Chevron accent wall

I had this crazy idea!  I have been thinking and planning for about a month now.  So, I finally did it! 

I painted a chevron wall in my office. 

First, I used a piece of graph paper to figure out what size I wanted the stripes.  I decided I wanted large 18 inch stripes.   Then I chose the color.   (peaceful grey by Behr) 

I did some research and saw a blog where the couple painted a chevron wall and used a chalk line.  They could not get the chalk line to fully go away after painting and cleaning though.   (I cannot remember where I found it so I can’t properly refer you to it, sorry)  I tried to find paintable chalk but could not find any.  So, I had to improvise. 

 My solution was to  make a string grid by putting lines of string up making 18 inch squares using thumb tacks and black string.  It would have been much easier with a chalk line, but since I didn’t want the mess, and ghost lines of chalk- this worked. 

Next, we taped from corner to corner to make the chevron.

* One thing to remember if you decide you want to do this is: think about your tape placement.  I used the existing wall color as my alternate stripe which means the stripe that I painted needed to be taped above the line, and the part that wasn’t painted the tape overlapped onto the unpainted stripe- I really don’t think that made sense…basically, if you want an 18” stripe you need to make sure your tape line is not in your area you would be painting.  If you notice, it looks like there are two sizes of stripes when it is taped off but once the tape is removed, you see it is 18 inches per stripe. 

I stopped at our local Sherwin Williams and got a whole bunch of information from them.  I learned a fantastic tip! Ready?  If you are painting and need a great line, splurge on the green frog tape.  It seems like regular tape but- the real tip is this: use a damp washcloth and wipe along all the tape.  The tape is made to expand and adhere to the wall when the paint hits it which keeps any paint from seeping through.  So,  if you wet it first, it works even better.   It worked perfectly for me!

Once painted, I removed the tape and marveled at our work.  (my husband helped)

Then I almost started to cry…

I hate the color!  It is grey but it looks lavender in the sunlight.  I thought it was me.  Maybe it’s just me?!  Maybe it’s because I just didn’t love the color?!  So, I ask the first person to ring the doorbell.  The poor neighbor boy could sense he was in a rough situation.  I said: “What color does it look like to you?” He responded: “purple/lavender.”  I almost started to cry so he quickly says:: “You did a great job!”

Oh well, you live and learn. 

The biggest lesson I learned?  I will not use Behr paint ever again.  I have not had success in the past but the Home Depot paint guy was so sure I would love it.  I should have stuck with my gut on that one.   The paint was horrible.  THREE COATS and it was only covering a very light tan base color.  Unbelievable.  Not only that, it is not a smooth looking paint job.  Just my advice, so feel free to use Behr if you are brand loyal to them.  I just recommend using another brand.  

A second lesson:  do a test color!  Always!

It’s starting to grow on me so I’m not sure if I am going to repaint or not.  We shall see!

Dawn