http://mydecoratingtips.com/ This is a tutorial made by Marina Klima, a well-known interior designer in New Jersey. Marina uses Benjamin Moore colors to paint vertical stripes on a wall. Like most interior designers, painters or DIY enthusiasts, she uses a blue tape and gave advice on how to avoid bleeding. She offered many techniques on how to paint a 3-colored stripe wall.

2. If you wish you had a taller bedroom and buying a new home is not an
option, next best thing to do would be to paint stripes. Vertical stripes will
give the room an instant illusion of height.
Because most bedrooms have closed floor plan, they will look great in
master bedroom, kids’ bedroom or a guest bedroom making the rooms
look and feel taller.
Now don’t get me wrong, painting stripes is not easy, and that is why
painters charge a lot for this kind of job.
I have to admit that it can be a daunting task if you have never done it
before. But because I have done this many times, I hope to save you time
and effort if you follow steps in this post and watch the video.

3. What You Need
 Paint. Pick close wall paint colors on
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a paint strip and one complementary
color. In this case I used some of
Benjamin Moore’s Silver
Gray, Nimbus Gray and Hazy Skies.
Measuring Tape – to measure your
wall.
Level or a ruler with a level
Pencil – to mark your stripes
Rollers – three at least, one for each
color. Get two 3 inch roillers and one
2 1/2 inch roller.
1 ½ inches blue tape
Extender – (optional) to make a
small highlight stripe more even.
Magic Eraser

4. Base Color
Begin by painting the wall with the base
color. In this case, Silver Gray by
Benjamin Moore, eggshell finish on the
walls and flat finish on the ceiling.
I prefer a three color stripes look. I think
that two close colors on a paint strip and
one complimentary color for a highlight
make the room feel fresh.
Tip: Make sure the tape really sticks
closely to the wall and avoid any air
bubbles. Use your finger to press the
tape really hard.

5. Taping for the First Stripe
Once your base color is dry and ready it
is time to paint your first stripe. Measure
your wall and find the center using soft
drawing pencil. Then mark equally on
both sides of your first center pencil
mark.
This is how wide your first stripe will be.
Using level and ruler draw a line
vertically up and down the wall. Apply
the blue tape right on the line (don’t
worry; you will erase it later with Magic
Eraser.
Tip: When taping for stripes, it is always
better to team up with 2-3 people.

6. Painting the First Stripe
Use the small roller for
painting the first stripe.
In this case, I used
Benjamin Moore Nimbus
Gray for the first
stripe. Start at the
middle then gently work
your way up and down.
Go vertically through the whole wall but when you get near the tape, you
can gently roll sideways to prevent paint from bleeding.
Tip: Make sure that you’re roller doesn’t absorb too much paint; all you
need is a semi-dry roller to avoid any paint bleeding. Always mix the paint
before using it.

7. Taping for the Highlight Stripe
So now that you are
finished painting the
first stripe you will
have a two-colored
wall. In order to apply
the “highlight”
stripe, tape off first
tape right on the edge
of the existing stripe.
Then apply second tape right next to it. This will be your highlight stripe.
The third tape goes right on the edge of the second tape.
Tip: When taping, it is a good idea to leave a little tail all the way on the
top/ceiling. This way you will not be confused and know exactly which
one is your thin stripe.

8. Painting the Third, “Highlight” Stripe
Remove the tape in the middle
between the two other tapes. Go
ahead and paint the third stripe. Just
similar to Step 2, work with an almost
semi-dry roller or a paint brush.
Tip: Do not keep the tape for too long
on the wall. Try to remove the tape in a
couple of hours.

9. Pull Off All the Tape
You can now pull off your tape while the paint is still slightly wet for a
smoother seam. If you let the paint dry too much there is a possibility of
pulling a bit of paint off with the tape.

10. There you have it, three -colored stripes on your walls!
You can also use laser for marking the stripes but then you need two
people because you have to all the way through. So, one person will be
up the ladder and the other one down on the floor. The pencil and level
methods I illustrated here might be a little old fashioned but they get the
job done.

11. Word of advice: the thinner the stripe, the more visible are the
mistakes, such as measuring different widths stripes.
Try not to paint stripes less than two and a half inches wide. If you stay
between six to twelve inches for the main stripe the job will be done much
faster. We would like to hear from you. Please post the questions and I
will be happy to give you more insights.
Click here to view the video on how to paint stripes.
http://mydecoratingtips.com/
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