Paint is one of the cheapest and easiest ways to transform a room but most of us do little more than pick the colour we like and slap it on the walls. What if we were a little more imaginative? What if we thought a little bit more about different ways of using that paint to create really great effects in our homes?
mural painted used wickes paints at madaboutthehouse.com
Some of you may remember I did a project with Wickes last year about how to use tiles in different ways and the company came back to me earlier this year and asked me to think about paint effects.
kelly wearstler black ceiling via elle decor
I decided to look at five different ways with paint that are great transformers and for which the key ingredient – apart from the paint – is a roll of masking or frog tape. This allows you to mark out the areas you want to paint and won’t chip the wall when you take it off.
Have a look at these ideas and see if they inspire you to be more productive with your paint.
1 PAINT THE CEILING
Well it is the fifth wall after all. If you have high ceilings you can paint them to add definition to the room. If you have low ceilings try painting the walls and the ceiling in the same colour. This will blur the edges and make the ceiling recede, creating the impression that the room is actually bigger than it is.
I am considering doing this in my bedroom. A dark colour will be like sleeping under the night sky. In addition to this, remember how dark colours make the artwork and books pop on walls and shelves? Well it will have the same effect with a pendant light, so if you’ve spent money on a fabulous shade then paint the ceiling dark and show it off even more.
Finally, consider painting it gloss. This will bounce the light around and create a really luxe effect.
2 PAINT THE FLOORBOARDS
black kitchen cupboards white floorboards madaboutthehouse.com
I love the feel of wooden floorboards underfoot and definitely prefer it to carpet, but sometimes those natural boards have a tendency to go a little bit, well, orange, which is all a bit 1970s ski chalet and not at all what we are aiming for.
In my house (pictured above – see my new black kitchen cupboards) all the floors have been painted white. Now, before you start shouting that it’s not practical consider this. In my last house I had slate floors and a mud coloured stair runner (we called it chocolate but it was basically mud). It didn’t show the dirt. Now, I don’t know about you but if it don’t look dirty, I ain’t gonna clean it. Reader, that house was filthy.
Now that there are white boards, I see the dirt. I see Enid’s muddy paw prints and I mop. Takes five minutes. My house is clean. But, if white doesn’t float your boat what about dark? That trend is coming through now, probably as a reaction to all the bright white Scandinavian rooms of recent years, and it looks great. It’s the same trick as the dark ceiling – makes everything look fabulous (dahling).
Or, go mad with a stencil or the masking tape and paint your own pattern on the floor. That way you don’t need a rug. And you can change it for a different pattern when you get bored.
image via chaddockhome.com
3 PAINT THE DOOR FRAME
painted door frame at madaboutthehouse.com
Now this is a simple idea that is really effective. Just paint a line of colour down the edge of the door that you will only see when the door is open. We did this using the leftover paint from the mural, which also matches the fireplace.
In the sitting room we have used Wickes Urban Nights. It’s just a tiny little detail that can make all the difference and shows that you have really thought about your home and how you want it to look. It’s also quick to do and doesn’t take much paint. Actually the bit that takes the time is applying the masking tape. Take care with that and the rest is easy.
door frame painted in Wickes Urban Nights
4 HALF-PAINTED WALLS
image from wickes
Half-painted walls are a really contemporary way to bring more colour into a room. Somehow painting either side of a dado rail in different colours looks rather old fashioned, but if you don’t have that rail and just divide the wall it looks really contemporary and fresh.
Try painting to just over the halfway mark. This can be a practical solution in a child’s room as it will cover up finger prints and scuff marks. If you paint up to two thirds dark and then go white the rest of the way and over the ceiling you will make the ceiling seem much higher too.
5 CREATE A GRAPHIC MURAL
This was done in The Mad House using Wickes paints by graphic designer Charlie Patterson. He came up with some really cool ideas for the wall using various shades of grey from the Wickes paint collection with that splash of pink. Now that I’ve got used to it I think I might adapt it a little. I fancy adding some pink stripes to the grey triangle on the right. Or perhaps a large pink circle over the top like a sun. All you need is masking tape and paint and it’s easy. If you want some inspiration check out Charlie’s Instagram.
So what do you think? Time to be a little more adventurous with the paints? For more inspiration check out my Pinterest board
from Mad About The House http://ift.tt/1nvyOsn
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