I didn't necessarily want to paint the wall a solid color, nor did I have the funds to order some of the amazing wall paper I've seen on the internet, pintrest, or other blogs. I also didn't want to use a stencil since that would require me to purchase or make one.
So, as always, I did this on the cheap with the resources at hand. Lucky for me, I had some paint and supplies left over from another project.
Here is what the dining area looked life before the paint job.
aaaaaaand here are the results!
I'll show you how I did it if you feel inclined to make some of this magic happen in your very own rad pad.
Supplies:
1. $30 Paint- I used Divine Color in Devine Buck (Target)
2. $10 Paint tray kit- brush, roller, roller frame, edger, tray
5. $7 Painters tape- 1" & 2" (thinner for lines, thicker for taping off the wall edges and base boards)
6. $1 Stirrer stick- it's that red thing with the holes in it. Got it from Target for, like, $1 and IMO is
more efficient than a traditional wooden stirrer stick
7. $4 Spray paint- Rust-Oleum in Metallic Gold
8. $0 Old sheet to protect your floor
9. $0.50 Large piece of stiff cardboard
10. $3 Mask
Total Cost- $55.50 ("Free" for me since I already had the aforementioned supplies)
Total time- 2 hours
Difficulty- 3 on the DIY Difficulty Scale
Ok, so I love Design Sponge and found this post while purusing the interwebs in search of inspiration.
I think I nailed it.
Ok, enough background story. Now, for the tutorial.
First, I taped off the edges of the wall, ceiling, and base boards
Then, I started spray painting. It was a little scary at first and I wish someone was there to capture the expression of sheer glee and terror as I made that first line in the middle of my wall.
I felt like a tagger.
I felt like a rebel.
I felt like...I shouldda bought a mask
because that spray paint was getting all up in my nostrils. Gross.
When I took a step back to snap this photo I realized that this looked cool all on its own and if I wanted to, I could stop here and call it a day. But I didn't want to because I had a vision of something different.
Anyway, I pretty much free handed the lines. I will say that you should make the lines twice at thick as your tape so that you leave some room for error when you're laying down your painters tape. I had to widen a lot of the original lines when I started laying down the tape.
This is also where I used the stiff piece of cardboard. Although I taped off the edge of the walls, spray paint still has a tenancy to over spray. I used it to protect the wall I didn't want getting spray painted when I was getting close to the edge. Does that make sense?
Next, I taped over the lines with painters tape. Make sure to go over each line with a cloth or something to help it get into the groves and bumps if you have textured walls like I do.
Again, this would also be pretty dang cool if you wanted to go with a kelly green and gold design.
I tried do that "anti-bleed trick" that everyone does to make sure their lines come out crisp by painting over the tape with the color that's under your tape and then painting over the whole thing with the second color once the first color is dry
.....but I think because it was spray paint it wasn't thick enough to get under the tape?
IDK. The lines still had some bleed through when I took the tape off but you know what? I kind of loved it! It's a happy accident!
The irregular edges make it look like gold leaf. The areas that show the white of the wall where the painters tape was laid over the edge of the spray paint line created a lovely ombre effect that I couldn't be happier with. It makes it look like something you would find on the walls of Anthropology, and THAT, friends, is something that thrills me!
(If you don't want a happy accident, click here to find some helpful tips on working with painters tape.)
I didn't get a shot of painting over the whole wall but I wish I had. It was pretty neat painting the wall and revealing the creation underneath once I peeled the tape off.
And that was it! All in all it took me maybe... 2 hours? I was done before I knew it.
Since that's the darkest corner of the apartment I was afraid the dark color would make it feel like a dungeon, but low and behold, it totally doesn't! The metallic gold really helps brighten the area and reflects what little light there is in that neck of the woods.
One last side-by-side before and after for you!
'Til next time,
.V.
