This Isn’t Just a Feature Wall

This isn’t just a feature wall. It’s the start of me getting back to me. Taking more time to be creative and being in a zone. I could have painted into the wee hours of the night. No stopping for snacks (what did we call them before kids? Regular food?). Only quiet music streaming from my phone (so as not to wake the kids), a paint brush, some tape & miscellaneous supplies.

Before I had kids I used to love painting furniture, murals on walls and creating artwork for next to nothing in price. I once took one of my favorite patterned skirts and had it scanned in high resolution, enlarged just a few inches of the pattern and made a giant framed print out of it for above the couch in our first house. Cost us all of $15 -which was a good thing since we were broke after buying the house.

Our youngest turned one this summer and I’m finally feeling like I can squeeze in more creative time for me. I’m ecstatic about the ideas floating around in my head. The hardest part is prioritizing what I can do in the short windows I get as a work from home mom of three.

So this isn’t just a feature wall. It’s the start of something pretty fantastic. Enjoy.

Supplies Needed:

• 3/4″ painters tape
• short 3″ foam rollers and trays (one for each color)
• pencil with white eraser
• calculator- if you are mathematically challenged like me
• eagle-sharp vision
• 3 paint colors-2 accents and one for the main color as the background.

Instructions:

1. I had already pre-painted the wall cream in preparation for the pattern. If you are doing it all at once make sure you give the base color a few days to completely dry.
2. I then created a border all the way around the wall using 3/4″ painters tape. This helped me so I wasn’t having to roll right up on to the ceiling or down on the baseboards.
3. Next I measured the open space I had just made and divided it by 7. Always do odd numbers and depending on how large your wall is you may need to create more or less columns.
4. Make light pencil marks using your divided number as a guide. This will mark where you will be running your vertical tape lines. I started at the top and marked all the way down to the baseboard then connected my marks using a wooden ruler. I centered my tape along these lines.
5. Once the vertical lines have been taped off, it’s now time to start with your randomized chevron pattern. Vary the widths and be completely random about it. Once you tape your first angle make sure the match that same angle all the way down. This is where the eagle-sharp vision comes to play. I did no measuring here. Purely eyed the whole thing.
6. I snapped a photo of my wall all taped off and dropped the pic in Photoshop where I starting playing with my two chosen colors. This eliminated the guess work and once I felt happy with the balance I printed it off and used it as my guide.
7. I barely using any paint when using the foam roller. I wanted the color blocks to have texture as opposed to being heavily painted. Because of this I only needed one coat of paint on each block. I even played with a dry-brushing technique on some of them.
8. Immediately after I finished I pulled the tape off and revealed the cream wall underneath and my new randomized chevron pattern.

How do YOU get back to you? I would love to hear what makes you feel more like you when time isn’t spent packing lunches or wiping noses. Leave a comment below.