Have you been playing with the idea about having a plaid wall, well now you can make it yourself. Forget about the hassle of wall paper. Even if you figure out how to put it up seamlessly It will leave a mess taking it down. With painted plaid you can just paint over it when you want something different. The first picture is showing you the finished wall:
First you paint the wall in one color. it makes it easiest by starting with the lightest color. I chose a beige.
To keep the lines straight it helps to have a long level. After the first layer of paint dried I taped of the stripes (the stripe will be the paint behind the tape).
Make sure to mark with a pencil (never use ink) where the stripes go so they get evenly spaced out.
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Take off the coves on your power outlets and put tape over it.
Once you are finished with taping the wall you paint over the tape in the same color to seal off the edges of the tape so your second color doesn't bleed under.
When you finish painting over the tape you wait for it to dry (at least an hour). Put a coat of your second color over everything and once that is dry peal off the tape. When you get it off you will have nice crisp lines. Your tape will probably bubble when it get's wet from the two layers of paint that you covered it in but don't worry, your lines will still come out straight.
Now it's time for your third color of paint. This is when it get's a little more complicated. You will do your measuring again and use your level to tape off your lines straight. This will be your darkest color that you paint on after you are finished with the tape....but FIRST before the paint goes on you will seal the tape with Alex Plus sealant or you can also use a clear water based paint. No matter how much you spend on a good painters tape it will still bleed that's why it's so important to use one of these two things to seal the edges of the tape. Use a putty knife for better results just be careful not to rip the tape buy pressing it to hard.
Give the sealant or clear paint about an hour to dry before you paint your third color over the tape.
I kinda cheated and put up my furniture before I finished my horizontal lines.
Repeat the previous steps of taping and measuring out your lines, then sealing them off.
And here is the finished plaid wall, beige, grey and dark grey.
If you are brave enough and attempt to create a plaid wall yourself please comment what your experience was and send me pictures. Good Luck! :P
