Accent Wall Before and After

Patti (my youngest sister) is renting but has permission from the landlord to paint…and to be creative about it too. The entryway wall before had peeling paint…

wall-before

I scraped and sanded until we had a smooth finish. Holes and cracks were patched using DAP’s DryDex (spackling that goes on pink, dries white) and sanded.

dap-drydex-spackling

The walls got a coat of primer and a base coat in a neutral light gray color.

Using FrogTape Delicate (the yellow painter’s tape with PaintBlock Technology, safe for freshly painted walls) the next day, I created a chevron/zigzag pattern.

accent-wall-tutorial

Then painted the zigzag stripes alternating a left-over darker gray paint and left-over gray-beige paint (the color under the tape is a lighter gray).

As soon as I were finished painting the second coat (while it was still wet), I removed the FrogTape Delicate.

removing-FrogTape

Next up cleaning the dingy vinyl floor and decorating.

After (paint is still drying):

accent-wall-after

Patti just happens to work part time for a thrift store so she gets first dibs on all of the eclectic treasures (and has a good eye for what can be transformed). Lucky girl! If it was me, I’d never get out the door with a paycheck. I’d be trading those dollars for thrift store goodies!

Even though the wall now sports a busy pattern in 3 colors, the colors are neutral enough to work in some fun colorful accents and patterns. {All accessories found on Polyvore.}

teal, gold & gray

teal-gray-entryway

 coral, black & gray

coral-gray-entryway

emerald & navy

navy-emerald

gray & mustard

gray-mustard

Looking forward to seeing what she does, how about you? Which color(s) do you like?

This is a sponsored post brought to you by FrogTape. The opinions are completely my own based on my own experience.

 FrogTape Blog Squad

Entryway Envy

Our farmhouse lacks entryway pizzazz. Heck, it lacks an entryway. Period. Even if you do have a grand entrance to your home, you’re going to love one from The Three of Us

the-3-of-us-blog

Before was white. Plain. Bare.

entryway-before

Add lots of DIY fun for an awesome transformation…

entryway-after

Love the view looking down…what a change!

entryway-reveal

Gorgeous! See more awesome DIY from Ashley and Luke at The Three of Us. Loving the recent DIY dip dye curtains and DIY paint stick light.

Painted Striped Curtains {apartment sneak peek}

Painting Horizontal Stripes on Fabric Curtain Panels

Renovating, furnishing and decorating an apartment = very tight budget. With the main floor needing six panels, Ikea’s Vivan panels were a perfect choice. A set of two panels for $9.99 – what a deal! And they’re huge! 52″ wide x 98″ long. I love all white curtain panels but for the main living space, I wanted to add a little texture, neutral accent and simple pattern. I love horizontal striped curtains. We decided to go with three large neutral stripes, starting from the bottom.

Not according to plan: My plan was to do an ombre design from black, dark charcoal to light gray. I ended up with something a little different. Here’s how I did it, my suggestions on what I would have done differently and why my stripes aren’t ombre.

What I did: 

Materials:

  • Ikea Vivian curtain panels
  • Paint (fabric paint or latex paint)
  • Sponge rollers (recommend trying foam rollers)
  • FrogTape
  • Tools used: yard stick, iron, sewing machine for hemming if needed

I started by pre-washing and ironing out wrinkles, then spread them out (one at a time) on the dining room table. I used a vinyl table cloth as a “drop cloth” for underneath the panel.

Ikea Vivian curtain panels

Using my yard stick, I started from the bottom and measured 12 inches, then drew a pencil line.

DIY horizontal striped curtains

I used my FrogTape on the outside of my 12″ line to create a crisp border. For the next stripe, I measured 12″ from the edge of the FrogTape. Note: My straight tape lines extended past the panel to secure the edges of the fabric to the vinyl tablecloth to help prevent shifting.

FrogTape for painting striped curtains

I purchased 3 large bottles of fabric paint in black. My plan was to add white to lighten each stripe. However even three bottles of fabric paint does not go a long way with six curtain panels. I ended up using the black fabric paint for the bottom stripe of each panel.

painting striped curtains

painting stripes on curtains

Dip in paint, roll on cardboard/paper towels then roll onto fabric. My cheap rollers meant I had to go over it a few times but once the roller was saturated with paint, it went quicker. 

painted horizontal striped Ikea curtains

Then…since we are on a budget, I used latex wall paint – which is the reason I ended up with a black stripe, gray stripe and greige stripe…not white ombre, but neutral! Tip: {figured this out after the fact}, water down latex wall paint for better absorption.

DIY painted striped curtain panels

I used a sponge roller from the dollar store for each stripe. Tip: DO not use cheap dollar store sponge rollers. Invest a couple dollars in a better quality foam roller. My cheap sponge roller is part of the reason for a “suede” look…which we were okay with and ended up liking the look, but I also would have liked a more solid result. The faded look is pretty too and when time is an issue, it looks even better. 😉

I painted each stripe, let it dry a little, then hung each panel to dry more thoroughly.  So, with six curtain panels, it did take me a couple of days.

drying painted curtain

I wiped the vinyl tablecloth in between laying out each panel. (Pleasant time saving surprise: The paint on my vinyl drop cloth could be seen through the white curtain panels, meaning after the first one, I didn’t have to measure/mark each panel – I just lined it up on the vinyl drop cloth and taped where the previous curtains’ FrogTape lines showed through.)

how to paint striped curtain panels

I immediately removed my FrogTape once painting was complete.

removing FrogTape from painted curtains

Once all of my panels were dry, I measure the length and cut from the top, adding 3 inches to create a rod pocket (cutting from the top or bottom means one of those needs hemmed and I found painting from the bottom up easier). I love using curtain rings, but again, 6 sets of curtain rings adds up, and this is a budget friendly makeover.

measuring and cutting curtain panels

cutting and measuring…

creating rod pocket

sewing a rod pocket

I creased the extra 3 inches with an iron,

ironing rod pocket

then folded about an inch under and ironed that.

creating and ironing rod pocket hem

I sewed a straight line near the bottom of the ironed fold to create a rod pocket.

sewing rod pocket

***I’ll share what I did with the “top” piece of the curtain panels soon – cutting from the top left me with 6 valances, just needing a hem.

I gave each panel another quick iron over and now they’re hanging!

Before apartment makeover:

door before

Just a peek of the apartment windows before:

chartreuse door

Door paint color is Valspar Gilded Pesto (beautiful chartreuse!).

Sneak peek windows after:

DIY painted horizontal striped curtains

Side note: Since the tiny apartment doesn’t have an entry way or closet, I attached some coat hooks (Hobby Lobby) to a board and screwed it to the door – instant cute coat rack. DIY Show Off bag is from Nest of Posies.

painted curtain after

Whatdoyathink? It might make more sense when you see the rest of the apartment, eh? Patience, my friends. I know – not one of my strengths either. 😉

Note: I haven’t washed the curtains after painting, but I’m assuming all will be well – after all, the paint doesn’t wash out of my paint splattered DIY attire.

Update: More apartment details! We are still working on some finishing touches and last minute issues that have come up {the joys of DIY!}, so the reveal has been pushed back. However, there are a TON of DIY details and I’ll be sharing those over the next week or two {and while we’re on vacation}. We think it’s awesome and can’t wait to hear what you think! Little by little…we’ll work up to the reveal!

This is a sponsored post brought to you by FrogTape. The opinions are completely my own based on my own experience. 

FrogTape Blog Squad