This is one of my favorite questions when people come to our house for the first time.  Upon entering the front door, you are flanked by the living room and dining room.  The dining room has wallpaper on the upper section.  The living room has painted stripes, but uses colors inspired by the wallpaper. 

   Whenever you browse through wallpaper books, there are always complimentary patterns grouped together.  I certainly considered buying a pattern for the living room that would go well with the paisley in the dining room.  But I didn’t see exactly what I wanted, and I was already towards the top end of my budget with the paper I already purchased.  So, there was only one solution left – paint!

  Now, if you plan to paint stripes in any room, buy a ton of blue painter’s tape.  I went through 6 rolls of 2 inch tape, so stock up.   You will also need a level — I used a 4 foot one – and a pencil.  Oh, and lots of patience, good background music, and you might want to have dinner already made before you start.  Trust me, it will help!

   First paint the entire room the lighter of the 2 colors.  If you’re brave enough to be doing more than 2 stripes, pick the lightest color of the lot.  Let the paint dry for at least 4 hours before measuring and marking.  Next decide how wide you want your stripes to be.  I chose 3″ plum stripes spaced 8″ apart.  I used a ruler to make very light pencil marks where I wanted to place my stripes, then came back with the level to draw the stripes along the entire wall, again taking care to keep the pencil marks as light as possible.  Allow the paint to dry a full 24 hours before applying the tape.

   Next, the taping begins.  Be sure to tape on the side of your line not to be painted your second color.  If your stripes are different sizes, it will be easy to keep track, but if your stripes are the same size, you might want to write an “X” on the stripe to be painted.  Once the taping is done, run the edge of your ruler along the entire length of each strip of tape so the contrasting color will not bleed through.  This will give you a clean, straight line along your stripes.

  Apply at least 2 coats of paint for your stripes and let it dry for at least 4 hours.  When you remove the tape, do it slowly.  I went a little too quickly with one of my stripes, which is easy to do when you’re anxious to see the results.  Some of the plum paint did pull off, but if that happens you can touch it up with a very thin paint brush. 

   If you decide to tackle this technique, please let us know and include some pictures for the rest of us to enjoy!