How to get perfect painted stripes.

Anyone who knows me well, knows I am crazy over stripes. Any time a client is at a loss for what to do, I always throw 'stripe it' out there. It's quick, it's classy, it's my "go to" way to bring a room together.
This week I made a little discovery about getting perfectly perfect stripes. I was doing a horizontal stripe project in a 3 year old boy's room. I had several rolls of Frog Tape for delicate surfaces (the yellow NOT the green), and 1 roll of 3M Delicate Surfaces Painter's Tape (blue, with an orange middle).
Let me back up and tell you first about the base coat. Lately I have been using a lot of Sherwin Williams' Durations paint, in the Matte finish, and this project was no different. The Matte finish dries relatively quickly, and I feel like roller marks and brush strokes are kept to a minimum.

With my basecoat only hours old, I was able to tape right on it and my tape stuck. Both tapes we sticking just fine with minimal burnishing.
Since I was applying 4 different colors, in 4 different sizes, I taped all of the largest sized stripe. I lightly brushed over the edges of the tape, with whatever color would be adjacent to this stripe.
Why would I do that? So that anything that did bleed under the tape, would be the color of the stripe adjacent to it...making any bleed unders invisible. I hope that makes sense.
Once my 'seal down' coat was dry, I rolled on the paint with a 6 or 3" whizz roller. I continued this process with each of the 4 colors. (Typically 1 of your colors will be your bascoat color)

When I pulled my tape down the next day, I was so happy to find that I had no visible bleed unders. I also didn't have any areas where my basecoat pulled up. I have never had that experience with any other paint besides Durations Matte. I have to say I prefer the Frog Tape, only because it gave me completely crisp and perfect lines in the corners of the room and at the ceiling line. So high five Frog Tape! I did not have to eat into my profits at all with any kind of touch ups whatsoever.

Go big or go home....Diamond Baratta Design

all rooms by William Diamond and Anthony Baratta

If you read any design magazines, you will notice one thing: Gay guys have all the money, and therefore the best homes. If you know me, you know one of those 'things' I say is, "I wanna decorate my house like a gay man." Now, I have no idea if these two are gay or not, but they decorate like gay men (please don't sue me adorable design team that is Diamond Baratta...I think you are the SHIZZZZZ!!!). Listen, I have a degree in interior design. I went to school for this. I dated BOTH straight men at my school, all two of them, you dig? I think I know what I'm talking about here.
So Diamond Baratta...major color addicts, in the best kind of way. Their website says something about clients who want 'couture' design, so I guess it's safe to assume that almost no one can afford them anymore, but one can always look!
Let's be inspired, shall we? (all photos stolen from Diamond Baratta Design)


My kids would soooo store stuff in there, like barbie shoes and hair pretties



wild about the framed dots. So simple and effective

Love the lino floor and the crazy island. I bet it's couture...
Why yes, I CAN do that to your walls!

lovin' the " EVERYFLIPPIN thing in here is purple"! Pick a color and then commit!
oh swoon!
Just literally dying for a client to ask me to do this to their walls.


What can we learn from these two?
1. Go big or go home
2. If a little is good, more more more is even better
3. who cares what anyone else says, if you like it put it everywhere
4. big bold patterns and even more big bold patterns is a very good thing
5. patterned floors are spiffy
6.hand painted walls should be bold and crazy, like multi colored stripes or large scale scribbling!

ChEvRoN

The chevron pattern has been around most likely since man could draw a slanted line,but the first documented chevron pattern was dated to 1800BC , found on a piece of pottery in modern day Greece. Later, the Navajo Indians embraced this design, which is where I come in. I started out my design life as a textile designer for a rug company. I landed this job because I had two things: a 'background' in Navajo textiles (read: I wrote a paper on them) and a willingness to work full time for 15,000 a year and no benefits. One of my favorite rugs I ever created was based on this design, but alas due to problems with our the dye process in our factory in China, few of my rugs ever made production. It was a short lived job because our factory workers couldn't figure out 'hunter green'. (It was 1993). But my fascination with Navajo designs has never waned and I am thrilled that the Chevron is making a huge comeback! It's such a great alternative to stripes or diamonds,which...ugh, I am sick to death of diamonds.
I keep going back to this room shot, by Blount Architectural and Interior Design. The boldness of the stripes would make the room exciting enough, but the addition of the Chevron pattern at the window makes it almost too much to bear. I MUST recreate this, someday, somewhere.

While we're on the topic of chevrons I COVET...this dress by Vionet on Carey Mulligan is divine. (getty images) Carey Mulligan's stylist is genius and I think she looks amazing and adorable all the time. I'm so glad Shia LaBeouf has chosen this classy and unpredictable beauty who can act her butt off over someone more...um....Megan Foxy. Sorry guys, predictible is just so....done. But I have digressed.

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Maybe black and white chevrons on a red and white striped wall is a bit much for you. Chevrons are interesting as well in a tone on tone colorway. The wall in this photo via designsponge.com was created using contact paper! That sounds too much like wallpapering for me, but hey power to ya if you want to figure that one out. ( OMG another faux animal head)

Let's get back to what the Navajo knew....a little chevron can really ground a space! Perhaps a marble chevrone'd floor is a bit of a commitment (via cococozy.com) ....how about a painted floor? (via houseoftourquoise.com)







Feeling a little groovy in a 70s kind of way? This is may be more stock market chart, than chevron, but still pretty fun. (via monobluedesign.com)

A painted floor is a bit of work actually, I'm not going to lie. Especially if you have any issues in the lumbar region of your spine (like someone I know!)

So maybe we just do like the Navajo did and get a really good rug. (via potterybarn.com) Click here to learn how to make your own from adventuresindressmaking.com

Stripes!

all photos via flickr

I love stripes. I have always had at least one striped room in my home. Currently I have no stripes, and it makes me frown. But I won't be frowning for long!

My family room is painted Candy Apple red on 3 walls and black on the 4th wall. There is gold metallic dentil moulding running around the entire room. It's like Vegas, baby.

I want to lighten up a bit, and add a bit of whimsy and boldness....so I am planning to mark off wide stripes in raspberry with the existing Candy Apple red.I cannot wait until summer to complete this project! The only question is should I go vertical or horizontal?

Anyhoo...Stripes are so crisp, preppy, fun, summery. What's not to love?
I am loving these eye candy shots of some fabulous stripes! Painting the navy and white bathroom would require the patience of Job, but what an effect!

Even one wall of stripes, applied in almost a headboard fashion, is fiercely bold, but not overwhelming.

Let's not forget the 5th wall, the ceiling! What a lucky baby to look up and see such sunshine!