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Stripe Inspiration

Painting Project: Stripes

DIY Blogger Melissa Michaels of The Inspired Room tells Glidden® how to paint the perfect stripe.

Quite a few years ago, my husband and I painted stripes in our two daughters’ bedrooms, in our 1930′s cottage-style home. We wanted their tiny, newly-painted bedrooms to have a bit more dimension and personality, so adding stripes was the perfect solution! While we loved how the rooms turned out, painting stripes in two bedrooms was such a labor-intensive process it took us a long time (and moving three times) before we wanted to try it again.
Stripe Inspiration
Three years ago we moved into our current house. One of my goals was to give our brand new home as much personality as I could, on a budget. This November we finally got around to a project I am really excited about. We once again painted stripes—but this time, on a stair wall in our entryway. Fortunately, our stripe-painting endeavor was quite a bit easier this time, thanks to a little technique that gave us beautiful crisp stripes without a lot of effort or touch ups!

Just like the last time, we used painter’s tape to mark off carefully measured and level stripes. Just like last time, we alternated flat and semi-gloss paint to give the stripes added dimension. But this time we knew a little secret to keep the paint from bleeding through the tape (leaving less than perfectly crisp paint lines).

Beautiful stripes on wall

Brand New Personality

Three years ago we moved into our current house. One of my goals was to give our brand new home as much personality as I could, on a budget. This November we finally got around to a project I am really excited about. We once again painted stripes—but this time, on a stair wall in our entryway. Fortunately, our stripe-painting endeavor was quite a bit easier this time, thanks to a little technique that gave us beautiful crisp stripes without a lot of effort or touch ups!

Just like the last time, we used painter’s tape to mark off carefully measured and level stripes. Just like last time, we alternated flat and semi-gloss paint to give the stripes added dimension. But this time we knew a little secret to keep the paint from bleeding through the tape (leaving less than perfectly crisp paint lines).
So what was the secret? It was really simple! By painting over the tape edges with the alternating stripe color and letting the paint dry before moving on, we effectively sealed the tape so the other color wouldn’t bleed through—which gave us nearly perfect stripes every time.  Let me break this down for you.

This example is for a two color, alternating stripe:
  1. Paint your first set of stripes and let them dry. I recommend starting with the lighter of the two colors. Don’t worry about a little bleeding under the tape on the first set.
  2. Place your tape for your second set of lines.
  3. Paint over the edge of the tape with a thin coating of the first stripe color and let it dry.  This is the ‘sealing’ step that limits bleeding of the second color.
  4. Now paint your second set of lines with your second color.
  5. Gently remove the tape and use a small utility knife, as needed, to ensure it releases smoothly.

Stripes on wall of entry way

The Simple Secret

So what was the secret? It was really simple! By painting over the tape edges with the alternating stripe color and letting the paint dry before moving on, we effectively sealed the tape so the other color wouldn’t bleed through—which gave us nearly perfect stripes every time.  Let me break this down for you.

This example is for a two color, alternating stripe:
  1. Paint your first set of stripes and let them dry. I recommend starting with the lighter of the two colors. Don’t worry about a little bleeding under the tape on the first set.
  2. Place your tape for your second set of lines.
  3. Paint over the edge of the tape with a thin coating of the first stripe color and let it dry.  This is the ‘sealing’ step that limits bleeding of the second color.
  4. Now paint your second set of lines with your second color.
  5. Gently remove the tape and use a small utility knife, as needed, to ensure it releases smoothly.
I love how the wall turned out. Stripes brought a lot of dimension and personality to our entryway and turned our stair wall into a real focal point. Because it was just a single wall and not a whole room, it was a project that could be completed in a relatively short period of time too.

If you are looking for a way to bring a little pattern or life to a boring wall, painting stripes just might the project for you!

As always, please refer to the Product Label, Technical Data Sheet and Safety Data Sheet for safety and detailed application instructions.

Find Your Favorite Paint Colors

Stripes Add Personality

I love how the wall turned out. Stripes brought a lot of dimension and personality to our entryway and turned our stair wall into a real focal point. Because it was just a single wall and not a whole room, it was a project that could be completed in a relatively short period of time too.

If you are looking for a way to bring a little pattern or life to a boring wall, painting stripes just might the project for you!

As always, please refer to the Product Label, Technical Data Sheet and Safety Data Sheet for safety and detailed application instructions.

Find Your Favorite Paint Colors