DIY Plaid Wall Tutorial (How to Paint a Plaid Wall the Easy Way)!
12:14 PM.jpg "DIY Plaid Wall Tutorial (How to Paint a Plaid Wall the Easy Way)!")
When we recently renovated the kids' hangout room, I wanted to include a special feature- either a moulding type wall treatment or wallpaper- I wasn't sure exactly but something interesting and fun. And while wallpaper is fun, I'm such an optimizer- looking at every option available and analyzing the pros and cons- that I wanted to find an easier project that still had a wow factor. I decided to paint an accent wall in a plaid pattern to look like wallpaper. Who remembers the last time I painted an accent wall?! It worked out very well because-here's some BTS tea for you- I was working with HGTV Home by Sherwin Williams for the renovation. I only agree to paint collaborations if I LOVE the colors. It's only paint, but I just don't want to put in the effort for a color I don't love nor do I want to share something that I wouldn't choose "in real life," simply because I'm being paid (it's called integrity. ha). Well I saw the colors and HGSW Still Water was perfect. At least I thought it was...until I got the paint chips and tested it and it was reading too cool with the sofa we'd purchased- and we love the convertible sofa so much. I also really liked HGSW Hazel so when the thought hit me to combine the two (along with HGSW Creamy which truly is a beautiful white!), it was like Eureka! A DIY plaid wall idea was born. If you want to DIY a plaid wall, I'm sharing a step by step tutorial for how to paint a plaid wall here.
Ok enough backstory. Here's how to tackle it yourself.
Supplies:
Light, medium, and dark paint*
2 inch (1.88in x 60 yards) Delicate Surface Tape (and lots of it)- I highly recommend Frog Tape as I had the best results when using it. I think I used about 7-8 rolls.
Laser level (or regular level but the laser level makes it easier)
Paint Brush - I used this one
Credit card (or wallpaper smoothing tool but I used a credit card)
*You'll need 3 colors of paint- either a white/neutral base with two coordinating gradient colors or a gradient of the same color (ie pale pink, medium pink, dark pink- think colors on a paint sample strip). I used HGSW Creamy as my base, then HGSW Hazel as the medium shade and HGSW Still Water as my darkest shade. Note- you shouldn't need much of the darkest color. I bought an entire gallon but probably only needed a quart.
Ok, here goes:
How to Paint a Plaid Wall
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Step 1:
Paint the entire wall with your base color. This is the lightest color of the three.
Step 2:
Find the halfway point of the wall and use your level to create a vertical line. I also traced it but if you do that, use a pencil meant for this purpose vs. a regular pencil that's hard to clean.
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Step 3:
Tape against that line, and then tape another piece against the first piece. Rip bits of the tape and use it as a spacer to keep your width the same between double taped lines. Repeat for the entire width of the wall. When you're finished, remove the tape "spacers." Use a credit card or wallpaper smoother to press the vertical tape against the wall- this is crucial for a tight seal.
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Step 4:
Paint your medium color. I used a paint brush because it's really hard to avoid getting excess paint in a roller and I was afraid of paint seeping through. You could try a small roller- it would make it go quicker for sure.
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Step 5:
Remove the tape- I always remove tape while the paint is still tacky to avoid ripping bits of paint off but there's a caveat to this in the final step- I'll get to it.
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Step 6:
Find the halfway point of the wall (ceiling to floor measurement) and use your level to create a horizontal line. Again, you can trace it if it's helpful.
Step 7:
Tape against that line, and then tape another piece against the first piece. Rip bits of the tape and use it to keep your height the same between double taped lines. Repeat for the entire wall. Remove the tape bits then use your credit card or wallpaper smoother to press the tape against the wall- this is crucial for a tight seal.
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Step 8:
Paint your medium color again. DON'T REMOVE THE HORIZONTAL TAPE.
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Step 9:
Re-tape the vertical lines. I know. It feels redundant but trust the process. This is how you'll get the little dark squares that convey that the lines are overlapping. You should be able to see where the tape was initially and follow those lines. Don't forget to use your wallpaper tool or credit card to smooth the tape.
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Step 10:
Paint the openings left (the squares) your darkest color.
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Step 11 (final step! You did it!)
Remove the tape. I tried to remove the tape when it was still a bit wet but there's so much tape it started to get a bit sticky and get on the wall so I waited until the paint was dry and then removed it. If you can get a big chunk in a corner and then pull it at a 45 degree angel you can pull a lot at once. Otherwise you've gotta do it a little at a time (we did both- it was very satisfying either way). See a snippet of removing the tape in this reel.
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FAQ:
What tape works best?
For best results, use Frog Tape. For the vertical lines, I used Frog tape and it was far superior. For the horizontal lines, I did not and there was definitely some bleeding.
How do I fix areas where the paint bleeds under the tape?
First, make sure to use your wallpaper smoother or credit card to help with this! Second, see FAQ 1. But if you still have bleeding- I did- use a little flat craft brush- preferably a new one so that the bristles are still straight and fairly stiff and very slowly touch up the most obvious areas. Just lie the brush against the straight edge and slowly drag it down and be done! Here's the thing, if your nose is to the wall, you can see the imperfections but if you step back even a foot you can't see them so don't stress about it. I thought I wouldn't be able to let it go but after stepping back and only fixing what I could see from that distance, it was fine! It truly looks like wallpaper from a few feet away and I promise you won't notice tiny mistakes.
What if the wall is bowed?
Almost all of the walls in this house are slightly bowed. I don't know why or if that's common. At first I tried to compensate for the bowed wall by using a level and keeping the tape level (disregarding the tape 'spacers' as guidance). Well this didn't work. Even though things might be straight/level, to the naked eye it created what can only be described as an optical illusion. Your best bet is to continue taping using the torn tape as a spacer to keep the height consistent. Your lines won't be 100% straight but it will be close enough to fool the naked eye.
How long did this take?
This was a common question I received on Instagram. I had to look back at my recordings to get an idea- I'd estimate that it took 15-20 hours over 5 days but that includes documenting for content creation which makes everything take longer ("Be an influencer, they said. It'll be fun, they said"). I also let the paint dry before taping. I wasn’t sure how the paint would hold up if I rushed it. I’d say if you’re not doing content creation, this could be a long weekend project. If it helps, it was 100% worth it. And it wasn’t difficult, just labor intensive. And a bonus? It's a very budget-friendly DIY (especially compared to wallpaper).
What do you think? Would you try this?
I have to give a shout out to The Turquoise Home who's blog post helped immensely with this project.
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