to my "For our home" Pinterest board. I loved the idea of having a subtle change of two slightly different shades throughout the hallway. I was a little worried that the stripes might make the hallway look too small but it actually makes the hall seem wider! And it's not just the stripes I drew from in this pin. I also loved the combination of flowers, pictures, and the lantern from this inspiration pin.
Here is my finished product:
This is definitely my favorite wall in our house! It's so pretty and classy and it has some of our most important pictures as a couple. We've got our prom picture from high school, our first picture taken as a couple on James's 18th birthday, a wedding photo, our initial, our marriage certificate, and the hanger I made to hang my wedding dress on for our wedding day. I also included the fake Calla Lilies because those were our wedding flowers. I can't get over how pretty it all is! It's a huge improvement from the gross green color it was before:
The trickiest part of this project was all the measuring and taping it took to make those stripes the same size and the lines straight. None of it was hard, it was just time consuming but it is well worth it and I'm going to show you how!
Here's what you'll need:
A tape measure or ruler
Painters tape with edge lock
Paint brushes, rollers, drop cloths
And of course...Paint!
Oh and a helpful canine companion to keep you company :)
What a cute little guy! Right?
First I painted the lighter color throughout the entire hallway. I figured this would be easiest because a darker color usually shows up better on a lighter color as opposed to a lighter color over a darker one.
Next is the stripes! I measured my walls from the trim around the ceiling to the top of my baseboards and I came up with an even 100 inches! So I figured 10 stripes at 10 inches wide would be perfect! Then you have to decide if you want the darker color stripe to start at the top of the room or the bottom. I decided on the bottom because we don't have step ladders in our house and I can't reach the ceiling standing on my dining room chairs. Haha so I started at the bottom with the darker color, that way I wouldn't have to paint too high on the wall.
Now it's very important to do it the right way. You can't just measure 10 inches and put a line of tape and then 10 more and add another piece of tape. You have to make sure the first stripe is taped so the bottom of the tape line is at the 10 inch mark like so:
I did this in three or four places along the wall depending on how much room I had between the doorways. Then I connected the marks with the edge lock tape to complete one stripe.
Now the next stripe needs to be measured a bit differently to ensure each stripe is exactly 10 inches. This time we have to measure from the bottom edge of the tape we just used to mark the first stripe to the point where the top edge of the next piece of tape is right at the 10 inch mark like this:
Do the same thing again marking spots along the wall and connecting the marks. Now for the third stripe you go back to measuring from the top edge of the second stripe to the bottom edge of the next piece of tape.
Keep alternating all the way up the wall. I marked the stripes I wasn't going to paint with pieces of tape like this:
As soon as you're done taping, paint and try to wait patiently as the paint dries before peeling off the tape to reveal the beautiful finished product. This is the part that I have the most trouble with. I just did all that work, I want to see what it's going to look like! Are we there yet?
(Optional step: keep checking on the paint every 5 minutes to see if it's dry yet. What's that? Every one else is grown up enough to be patient? Oh, ok I guess it's just me who chooses to do this step.)
When the paint is finally dry 20 million hours later, you can peel the tape, make a giant tape ball (and throw it at your husband) and then you can marvel at the beauty! This is what my whole hall looked like:
Such pretty stripes! I just wish the lighting in the hall was better. That will be a project for another day. Apparently those types of projects cost money and are not more important than eating food.
Now I'm accessorizing and have decided I need to print more pictures to fill all the frames I have been hoarding when from when I find good sales at Hobby Lobby and Target. So I haven't finished the hall yet but I have a great start and every time I walk by this wall I stop and stare, then give a joyful sigh and continue on my merry way down the hall. Let's take one more look just for fun!
Best thing ever!
Who's inspired to try stripes of your own? Anyone else have trouble waiting for paint to dry?
