Tools and Materials Needed
Base Coat:
- Latex paint, satin or semigloss
Painted Finish:
- latex paint, satin or semigloss [ the same sheen as the basecoat]
- Paint tray
- Roller and sleeves
- paper towel
- 3/4" low tack tape
- Pencil, ruler
- Chalk line
- Spirit level
Stripes are a clever decorating tool and a quick solution to give the most ordinary room and extraordinary feel. vertical stripes will make the walls look higher.Remember , the colour you use as the base color will be one of the stripe colours.
Rules
Although there are many ways to experiment with stripes, there are some basic rules that always apply. Walls should be smooth or your stripes won't be straight. The wider the stripe, the less taping and measuring there is to do. Here are a few tips on painting stripes.
Measuring and Marking the Stripes
- Stripes should be between 3 inches and 14 inches wide; any narrower and the walls will be too busy, any wider and the stripes will look heavy.
- If your room is standard shape, measure all four walls and divide the approximate width of the desired stripe into this number until you get a width that fits evenly.
- Most rooms are not an exact size or shape so choose a width for your stripe and start measuring opposite from the least-seen corner. If you have a smaller stripe when you get back to that corner, it won't stand out.
- When you're working around windows and doors, just ignore them exactly as if you were hanging wallpaper
- After deciding on the width of the stripes, mark around the top of the room with a pencil and a ruler or measuring tape. It's important to ensure your guidelines are perfectly straight. The professional [ and easiest] way to do this is with a plumb line
Topics covered by this article include: Decorating, Design, Painting, Wallcovering...
