Painting Wall Stripes

There are many different ways of painting wall stripes including painting walls in uneven stripes vs. uniform stripes or in combinations of wall paint colors.

In baby girl nurseries, painting walls in pink stripes is very popular and of course the same is true for baby blue on a boy's nursery walls. But just so you know, painting wall stripes is NOT just for a baby's room as this home office decorating project where the walls have been painting in a soft, neutral gray and white color scheme clearly proves.

My opinion of the reason that striped wall painting is so popular would be that it's an easy technique that even a beginner who has never held a paint brush can master, stripes have a big visual impact and those crisp, clean lines give a space such an organized, orderly atmosphere even when the kids have done everything in their power completely destroy my efforts to make the room neat and tidy.

How to Paint Circles on the Wall

Why anyone would want to know how to paint circles on the wall when there are so many ways to get those circles in place using decals and stickers is difficult for me to understand.

Knowing that these are viable options and yet you are still looking for instructions for
how to paint circles on the wall, I have to assume that your reasons might have something to do with getting an exact paint color match or just having some leftover paint in buckets that's just sitting around and needs to be used up to keep it out of the local landfill.

If the latter is your reason, I applaud you for doing your part to save the environment and hope that you will send in some pictures of your
wall decorating ideas when you're done!

Another way of decorating the walls with circles in addition to painting or stenciling would be to make circles out of leftover fabric and Styrofoam discs. The instructions for how to make this circular shaped wall art seem very easy to follow and from the pictures, the artwork is not only lightweight but you get to use up all that leftover fabric from your sewing projects (not as green as keeping paint out of the landfill but good for organizing your home) and it looks amazing!

Decorating Ideas for Silver and Gold Metallic Wall Paint

This baby prince nursery theme is full of decorating ideas for silver and gold metallic wall paint. The DIY decorators used Martha Stewart gold metallic paint in the restoration of an old piece of wooden furniture that they up cycled for use as a changing table as well as the baby's nursery ceiling.

In keeping with the baby prince theme of the room, they decided to use silver metallic paint in the nursery wall painting portion of their decorating project and gold in other areas. What I wouldn't give to view this room in person and see for myself how the iron of the knight's armor and the gold and silver metallic paint complement each other.

I'm loving the idea of a gold ceiling and can imagine how elegant it must look. However, I believe that I would prefer to tone down the finish by burnishing the gold and antique-ing the silver in a bedroom to give the space a more lived-in and cozy look.

If you have any decorating ideas for silver and gold metallic wall paint, as well as copper or bronze, that you would like to share; we would love to see pictures of rooms that you decorated and how you used metallic paint in your project.

Alligator Wall

This alligator wall painting cleverly camouflages a large wall shelf in a baby boy's nursery.

This is just one of the many wall painting techniques that are featured in the jungle themed room. The is a painted tree mural decorated with monkeys and butterflies as well as other jungle creatures hidden almost out of sight in corners and peeking from behind the furnishings in the room. The alligator was painted using a bright, green paint color with the details outlined in black acrylic.

Those of you who are less artistically inclined might consider buying a large alligator wall decal and centering a floating wall shelf on top. Using a sticker rather than painting the wall decorating yourself would save lots of time and (if you're like me) possibly produce more professional looking results.

Here's another example of a room where alligators play a big role in mom and dad's ideas for a baby boy nursery.

Which brings up the fact that if you want to decorate your baby's nursery walls with alligators, you don't have to paint or use wall decals; you can stencil your gator on the wall using any paint color you like!

Where can you put these wall painting ideas to work?

You could use them in kids' jungle theme bedroom or nursery or your alligator could hang out by your painted golf course's water trap like the one in the picture above!

TOP WALL DECORATING IDEAS for 2011

The big surprise in the top wall decorating ideas for 2011 is that there are no big surprises. Several of the top trends mentioned in the lists that I've seen are not what you might call NEW at all. In fact, some esteemed members of the decorating community are scratching their heads and have been heard to say that the list of 2011 decorating trends was more a collection of wall decorating techniques that were old-fashioned or "out of style" than a collection of trendy colors, decorations and designs!

Take wallpaper as an example, for several years now home decorators have been avoiding rolls of wallpaper like the plague! In the 1980s and early 1990s perfecting proper wall-prepping and suffering through the trials of dipping pre-pasted wallpaper into those irritating little troughs of water was THE way to get the ultimate in wall decor. We finally said "ENOUGH" and began to explore wall painting techniques and the versatility of wall decals and stickers.

Well, it was good while it lasted but it seems that wallpaper, especially plaid and floral patterns and wallpapers with whimsical themes designated for baby's nursery walls and kids' bedroom walls, is making a big comeback. Big, full-size wallpaper murals are also one of the top wall decorating ideas for 2011 that are mentioned as being a growing trend along with with my personal favorite, peel and stick wall decals.

PAINT

Talk about old-school; plain, old-timey wall paint was mentioned as another item on the list of top wall decorating ideas for 2011! The only thing new here is that traditional shades of pink and blue have trendy new names like honeysuckle and sky. I gather that whoever comes up with these wall paint color names never heard of yellow honeysuckle? In fact, where I live yellow is the most common color, but I digress.

GREEN and WHITE NURSERY DECOR

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As you can see, the main feature of the green and white nursery decor that you see in the pictures are the painted lime green and white stripes on the nursery walls. In addition to the stripes on the walls, there is a very unique tree with a rope defining the outline of its branches that reach across the top of the walls and over the window, an original painting of a princess (a likeness of the baby girl's mom) kissing a frog and a painting of a large castle.

The green wall paint color and wall painting ideas all work together to create a unique frog prince nursery theme. The green and white nursery decor and painted stripes on the wall give the room a crisp, tailored style that is softened by the whimsical art created by two loving parents.

JUNGLE WALL MURALS

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Is this one of the most adorable jungle wall murals you have ever seen or what? I can't decide which of the jungle animals that I love the best, the purple hippo, the big blue elephant or the cute lion, giraffe or tiger. All of the animals in the mural are painted with such sweet expressions on their faces and such charming features that they tug at your heartstrings.

Unlike jungle murals where the animals blend into the jungle scenery, this mural artist chose to paint the animals and colors that would virtually guarantee that they were the standouts of the painting with the lush, leaves, palm trees and undergrowth taking a back seat.


We just have one picture of the wall but the artist that was nice enough to share her wall painting ideas with us tells us that the ceiling as well as the nursery walls are also painted! This artistic lady drew all of the details of the artwork directly on the walls herself without using a projector or stencil. With the help of her husband she took charge of outlining the animals in the wall mural and mixing the paint colors while her husband 'filled-in' the images with the bright and cheerful colors that we see. We love this jungle mural believe that any child would enjoy having such a great mural in his or her room!

PINK STRIPED WALLS

SEE MORE IDEAS FOR PAINTING STRIPES HERE!

Painting pink striped walls in the nursery and in girls' rooms of all ages is a great way to give walls more personality and pizzazz! You can alternate stripes in wide stripes, narrow stripes, vertical stripes or horizontal stripes. It really makes little difference whether you paint them up and down or sideways they will make the entire bedroom look more tailored and stylish.

VERTICAL STRIPES or HORIZONTAL?

Make your pink stripes work for you! Bring the ceiling height down to make the room cozy by painting horizontal lines. Paint vertical stripes to make those traditional eight foot tall ceilings seem taller making a tight space seem airy.

HOW WIDE SHOULD I MAKE THE STRIPES ON MY WALL?

The width of the stripes that you create on your pink striped walls is determined by the size of the room. As an example, no matter how much you love stripes it would be a mistake to paint bold pink stripes in a small room. For a small bedroom, less contrast in your pink paint colors is best. The idea is to create a backdrop for the furnishings of the room not a design that will overpower and compete for attention. Another tip for making a small bedroom seem larger is to paint WIDE pink stripes, since wider stripes make a room seem bigger.


HOW TO CHOOSE 2 PINK PAINT COLORS

As always, I recommend choosing your wall paint color according to an inspiration piece. Take your inspiration piece or fabric swatches to the paint store. The best way to insure that your shades of pink are perfect for each is to take a dark pink and then a lighter shade of pink from the same paint sample card. And if you have never experimented with paint glazes, this may be the best time ever to do some research because nothing is more lovely than a combination of salmon pink and pale shrimp pink glazes to create alternating light and dark pink striped walls.

If you are having trouble choosing color or style, there are many pictures of pink striped walls to help you make a decision.

GOTHIC FAIRY WALL ART

This fine example of gothic fairy wall art is, as you can see, a wall mural that was painted in a baby's room. There's nothing evil or menacing about the fairy princess reclining on the grass surrounded by woodland creatures.




In fact, the raven haired fairy is rather enchanting with her gossamer wings and sassy black boots. The pink flowers contrast very nicely with the bright, green grass and gives the painting an ethereal, peaceful feeling while the psychedelic (?) mushroom positioned to the side and the blackbirds flying overhead are what give the gothic fairy wall art a unique personality filled with fantasy.

I can imagine a new mother rocking her infant beneath the multi-colored mushroom painting that defines this unusual fairy nursery theme. We aren't able to see the cap of the mushroom, but if we could I wouldn't be surprised to see Absolem the hookah smoking caterpillar from Alice in Wonderland as a companion to the fairy princess in the painting, would you?

PAINTING WAVES ON WALLS

As you can see from this example, you don't need much artistic abililty to start painting waves on walls. A simple one-piece stencil pattern is all you need to paint the walls of your baby's nursery or your kids' bedroom in an ocean theme theme rather than wrestling with wallpaper border or (YIKES) trying to paint the design free handed!

If it's realistic looking waves of the type that send surfers running for the beach, wall size murals might be best for your decor than the above wave mural which is better suited for kids' rooms or a baby's nursery wall.The wave wall mural featuring the ocean and the whitecapped waves beneath an azure blue sky is the perfect complement for a modern style of decor and will provide a beautifully colorful background for your contemporary living room sofa.

Face it,painting waves on walls such as these would require hiring a mural artist with considerable skills (read: expensive!) and many hours with the artist in your home not to mention the drop cloths and paint fumes. Why put yourself through it when you can have one of these wall size murals hung in a matter of minutes?

DECORATING WITH CHALKBOARD PAINT

The beauty of decorating with chalkboard paint is that for just a few dollars you can have a fully functional chalkboard on the walls of your baby's nursery or in any room of your home. You can make chalkboard paint the focal point of any room with no more effort than it would take to paint the wall in colors.

And unlike your average, run of the mill wall paint chalkboard paint is made to write on! The only problem that I've had with my chalkboard walls is having to explain to my girls why they could write on some walls and not others.

HOW TO PREP THE WALLS FOR CHALKBOARD PAINT

Step 1 - You must prepare the walls that you have chosen to decorate with chalkboard paint in much the same way that you would if you were using any other paint. It's necessary to clean and smooth the wall as well as putty any existing nail holes.

Step 2 - Use painter's tape to isolate the area of your chalkboard. Applying a coat of dark tinted primer on the area of the wall where you want the chalkboard is recommended if you are using a dark color paint.


The last step - After you are SURE that the paint is dry take a large stick of chalk (I used sidewalk chalk) and "color" your chalkboard and then wipe the chalk off. This process is a sealer insuring that whatever is written and drawn in the future can be erased, leaving no "shadows".


That's all there is to the application process; it's not very exciting, is it? It's decorating with chalkboard paint that's a blast! Some people prefer using Krylon spray paint rather than applying the paint to the walls using a paint brush or roller but I haven't tried it.

MAGNETIC WALL PAINT

MAGNETIC CHALKBOARD PAINT takes the concept a step further. Not only can your children write on the walls, they can take advantage of its magnetic properties to create 3D masterpieces by attaching their artwork to the surface.


COLOR

The most popular CHALKBOARD PAINT COLORS are black (if you consider black a color), blue and green. I prefer using black when decorating with chalkboard paint because it is both versatile and neutral.

However, you can actually make chalkboard paint in ANY COLOR that you need for your room and the instructions for this wall painting technique are easy to follow.

JUNGLE WALL MURALS

SEE MORE JUNGLE WALL MURALS HERE!

There are as many ways to get jungle art on your walls as therer are species of jungle animals to use as subjects. Most of us will use wall stickers to create our jungle safari for the simple reason that the vinyl decals are easy to use and since they are removable; if you make a mistake and need to reposition them...no problem!

The only issue that many have with using stickers and decals is a lack of color control. They are very flexible as far as location is concerned but there is the remote chance that the colors of the lions, monkeys, tigers, tropical birds and giraffes won't match your wall paint color or the fabrics in the baby's jungle theme nursery, your kids' room or your master bedroom.

When an exact color match is crucial, I recommend jungle wall stencil kits. They are not as forgiving as removable, vinyl stickers but you have the luxury of choosing your color scheme. We love pictures of jungle wall murals, so please share addresses for your favorite jungle wall painting ideas in the comments section.

SESAME STREET WALL DECOR

The type of Sesame Street wall decor that you choose for your decorating project is just as important to your kids bedroom theme as the Sesame Street bedding that you just found (hopefully) on sale at a huge discount. Will you take the quick and easy route for decorating the walls by using large, removable vinyl wall decals
or stickers? Or will you jump in and spend the time (or lots of money if you hire an artist) to paint a wall mural like the one in the above picture that includes all of the Sesame Street Characters from Big Bird and Elmo to Cookie Monster and the Count?

All of the characters are colorful, cute and make for a delightfully cheerful bedroom or nursery design so the choice is yours as to which is your favorite! Maybe your decision doesn't have as much to do with a favorite character as it does with successfully completing a balanced color scheme,

If a red and yellow color scheme works for you, feature Elmo and Big Bird in your wall art. If blue and yellow is your taste, Big Bird and Cookie Monster should be the stars in your Sesame Street wall decor. Some of the best wall painting ideas in this theme include the neighborhood in the background with the characters peeping out of garbage cans or just hanging out on the stoop. Another tip would be to frame some posters and a Sesame Street sign to add another dimension and give your wall art depth.

How to Paint Black and White Stripes

MORE PICTURES HERE
!
Ever since I saw this picture I have wanted to learn how to paint black and white stripes on the walls of my music room. While painting vertical and uneven stripes on the walls has been done so much that it's almost commonplace, the painted horizontal stripes on this wall really knocked me out; they are so contemporary and sharp looking.

I noticed that in the pictures, the DIY painter broke up the pattern with strategically positioning wall quotes as focal points in the room and by bouncing polka dot wall decals throughout the design. Since the stripes in the pictures were in a baby's nursery these decorative touches in addition to the artwork were appropriate and softened the impact of the painting technique while leaving the very desirable high contrast that is known to be visible to newborns very early.

Adults who go to the trouble to learn how to paint black and white stripes for a master bedroom will probably leave them unadorned for an uncluttered, modern look.

NURSERY PAINTING IDEAS PICTURES and TIPS

NURSERY MURAL IDEAS!

New parents looking for nursery painting ideas, pictures and tips can find a wealth of information by visiting what, in the past, may have been adult oriented home decorating websites. Sites that had previously focused on the living areas, kitchens, bathrooms and master bedrooms realized that there was a bigger need for design advice for the walls of the nursery than any other.

Often the decor of the baby's room is much more complex than bedrooms for the older occupants of the home. Elaborate nursery themes played out in nursery wall murals, the display of sentimental items on multiple shelves and framed artwork requires more talent to pull all of the decorative elements together tastefully in what may be a less than spacious area.

And when it comes to nursery painting ideas pictures and tips from those who have "been there and done that" are invaluable. The only saying, "A picture is worth a thousand words" is certainly applicable when a father or mother-to-be is searching for directions on how to paint a tree, a Dr. Seuss mural or other images that might be used to decorate the nursery walls.

Written instructions on how to use a projector to paint a mural are helpful but it would be impossible to beat the combination of detailed nursery pictures that are accompanied with a supply list AND instructions. For a beginner, this is the best way to proceed since most of the parents are more than happy to tell how many hours it took to paint the graphics and whether or not the wall painting ideas seen in the photos would be a project that is suitable for a beginner or one that requires advanced and equipment like projectors, etc.

FRENCH BABY NURSERY WALL DECOR

French baby nursery wall decor can be something as simple as some removable peel and stick wall decals, framed pictures of French poodles OR you can take out all the stops like one mom who entered her artwork in a contest that I have bookmarked just to see how walls in modern nurseries are being decorated.

Wall stickers and decals are without a doubt the quick and easy way to decorate with images that reflect the nursery's theme, the baby's monogram or an inspirational saying or quote sharing wisdom from a favorite Bible verse or a motivational text taken from a popular children's book. It doesn't even have to be a very serious text. For instance, quotes from Dr. Seuss books have had a very good run.

And then, there are elaborate hand-painted works of art like the French baby nursery wall decor that take (according to the artist's description of how she painted the mural) about a month or so to complete. If you want a real treat, drop by and take a look at this devoted mother's wall decorating ideas.

Her artistic interpretation of life in Paris includes paintings of quaint Parisian bistros shaded with three-dimensional (3D) awnings, bakeries and sidewalk cafés as one might enjoyed while scrolling along the Champs Élysées and are an inspiration to jump in and start painting those walls with scenes of gay Paris'!

BAMBOO WALL STENCILS

Bamboo wall stencils are the perfect way to customize any room with an oriental atmosphere or perhaps a room dedicated to the use of bamboo as a sustainable building material. Bamboo is a perfect complement to graceful Asian floral and animal designs like panda bears or even butterflies.

Use repeatable bamboo stencils to decorate an entire accent wall and then carry the theme by stenciling small snips of the design on everything from the face of throw pillows to various pieces of furniture or decorative objects. You can easily paint and decorate the walls as well as accent pillows and even clothing using bamboo stencils. They are a cheap way to get a free form wallpaper look using perfectly matched custom colors or the designs can be stenciled in a vertical stripe pattern to create columns of bamboo much in the same way as wallpapers. The key to pulling this off is to choose bamboo wall stencils in the right size.

Reusable wall stencils offer great value for a very cheap price since you can build a library of stencils and use them over and over for your do-it-yourself wall decorating projects. Free use of color will make each project look fresh and new each and every time which is one of the primary benefits over using vinyl wall decals as wall decorations.