Throw back to when I was 9 months pregnant (I believe I was only 1-2 weeks from my due date) & we JUST moved into our new apartment. This is me, not being able to “nest” until now and trying to get as much done before the baby came. Yes, I was the crazy pregnant woman frantically running around trying to get people to come in and paint, put up wallpaper, install murphy beds … organize furniture deliveries – constantly telling them the urgency because I could have this baby right now! The one contractor I hired who did the wallpaper work and molding would see me everyday and say – “oh, you didn’t have the baby yet .. good”! Strangers would come up to me on the street and tell me I was going to have this baby any day (they could tell by how my belly dropped) .. I would respond – NO! I have too much to get done! 🙂
This is the back story to me sitting on the floor here, hand painting the wallpaper in the hallway. I had originally seen some inspiration on pinterest with how I wanted it to look. My contractor tried to mimick me, but after a couple of tries told me that he could not acheive the “look”. He suggested I give in and just paint it a solid color. I was determined and knew that I could do the job myself (and a bit stubborn about it) – so, what did I do? I took a paintbrush in hand and started getting to work! (don’t worry, the paint I bought is specifically safe for pregnant woman and babies!!)
Here is the process and outcome!
Wall paper up with no paint!
Part of me actually thought about keeping this all white with just the subtle texture of the wallpaper. I think it would have been great as well – but decided that I want COLOR! I could always decide to go back and paint it white later if I wanted to change the look. That’s the joy of paint – don’t think you are stuck with what you choose, you can always change it down the road.
Test area!
Here is the small patch I did the first test with. I took a sponge and lightly coated the entire area with it to create a light yellow wash. I then went in with a paint brush and painted the areas that I wanted to pop forward. What do you think? I liked it!! It was exactly like the reference. When my contractor saw it, his response was “Oh, that looks great! I could never do that … and then he said, that’s going to take you a long time!” lol …
(*Note: Always do a small test area before committing! This way you can experiment and adjust your plan if need be)
Time to paint!
Let’s do this! It took a whole day and me convincing one of my artist friends to come over to help me, but we finished!! Don’t let people tell you when you are pregnant you can’t do things!!
The Results!
If you want a more dramatic result, you can continue with more layers and or create a lighter color wash for the base.
Instructions on how to do it yourself!
Tools needed:
- Paint
- sponge
- fine paint brushes
- cloth
*Area should already have textured wallpaper applied and primed before getting started. Here is a link to some great options for textured wallpaper
Step 1:
Clean area with cloth and allow it to dry
Step 2:
Put a small amount of paint into a container/bowl.
Take the sponge and wet it slightly.
Apply a small amount of the paint on the sponge and apply in sweeping motions on the wall. Think of this as a light wash that is suppose to tint the area with the color but not cover it to the point where it is opaque. This is where you choose how much color your base will be.
Step 3:
Once you are happy with the base color, pick up the finer paintbrush and get to work! Paint in all the areas that you would like to pop out. Be creative with it if you like!
Step 4:
Step back and admire your work!!
