If you’ve ever wondered how to paint a wall? This is the post for you. Here are 7 DIY painting techniques you can use to transform a room in a day.
I’m still not sure when I painted my first wall.
17? 18? 21? Somewhere around the time I discovered stirrup pants weren’t made for someone who is 5 feet tall.
I do remember my first DIY painting technique.
It was in our first house where we were living on love and ramen noodles. My decorating budget was so small you would have missed it if you blinked. I created a brick wall in a hallway with tiny painter’s tape and glaze and two colors of paint. It looked real. It looked like brick. It had depth and movement and motion. And the best part?
For $25 I COMPLETELY transformed the hallway.
I never looked back.
Over the years, I’ve painted hundreds of walls for myself and for clients.
(total aside: I used to co-own a faux finish business here in Texas.)
If you have a small budget and big decorating dreams? Painting a wall with a pattern or design or stripe? It’s the easiest way to transform a room.
And now?
Drumroll, please.
Here are my best tips on how to paint a wall and my favorite DIY painting techniques.
JUST A FEW WALL PAINTING TIPS BEFORE WE TAKE IT NEXT LEVEL:
Q: What are the tools and materials that you’ll need?
It truly depends on the project. In my faux finish business we had tons of sponges and brushes and stencils and other painting tools, but if you are just painting a few walls in your home, here are some simple tools that you’ll need:
- a GOOD basic paint brush (I stress good because you don’t want a brush where the bristles come out in the middle of your painting technique)
- an angled paint brush (perfect for corners and hard to reach spots)
- paint roller
- paint roller extention
- painter’s tape
- drop cloths (I like the canvas ones that you can reuse instead of the plastic ones)
- paint tray
- wipes (I love to have wipes on hand to fix any mistakes I make when painting)
Q: How much paint do you need when painting a room?
You’ll need paint for the basic foundation color in the space. A really good way to estimate paint is to plan on 1 gallon of paint for every 400 feet. If you are doing a decorative paint treatment, you typically need a quart of each of the colors you’re using. It’s also important to take into account the colors you are using. For example, darker colors will require more coverage and therefore, more paint.
Q: How to prep a room for painting?
I go in-depth about this in this recent post. You will need to push the furniture into a corner of the room, take everything off the walls and dust the walls and corners before you paint. Next, patch any holes (where you’re not going to re-hang something) with spackle before you get started.
Next, tape off the wall you’re going to be working on with painter’s tape and lay down drop cloths.
Have them shake the paint at the store for you before you use it, or make sure it is well-stirred with a wooden stir stick or paint mixer before you start to paint.
Q: How much time do you need to paint a room?
It usually takes us about an hour per coat depending on the size of the room.
When planning out your project, remember that your time depends on how many coats you are painting in the space, the paint color you’ve chosen and the intricacy of the painting technique you are using.
Make sure to allow extra time for prep and clean-up, too.
1. DIY PAINTED HEXAGON WALL
I put this one first because it’s my favorite.
The only challenge?
It involves math.
And because I decided to add hexagon wood shelves to the middle of the wall, too.
But the room? The design? When you finish it? It’s absolutely amazing.
Here’s how to paint a wall with hexagons and step-by-step instructions.
2. DIY PAINTED STRIPES
This is a great place to start when learning how to paint a wall with decorative painting techniques.
It’s an easy way to make a small space like a hallway or entryway get noticed.
One quick tip: you don’t want your stripes to be even. When measuring out your stripes make one stripe slightly larger than the other stripe to make them look a little more custom.
See this and a zillion other stripe painting tips here.
3. DIY CUBE WALL
This was one of the hardest walls that we’ve ever painted.
It’s a cube wall.
As in a wall full of cubes. It was a math situation. Good thing I have a math expert that lives at the house.
Here are all the step-by-step instructions and how to paint a wall with cubes.
4. DIY RAISED DIAMOND CORAL ACCENT WALL
This is a room I worked on for my mother.
We had a super limited budget and not a lot of time.
We added raised diamonds to the room and painted it this beautiful shade of coral.
Here are the step-by-step instructions for a raised diamond coral accent wall.
5. HOW TO PAINT A WALL: DIY GEOMETRIC SQUARE WALL
This is a simple wall treatment that you can create with just painter’s tape and a quart of paint.
I have the outline for the project on the post.
It’s really easy once you have a few tips.
Here are the step-by-step instructions on how to paint a wall with geometric squares.
6. DIY HERRINGBONE WALL
I never met a herringbone that I didn’t like.
So I created a wall treatment around it.
I planned it with different shades of blue to create an ombre pattern, but I think it would also be so pretty if it were just two colors, too.
Here are the step-by-step instructions on how to paint a DIY herringbone wall.
7. HOW TO PAINT A WALL: DIY RAISED PANEL OFFICE WALL
This was my office in the gatehouse.
It was just a blank wall.
And then?
We transformed it with a little paint and some wood. You could also create the same look with frames.
Here are the step-by-step instructions on how to paint a raised panel wall.
See what I mean?
A painted wall is such an easy way to transform a space.
Just know I’m here if you have any questions about how to paint a wall or any of these wall treatments.
Or paint colors.
Or general conversation.
I’m just an e-mail away. 
PS Here’s one more for the road.
This is a fun project I did long ago with a shutter wall that we painted different colors.
You can see it here.
The post How To Paint a Wall: 7 DIY Painting Techniques appeared first on Thistlewood Farm.
