Painting Horizontal Stripes + Master Bedroom Reveal

We have stripes thanks to my awesome husband! Except that I don't think he will ever want to paint stripes like this again. :) And all those people out there who have painted stripes like this on a very long wall, have a lot of patience! Note: it takes WAY longer to do than you think- unless you own a laser level- which we do not.

The biggest part of this project was the prep. work- moving furniture, taping, covering the carpet, etc.

It took most of the time. My husband painted the entire room- and it is a big room- the lighter color. When it was dry, a few hours later, we taped off the stripes and painted those. We removed the tape as soon as we were finished.

I found a lot of information online on painting stripes. The most helpful were these posts:

Landee See Landee Do

Centsational Girl

OUR METHOD TO PAINT STRIPES:

1. Apply lighter color. Wait for it to dry. When dry to the touch, tape off your stripes.

2. We used FROG TAPE, and a level. We also used a string level we made- if you can afford to buy a laser level- do it! It will save you a lot of time. The biggest problem with marking the stripes, is keeping them even when the ceiling and base boards are not even. There is a little variance, in the measurement because of this.

3. Once you have the tape in place, run your fingers across it and press it firmly to the wall. We sealed our tape with the lighter color of paint. We only had about 3 places where the darker paint seeped through. Besides that, we had perfect stripes. Remove the tape as soon as you are done. That is it! Sounds simple, but it takes some time.

Now I have a much nicer master bedroom- which was my goal before having this baby- a more pleasant place to rest and recover.

Here is the before of the master:

So boring. Matchy bedroom sets- and I don't really care for them. And the tiny lamp- that is just not big enough. White walls- also too boring for me. O.K.- so this is just a picture of the bed- but you get the idea- I'll show you the rest when it is not so messy and when it is finished. ☻

Here is the master after painting stripes and many other changes:

O.K. so it is just the bed corner...the rest is still in the works. But I like this so much better! (Please ignore the messy bed-making corners... I think my husband made the bed- ha ha- at least he makes it!) 

Here is the low-down on what is in this picture:

Paint Colors: We painted about 12 different colors on our walls before deciding what color would work best. We ended up painting the entire room Softer Tan by Sherwin Williams, and the darker stripe is Macadamia also be Sherwin Williams. Most of the walls in my house are blue or tan. What can I say...that is what I like I guess. It is easier for me to change bedding and pillows, accessories, etc instead of paint- so I go with a neutral paint color.

The nighstands- were refinished years ago.

The lamps- are Home Goods.

The bedding- IKEA, Target, Home Goods-I actually used the blue bedspread in the photo above but turned it over to the white side,  pillows are recovered with fabric- so I can change the covers later and get a new look.

BENCH- Marshalls- you can't see it all but it has some great detail- love it.

Headboard- I wanted to make one-but ended up getting this one at Costco. We also got a Memory Foam topper - it was more affordable than a new bed- and we love it.

Curtains: Target- please ignore the length- I plan to add fabric to them later.

Still alot of details to take care of- but you get the idea- I am loving the stripes! My goal was to keep everything really neutral, and non-matchy-matchy. That way I can change the pops of color and get a whole new look. We have a few fun things to add, and change. But we are loving the huge improvement!

Speaking of decorating and design, are you watching the  new season of DESIGN STAR ?  Here is a great post on a summary of the first episode!

Thanks for reading! oxoxo

Now I'm off to have a baby this week- praying it all goes well!