You may not be an interior decorator, but you can add snap to your decor by painting stripes on your walls. Painting stripes on a wall can change a plain room into one that has interest and style. Preparation is the key to getting it right.
Pattern
Choose horizontal paint strips and you can make a small room seem larger. Choose vertical stripes and you raise the ceiling visually. Alternating between stripes of flat and glossy paint, using the same color, gives the room an elegant, traditional look. Work with colored pencils, paper and a ruler to create a colored pattern you like before purchasing the paint. You might choose a large stripe with a smaller pinstripe between them. You might like three colors of evenly measured stripes all the way across the wall.
Base Coat
Paint the lightest stripe of your color palette first. Paint it as a base coat, covering the complete wall or room where the stripes will be. This coat must be completely dry before moving on with the project, so wait at least 48 hours.
Measuring and Marking
Measure the wall or walls to make sure that the striping pattern you've chosen will fit within the wall dimensions. If any changes in the stripe thickness must be made, do it now before you get to the end and find the pattern won't fit properly. Once the base coat is dry, start measuring and taping. Measure at the floor level, midway and at the ceiling level for each stripe, and mark it. For horizontal lines, measure and mark just from the floor level every 5 feet. Many times walls and ceilings are not completely square. Measuring at just one level will give the eye a consistent line.
Tape and Paint
Place the tape so that the inside of the tape is toward the base coat along the marked areas. When you paint the alternate color, the base coat will be protected. This will also ensure that your stripes are evenly spaced as you had planned. Burnish the edges of the tape with any flat surface, such as a credit card or ruler, to make sure all the tape is secured to the wall. This will ensure that your stripes are straight.
Paint only every other stripe area. Remember that your base coat acts as one of the stripes. Roll the paint over the tape's edge to make sure you are getting the entire paint area. As soon as your painting is finished, start back at the beginning to remove the tape. If the paint is too wet or too dry, it may give you an uneven striped edge. It should be just tacky to the touch. Pull away from the wet stripe when removing the tape.
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