel off the base coat and is a better choice than ordinary masking tape. Use a ruler and straight edge to create straight lines at the same interval. To create perfectly even stripes, measure from stripe to stripe and also measure the width of each stripe.

However, if you want to create a pattern of wide and thin stripes you can do that as well; you may find it helpful to sketch out such a pattern first on poster size paper to see if you are happy with the design. You can choose any variety of thin and fat lines, such as thin-thin-fat-thin-fat; then repeat the sequence. Really, any sequence is fine as long as it appeals to you. After the blue tape is in place, paint the second color in between the taped spaces.

Remove the Tape

Let the second color dry thoroughly, and then carefully peel the blue painter’s tape away. Work slowly so that you don’t inadvertently peel the paint away. If there are any small errors, a small brush can be used to make needed touch ups.

Creative Ideas with Stripes

Once you’ve mastered the basic technique, you’ll find many creative ideas for decorating with painted stripes. For example, you can add a chair rail to a wall, paint stripes on the upper half and paint the bottom in a solid version of one of the two colors. You’re not limited to painting vertical stripes, either. You can use stripes to manipulate the space in a room: Paint wide horizontal stripes to make a narrow wall look more expansive or use floor to ceiling stripes to make a room seem taller.

Stripes add vibrancy and energy to a room, so they can be used to define a focal wall or to turn a boring room, like a laundry room or powder room, into a more visually expressive space. Or use a trio of horizontal pinstripes around the perimeter of a teen’s room or game room, to define accent colors or reflect the jersey colors of a favorite team.