How to Paint Simple Wall Stripes [DIY]

how to paint striped walls

I’ve had my heart set on painting stripes in my dining room for a while now.  I  love the clean, refreshing look of vertical stripes…they make ceiling look taller too =)  I finally got the chance to make my striped wall dream a reality when I was stuck at home for three straight days during the Nemo blizzard!  I can say with certainty that my striped wall was the best thing to come out of that storm for me…it definitely trumped losing power for 72 hours, getting stuck in a snow bank mid-blizzard (and I’m referring to myself, not my car), eating cold hot dogs, the list goes on…Anyway, I am super excited with how my striped wall turned out, here’s a little tutorial for painting striped walls of your own!

Here’s what my dining room looked like before the stripes….

how to paint striped walls

step 1

To get started, I mixed up a new custom wall color.  My walls were already painted a dark blue/gray but I wanted them to be a few shades lighter so they’d blend better with the cream colored stripes I had planned.

 

Here’s the wall, freshly painted and drying…

step 2

Once the walls had dried (which should be at least 6 hours, but I have no patience so I waited 2), I began taping them off for the stripes.  It’s extremely important that you use painters tape for this part.  Painters tape is designed for this purpose so it will not pull off your first coat of paint.

I wanted my stripes to be 12″ wide, and I was using 1.5″ painters tape so I taped off the wall in 12″, then 9″ sections (by sections, I mean the area inside the tape lines).  The 12″ sections would be filled with paint, and the 9″ sections would be the wall color.  The reason the wall colored stripes are only measured at 9″ is to account for the 1.5″ of tape on either side of the stripe (3″ in total).  This will make for perfectly even 12″ stripes.  You will have to vary this equation depending on the width of your tape (ie. if you’re using 1″ tape, your stripes will be spaced at 10″ and 12″)…

*Since there was no tape on the right side of my first stripe (it was the start of the wall), my first stripe was 10.5″ wide.

step 3

Once my wall was taped off, I rolled the stripe color onto the 12″ sections.  I mixed up an off-white creamy color, then added some pearl white paint to give the stripes a little shine.

*Make sure the tape is pressed down tightly to the wall to ensure clean lines!

Here’s a close up of the paint color…

Once my stripes were painted, I peeled off the tape carefully.  I think it’s best to peel off the tape while the paint is still slightly tacky…I’ve always done it this way, but that could be out purely out of impatience..

Here’s my new striped wall!

I just love the contrasting color!

Now you know how to paint wall stripes, it’s your turn to give it a shot!

11 responses to “How to Paint Simple Wall Stripes [DIY]

  1. What a nice addition to the room! I also love stripes. I’ve done both vertical and horitzonal in rooms. A great product is Frog Tape! Another tip is to use flat sheen for the base wall and Semi-gloss of the same color with 10-20% more formula added.

  2. I love what you’ve done to the room! My fiance and I are planning to buy a house that has an AWFUL striped paint job in the dining room. I think I’m going to paint my room exactly like you did. It will definitely work with the space! Is this the metallic paint additive you used?:

  3. I love it. I wish I could do this in my house but it’s too small ( we downsized from 3200 sq. ft to 948 sq. ft.) with too much furniture. This would have look beautiful in my old house. Your tips make it easy to follow. Good luck to all who do this.

  4. Oh my, I am so happy that I can across this website today. These colors are exactly what I’m looing for. Can’t wait to transform my bedroom wall to vertical stripes. Thanks for the tips. Amazing wall, colors and precise measurements. Just beautiful give the space a whole new meaning.

  5. Wow! Your wall looks simply amazing! I love how you added some metallic… I will have to keep that in mind when I paint my wall-stripes (which I am planing to do sometime within the next year…… 🙂
    hugs x, Crystelle

  6. My favorite Pin by far…I love the the stripes and the color choice I have been staring at this pin for years and have not had the courage to do it until NOW..I was afraid of messing up the stripes not measuring correctly and having uneven stripes… but I don’t want plain white walls any longer although white is my fav color I want some stripes gray stripes so I am going in this weekend…wish me luck!!!

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