Hello Friends!

A few years ago I painted our staircase walls and ceiling a flat black. It was moody and pretty but I was craving more pattern. I think my intention from the beginning was to eventually add stripes but it took me a really long time to get the gumption to do it.

I love a good black and white pattern and who doesn’t love stripes these days?

I used almost three rolls of tape. Mostly Frog Tape but when I ran out I used a little blue tape. Do Not Do This! {not paid} The Frog Tape gave me the most crisp lines. I also used a laser level to ensure straight lines but I’m human and some of them are slightly off. Nobody would know.

Since this project I heard of a good way to make tape lines extra crisp is to paint your base color over the tape first, then the stripe. Makes sense to me.

While the taping was very tedious, the pay off was so good!

Look how pretty a vintage piece looks against it? If you are thinking of doing stripes, it’s a great idea but just go slow and pull in all your patience.

Let me show you another view.

Truly love the stripes with the wallpaper. The mural paper was applied last fall. Our hall leads to bedrooms and a laundry room. It was very boring. I came across that mural for a good price. This is basically the only wall it would fit on in our very open floor plan.

Your biggest benefit of a pattern on your wall is that you don’t have to hang anything on it. Plus, durability in high traffic areas is always a good idea. Wallpaper will give you that.

Look at the character! While the stripes are very bold. You don’t spend a lot of time among them because it a pass through area. The subtle, or not so subtle pattern gives fun personality to the upper and lower floors.

Stripes are great!

If you want to do stripes with less work or commitment then try painting the back of a bookshelf or one accent wall. Try less contrast like Beige and Cream for a more subtle impression..

Paint colors I used: Benjamin Moore Overcast in satin and Black flat Behr paint as the black wall base & ceiling. Same black in satin on the railing.

Contrasting sheens makes a really big impact. Don’t miss this part because it’s what truly makes it shine.

If you have any questions leave a comment below. I hope this inspires some sort of stripe accent in your own home.

Happy Day!