It has been a long time coming but here is the how to for creating a geometric feature wall. Just in time for a Tuesday Treat

When I was decorating my office I really wanted to be bold with colour and take advantage of the fact that this was MY space. I was inspired by this beautiful wallpaper by Cole and Son but was keen to create something of my own.

So here’s how….. 

Step 1: Do lots of research into colours. I found pinterest a great way to gather images and see what I kept choosing time and again. You can see some of my picks here 

Step 2: Measure your wall. This can be surprisingly tricky to do by yourself so grab someone to help you. Check your measurements several times. Accuracy is really important. My wall measured 2.2m tall x 2.04m wide. 

Step 3: Draw a grid on a piece of paper to work out how many squares you want in your design. I decided on squares measuring 22cm as this would mean I had a complete column going down the wall and only one incomplete square on each row.

Step 4: Test out your design using a computer graphics program (I used Paint) or good old fashioned pens and paper.

 

My mural plan

Step 5: Buy your paint! I had a number of tester pots left over from previous projects that I wanted to use but also needed to buy more. Tester pots come in a wide variety of sizes and I did run out of some colours which meant altering my colour choices during painting. For reference the Crown  Vintage 125ml tester pots pictured were enough to do two coats in their colours.

 

Step 6: Get your tools together.

Step 7: Draw your grid onto the wall using a pencil. This is where I discovered that my walls were not straight and it would have been handy to have some help! Use a plumbline to give you straight vertical lines and make at least 5 measurement marks for each line you draw. That way you are more likely to end up with straight lines. you can use a spirit level to help with the horizontal lines.

It is tempting to rush this part but it is really worth taking the time to get it right.

Step 8: Mask off the diagonal lines.

Two things to note when choosing your masking tape. Firstly I used over 80m of tape! Secondly you are better off using low tack tape designed to be used with fresh paint than trying to get away with cheaper types. I found I could resuse the masking tape two or three times if I was careful and the results were significantly better than my first coat using cheap tape.

Step 9: Paint! I painted one coat of each colour at a time (remove low tack masking tape straight away to get a nice clean edge). You could paint stripes of one colour and then draw your grid but I would be nervous that the pencil might show up.

Even using low tack masking tape you have to leave 24 hours before applying masking tape over fresh paint. Do two coats of one colour before removing the tape.

Don’t worry if you make mistakes like those I’ve highlighted. You can easily correct them on the second coat, or when you add the next colour.

Low tack masking tape removed quickly can you give beautiful crisp lines