Here are some top tips and designer tricks for painting strips onto walls:
Paint one or more sample boards to explore the colour options. Adjust the amount of contrast between the colours and the overall brightness if necessary.
Try using more than one colour for the stripes. Look to striped fabrics for ideas about combinations of colours and widths.
Combine different paint sheens for even more interest; for example, if the base coat is flat, paint the stripes semi gloss.
Use a coloured pencil that matches the stripe colour for marking the wall. Regular graphite pencil lines are harder to cover and may smudge.
When measuring the wall, start in the least noticeable corner of the room so uneven stripes will be less obvious. You may need to adjust the last few stripes so you don't end up with one narrow stripe at the end. When you reach a corner, you can adjust the stripes' width or wrap the colour around the corner.
For a crisp line, tape off the stripes using blue painter's tape. Place a line of tape just outside each pencil line so the stripe will cover the pencil line. Using the back of a plastic tool handle or an old credit card, zip the edge of the tape down hard to seal it to the wall.
To prevent the stripe colour from bleeding underneath the tape, first paint over the tape edge with the base coat; let dry. If any paint bleeds under the tape, it will be the base colour and not noticeable.
Paint the contrasting stripe, and remove the tape as soon as possible, and always within 60 minutes.
If a stripe has an uneven edge, touch it up with a small artist's brush.
More than a simple paint effect, stripes can be used to create an illusion of width, length and height to a room.
Stripes are as fashionable on walls as on clothing and the same fashion rules apply to both.
Vertical stripes can make a wall look taller. While this is desirable in most rooms, a small space with high ceilings may look awkward and gangly with vertical stripes.
Horizontal stripes can make a short wall appear wider, causing the whole room to seem larger. The width of the stripe is key, too.
Narrow stripes in a large room may tend to disappear or blend together.
Wide stripes in a small room can be overpowering and box you in.
High contrast stripes such as black and white or red and yellow can overpower a room. They can, however, be used successfully in small areas such as below a chair rail.
Keeping the colours similar in value, both light and both dark, is easier on the eye and prevents one stripe from popping out against the other.
Tone-on-tone: For a high-end look, use closely related hues of the same colour - two shades of tan or three shades of blue, for example.
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