How To: Paint A Colour Block Wall

How To: Paint A Colour Block Wall

What is Colour Blocking?

The colour-blocking trend, once mainly associated with fashion, is spilling over into living spaces everywhere. Colour-blocking combines bold, bright colours and clean, crisp lines to create accent walls that look and feel like modern art. It takes only a few materials to create, can be finished in one day, and the creative possibilities are as endless as your imagination! Wood Country Building Services encourage you to try the following step-by-step guide to take your colour-blocked wall from idea to reality.

What You Need

Paint
You will need at least one colour to do this project: the paint that you want for your main accent colour. Don’t be afraid to be bold! This colour is meant to contrast and draw attention.

If your walls are already a neutral colour that you’re happy with, the accent colour is the only paint you’ll need. If the existing paint on the wall is dark or already a bold colour, you may want to cover the wall with a lighter neutral base layer first. colour-blocking works best when a bold colour contrasts with a neutral colour, so white or something similar is preferable for this base layer.

Painter’s Tape
Not even the most steady hand can create the sharp lines you’re going to need on your wall. A high-quality painter’s tape will be crucial to your success.

Paint Brushes and Rollers
Grab some rollers for quick and even painting in the big areas, and a few brushes to cut around the ceiling, trim, corners, and anywhere your roller can’t reach.

Laser Level
You’ll want to apply your tape along the line of a laser level to ensure it’s as straight as it can be. A level that stays on the wall or sits on a tripod and shines the light onto the wall is ideal.

Instructions

Paint your base layer.
This step is optional: You may choose to keep the existing shade and paint over it. The base layer is what your coloured paint will be contrasted with. Follow the instructions on the paint label for the proper number of coats and drying time. Keep in mind that this layer may not necessarily need to cover the entire wall. You will only need to paint a little bit past your tape line. Everything else will be covered with your coloured paint.

Decide where your lines will go.
This is where you will put your laser level to use. Your line can be horizontal, vertical, diagonal, or a combination of directions. The important thing is that the laser level will give you a straight and level line to follow. Your line should partly overlap your base layer. This will ensure that after the tape is peeled, your wall will have a sharp line without any gaps.

Place your painter’s tape.
Once you’ve set your line with the level, it’s just a matter of placing your tape on the wall following the line you’ve created. Where you’ll be painting your accent colour will dictate how you place the tape on the wall. For example, if you are painting your colour from the bottom of the wall up to a horizontal line, the bottom of the tape should be touching your laser level line. If you are painting from the ceiling down, the top of your tape should be touching the line. If you created your line and placed your tape correctly, you will see a bit of your base layer on the side of the tape that will be painted. This will be covered with colour.

Paint.
Get your brushes and rollers ready and get your new bold colour on the wall! Paint your colour all the way to and on top of the tape. Painting on top of the tape will ensure that there are no gaps between your colour and the base layer. Take it slow when you are painting on top of the tape so the opposite colour remains clean and neutral. Leave painting around the tape line until the end. This will help you in your next step.

Peel the tape.
For the cleanest lines, it’s recommended that you peel the tape off when the paint is still wet. This is why it’s a good idea to do the painting around the tape last. Pull the tape off slowly at a 45-degree angle to prevent the tape from tearing. It’s easily fixable but can slow you down in the final moments.

Enjoy your new wall!
After the tape has been peeled, you can stand back and admire how the bold colours and straight lines enhance the features of the wall and the entire space around it. Maybe you want to make your new wall a focal point for a piece of furniture or art, or even the focal point itself. However, you use and enjoy your wall is up to you. Like the project itself, the only limit is your imagination!

If you have any questions or need more information, feel free to visit Wood Country Building Services for assistance. We would be happy to help you in any way we can.