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How to Paint Stripes {The Secret to Crisp Stripes}

by | Jan 5, 2012 | Before and After Home, Decorating Inspiration, DIY, Entry

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How to Paint Stripes {The Secret to Crisp Stripes}

how to paint stripes

Well, hello! I thought it was high time I finally do a little post on my striped wall. I know you all have seen it numerous times over the past few weeks, but due the holidays and all I didn’t actually show it off in a proper blogger form with photos, tips and before & afters. So I’m catching up to myself today! Yahoo!

If you have never painted stripes before but are thinking about it, I have a little secret tip you might want to try that works really well for getting crisp paint lines.

It is really pretty simple. Of course, you need to start out with carefully measured, eye-balled and level stripes. Nothing will make you more crazy dizzy than looking at stripes gone wonky on a wall.

How to Paint Stripes {The Secret to Crisp Stripes}

But in addition to measuring and leveling, you need to do two additional things.

One, get yourself some Frog Tape, that is the brand. I know, it is a silly name but it works great for taping off your stripes. The secret to using Frog Tape successfully is to press it down really well.

Then, two, you need to SEAL (swine, frogs, seals….all KEY decorating terms around here) your tape with paint before you switch colors.

Painting Stripes: A Quick How To

To start out your stripe project, first paint your wall whatever color you want to use as your base. Let’s say you paint your whole wall a flat gray. In my case, I used Studio Taupe from Behr All in One (a brown gray) so it would go with the rest of my walls.

Then, do all your careful measuring, leveling, eye-balling in case your walls aren’t straight, and carefully Frog Taping for your stripes.

But before you actually paint your stripes, let’s say you are going to use a semi-gloss white as I did, paint your gray paint right over the edges of your tape in the area where you are going to paint white stripes. Once it dries it will seal up the tape so your white paint won’t bleed under into the gray and make the stripes all wonky. Then you can paint your white stripes and remove the tape before it dries.

How to Paint Stripes {The Secret to Crisp Stripes}

There are tons of detailed posts online for how to paint stripes so it is good to research any project before you begin! Here is a post by my buddy Kate with more tips and suggestions for how to paint stripes.

So there you go. Go forth and paint crisp stripes in confidence.

How to Paint Stripes {The Secret to Crisp Stripes}

53 Comments

  1. Centsational Girl

    Your stripes are perfection!!! I adore the color the width and the contrast, such a big impact made with just paint! Perfect tips too, and thank you so much for the linky love.
    xoxoxoxo
    Kate

    Reply
    • melissa

      You’re the best Kate!! xo

      Reply
  2. sarah

    i like it a lot. looks great–and so does the new decor on top of the bookcase!

    Reply
    • Melissa

      Ha yes, that before was right after we moved in three years ago! Finally an AFTER :-)

      Reply
  3. Jessica

    This looks amazing! I’m planning on painting my guest bathroom in stripes, so thanks for the tips =)

    Reply
    • Melissa

      Great, I hope you’ll show it off when you do it! I’d love to see it!

      Reply
  4. Carmel

    Thanks for the tips – I’m always interested in the brand of tape people like to use. I like Frog tape too! I have a striped wall project on my agenda but I’m a little sceered to get it done!

    Reply
  5. Vee

    Oh that is the best tip I’ve heard lately for painting stripes. Wish I’d known that one years ago when I was painting a striped floor border. Sigh. It’s someone else’s problem now! ☺

    Your foyer looks great!

    Reply
    • Melissa

      Me too! Years ago we painted stripes in our girls’ rooms. Wow, had we only known this tip then! :-) Live and learn, right?

      Reply
  6. Jen

    This looks great, I really love it. I’m thinking of doing stripes in my foyer too, because it needs some excitement and it’s not that big so maybe it won’t be too daunting. I’m just nervous about the measuring and getting it all right. We’ll see I guess. Thanks for sharing

    Reply
  7. Becky

    Your wall looks great. It really adds character to that area, nice job!

    Reply
    • Melissa

      Thank you Becky!

      Reply
  8. Emily

    I think I’m pretty much in love with that striped wall. It looks SOO good!!

    Reply
  9. Maureen

    You are so brave! I need some of that bravery in decorating. Looks great!

    Reply
  10. Lynn from For Love or Funny

    I love how you painted just a small bit of wall with stripes. It really accents that area of the room!

    Reply
  11. rachel

    I’m loving the stripes! This made such a dramatic difference in that little area. Now you’ve got me trying to figure out what little wall in my house could use a few stripes. Thanks for sharing and for all of your inspiration!

    Rachel
    xoxo

    Reply
    • Melissa

      Thank you so much for your encouragement to keep going :-) xoxo

      Reply
  12. Susan

    Wow – your wall is beautiful. You’re so adventurous – I would be way too scared to try that.

    I just have to say – Jack is adorable!

    Reply
  13. Heather

    Fabulous – don’t know if I have the courage to try something like this myself. My work doesn’t tend to be that precise – lol. In other words, I’m sloppy and would never get the stripes even or level. Great job, Melissa.

    Reply
  14. Karen

    Hi Melissa,
    I love the stripes and the vignette on top of the book case. I was introduced to frog tape from Miss Mustard Seed about a year ago and it’s the best. Nice to see it really works on something as challenging as stripes.
    Your home is really coming along!
    Karen

    Reply
  15. Franki Parde

    “Jazzy!” franki

    Reply
  16. Jo

    Your stripes look great! I want to do horizontal stripes somewhere in our house. Either the master bedroom or our tiny half-bath.
    ~Joanna

    Reply
  17. missy june

    I just adore your stripes and am considering something similar in my bedroom. Thank you!

    Reply
  18. kathysue

    Aaah Hah!! Now I get it!! I have read this on other blogs and it never quite made sense to me. However, you explained it perfectly,thank you for the tips, now if I ever do a striped wall or recommend it to a client I can refer back to your tips, Happy New Year,
    Kathysue

    Reply
    • Melissa

      Glad I was able to explain it clearly for you! :-) Happy day Kathysue!

      Reply
  19. Mimi

    Striped walls are lovely. Especially when the stripes are subtle. Happy New year Melissa!

    Reply
  20. lisa

    i LOVE the stripes. they are so awesome!

    hmmmm…planning now. where can i put them? :)

    Reply
  21. Heather

    What a great post! As I started reading I kept thinking…”Yeah, but how to you get a crisp line and not a dotted blurred mess?”

    Low and behold! *cue angel choir*

    “paint your gray paint right over the edges of your tape in the area where you are going to paint white stripes. Once it dries it will seal up the tape so your white paint won’t bleed under into the gray and make the stripes all wonky. ”

    LET IT DRY!! *forehead slap* Hooray!! Thanks!

    Quick question though…are bold stripes like that best for a large area? or would they work for small downstairs bathroom?

    Reply
    • Melissa

      I think they work in a variety of spaces, depending on the look you are going for and what the room is like. I just wanted them in a small area, to accent the stair wall, but I’ve seen bold stripes in small bathrooms and they look great! If you are worried, though, maybe do one wall first and see what you think! I’m starting a STRIPE pin board on Pinterest http://pinterest.com/theinspiredroom/stripes/ :-) I’ll keep adding inspiration!

      Reply
  22. Lisa

    Melissa, your foyer is really reminding me of an inspiration picture you posted ages ago, I think from a hotel you stayed in, of stairs with the black rail. The stripes are the cherry on top – I love it! The space really looks fabulous!

    Reply
  23. MaryBeth

    We have a 7 month old goldendoodle named Brody. He looks
    a lot like Jack. Everyday is a new adventure with ours. I like reading your blog especially Jack. Makes me feel better that someone else is going thru same stuff as us. Even before Jack your blog was a favorite. Best of luck in 2012!

    Reply
  24. Dee

    It’s amazing the difference on the before and after.

    I’ve always been partial to stripes but have to admit the times I did them, I bought wallpaper! I know, I know! What can I say?

    You new stripes really dress up the entry way.

    dee :)

    Reply
  25. Shirley

    Great tutorial…Definitely one to place in my project files! Your wall is stunning!

    Reply
  26. Sherri

    Looks great! I used this technique in our laundry room and front entry and it works great, even on our awful textured walls (I despise them probably as much as you did your swine color :) ). A little extra work, but the results are worth it!

    Reply
  27. Natasha

    I absolutely love your blog! It really inspires me to build on my style by collecting over time and not worrying so much about perfection. I have wanted to do stripes in my house forever but I think I might save it for a future nursery idea.

    Reply
  28. TheChangingHouse

    Your stripes turned out wonderful! I love the colours you chose! Wow!

    Reply
  29. Lindsay

    You say to remove the tape before the paint dries but what if the stripe requires 2 coats? Is it okay to let the first coat dry first, apply the second, then peel off the tape? Or should I try to avoid doing 2 coats altogether? Thanks for your help. I love your stripes.

    Reply
    • Amy

      I’d love an answer to this if anyone has one ?

      Reply
  30. Kristin

    Your stripes look perfect, Melissa! I loved reading your post – great tips and easy to follow. I posted it on my blog today. Thanks for the great inspiration!

    Reply
  31. Dianne

    Love this look! I haven’t done horizontal stripes before. Looks awesome!

    Thanks,
    D

    Reply
  32. Dianne

    I think I’m going to try black and white this weekend in my house….

    Reply
  33. Rosa

    Stripes are on the horizon over here too, so thanks for the tips! I can’t wait to get to them!

    Reply
  34. Rosa

    And… can I just say that I laugh when I imagine the future generation cursing us all as they have to sand the stripe ridges off the walls before they can paint. haha!

    Reply
  35. Catherine in NJ

    I love your wall and Stripes! Thank you for the tips on painting stripes! How many inches wide are your stripes, because they are just what I wanted to do on the wall behind my bed. It looks so awesome!!!!

    Reply
  36. Kelly

    Thank you for this post! It helped me successfully paint stripes this weekend! I am so happy with how they look! Kelly

    Reply
  37. Amanda

    Love your tutorial! I have my first Interior Design job and I plan on doing stripes! But what’s a good width to make the stripes?

    Reply
    • Melissa

      Good question! It would depend on the statement you want to make, the size of the room and personal preference. In our case, we made the stripes so they flowed seamlessly from that little section of wall leading to the little hallway, above the opening to the hall and just below the top railing. The stripes are the same height as that space, if that makes sense? We wanted our stripes to be bold so that part of the wall was the element we used to decide how tall the stripes would be :-) SO scientific, no?

      Reply
  38. Donna

    You’ve inspired me to try my hand at doing stripes in my powder room! I was looking for something different and I think this is the way to go. Thanks

    Reply
  39. Nicole Stephan

    hi! I am painting one thick white stripe in my daughter’s room as a border on her light blue walls, what sheen of paint do I choose for the stripes and wall color? Eggshell? I plan to put butterfly decals in the large thick white strip. Thanks!

    Reply
  40. Terri

    You say “seal,” I think NAVY, but hey! That is just me.

    The stripes are just as fabulous a year later! Thanks for the great tutorial and all the pinspiration.

    Reply
  41. Patty

    Thanks so much for the tip on preventing bleed through under the tape. We painted diagonal stripes on the floor of my daughter’s bedroom and your tip of painting the base color over the edges of the tape before striping worked wonderfully. It came out perfectly!
    Thanks a million!

    Reply
  42. Heather

    Thank you Melissa!! I followed your tips for painting stripes, and they turned out absolutely fantastic!! Painting the base coat again over the tape to seal the tape is GENIUS!!

    Reply

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