Makeover with paint: 8 ways to add color and fun to your home
Paint is easy to buy, and the rest is pure enjoyment. Check out these creative solutions with walls painted in delightfully different ways. Warning: reading this article may lead to paint-splattered hands!
Walls divide our homes into rooms, yet they can also guide the eye, set the mood, and alter the proportions of a room. Give your space a lively new look with paint and take inspiration from these examples:
1. Geometrics
You can pick your favorite shade from a color palette or perhaps a piece of art you love. Use painter’s tape to outline a grid, then apply the paint to the wall one color block at a time. Let each section dry completely before taping and painting the next.
2. Freehand flair
What a light and airy backdrop for sleep! Would you believe the pattern was painted directly on the wall freehand, without tape? First, mark lightly at regular intervals where the stripes will go, then paint in smooth strokes. Minor wobbles are fine; they help give the grid character.
3. Something familiar
In older city houses, it’s common to find walls that have been divided into two painted sections. Borrow the same idea and paint the lower section your wall with a warm latte shade. When you keep the window frames and the upper part of the wall white, the result feels fresh and soothing.
4. Horizontal stripes
Wide horizontal stripes make the space look larger and often make a busy entryway clearer. If you plan to hang coat hooks on the stripe wall, align them with the stripes so their top or bottom edges match up. Remember, the adjacent wall can also join in on the color play. A medium blue goes with everything.
5. Radiant arch
If your home has a distinctive feature—like a doorway, window, or angled ceiling—go all in. Whatever you can’t remove can become a stunning highlight. Here, the archway between the entry and the room was painted with a bold, lipstick-like color.
6. Blooming hills
One of the most popular themes for children’s rooms is lushly blooming trees. If you’re not confident painting something so large, you can achieve a similar effect with wall decals. Or you could always turn to a professional painter.
7. Door to a fairy tale
This cotton-candy-pink door has sprouted a whimsical vine that blooms all year round. Carefully sketch the plant’s stem and branches before painting, and prepare to spend time detailing highlights and shadows.
8. Look further
Small homes and cottages sometimes seem too compact for intense colors, but there’s always a clever workaround. Sometimes paint has the biggest impact when glimpsed from another room through a doorway. Look at your space from room to room and think about painting the back wall in the next area.
