Weekend DIY: Striped Entry Wall

After being inspired by photos of walls with wide stripes in neutral colors on Pinterest, I decided to try my hand at painting stripes in my own home on the wall that goes along the entry from our front door.
I'm pleased with the end result, and the project was a relatively easy undertaking, so I thought I'd share with you my step-by-step process in case you're lusting after the striped look as well.

If your wall is not already one of the stripe colors you are wanting, you'll want to paint the entire wall one of the desired shades first, and allow at least a day for that paint to thoroughly dry.

To begin the striping process, you'll want to make markings that will help you tape off the borders of your stripes. For my wall, I decided to make stripes that were one foot wide.  Using a ruler (or in my case, a foot long piece of cardboard, because for the life of me, I couldn't find our ruler) beginning at the ceiling, and working your way across the wall, make small, LIGHT pencil marks one foot below where the ceiling meets the wall every foot or so.

Next, using a wide painter's tape, beginning at one side of the wall, lightly place a strip of tape across the wall, keeping the marks all at the top edge of the strip of tape. Check to ensure the tape is level a few times as you're placing it. Once the tape is level, press it firmly onto the wall, going over it a few times with your hand or a flat object (such as a book or the edge of your ruler) to ensure your painted lines will have crisp edges and not appear drippy.

Repeat this process again, this time measuring from your previously placed piece of tape rather than the ceiling. Repeat until all of the wall is taped off for striping as desired.

Using a roller, paint two coats of paint between the taped lines (allowing the paint to dry to the touch between coats one and two). Paint only every other section that you've taped off. You may wish to label the ones to paint lightly in pencil before you begin painting so you don't accidentally forget to skip sections. Use a brush to paint along the ceiling and near wall edges.

Allow paint to dry to the touch before removing tape. This is the hardest part if you're impatient like I am! I was dying to see the end result. Complete the project by gently erasing any visible pencil marks.

Here is my entry wall before:

And after:

Supplies used:
-Paint (Behr Swiss Coffee)
-Angled paint brush
-Paint roller
-Paint tray
-Wide painter's tape
-Ruler (or 12 inch piece of cardboard!)
-Pencil
-Level
-White eraser
Total hands-on time required:
2.5 hours

Idea inspired by this pin:

Found here

This post has been linked up at Mrs Priss' Pinterest Partayy!