Hi friends! Usually I draft the posts but today I thought I'd let the hubby in on some blogging action. We've got a fun new project to share, so without further ado....
Hello out there- it's David, the other half of Ten June. So far, I've just watched over my lovely wife's shoulder as we got this blog on the road. But today, I decided I'd give it a shot myself and on what better a topic than the lovely stripes that we adorned our office walls with? And while no, this post has nothing to do with beer, I can say that yes, I'm a guy, so I had to start off my post with a little beer reference... Red Stripe Beer commercial anyone? It cracks me up every time. Hoo-ray for our stripes.
Hello out there- it's David, the other half of Ten June. So far, I've just watched over my lovely wife's shoulder as we got this blog on the road. But today, I decided I'd give it a shot myself and on what better a topic than the lovely stripes that we adorned our office walls with? And while no, this post has nothing to do with beer, I can say that yes, I'm a guy, so I had to start off my post with a little beer reference... Red Stripe Beer commercial anyone? It cracks me up every time. Hoo-ray for our stripes.
I have to post the disclaimer that we undertook this project pre-blogging and thus, we're sans mid-project pictures... so, with that said, I'll just have to describe it it for you.
If you recall from the "Before and Afters" in our House Tour, you will remember that all of the main room walls in the house were painted the same blah neutral color. Here's our office "before."
Just like all of the other neutral wall colors in the house, we decided right after moving in that this color had to go. We decided on a darker neutral in Olympic's Dusty Trail. As we painted the living room and hall, we contemplated what to do with the office. We knew that we loved the Dusty Trail color, but we also wanted something that would stand out and make the office a fun and inviting space. Michelle came across a stripe painting tutorial at Young House Love (our favorite go-to blog), and boom - we found what we were looking for. So we went for it- contrasting stripes with our beloved Dusty Trail and its complementary cousin Off White. We chose the complementary stripe color from the same paint sample chip as Dusty Trail to ensure a proper hue match. YHL suggests that you paint from two colors that are close in tone, but we wanted more of contrast and so we chose the darkest and lightest colors on the paint chip's spectrum.
So on to the fun part - the STRIPES. In preparation for the stripes, we painted the entire room in Olympic's Off White to establish a clean slate. Once the base was on the wall, the fun/hours of math/re-taping four million times to get a straight line/are-we-going-crazy-because-we're-trying-to-paint-horizontal-stripes-on-the-wall began.
We decided that we wanted to have an odd number of stripes so that the darker Dusty Trail would contrast against the white crown moulding at the top of the wall and the base board at the bottom of the wall. It took us awhile visualizing the stripes to help us to decide on the number that we wanted - turns out 9 was our lucky number. We divided our wall height by 9 and marked a light pencil notch on the wall at each measurement point.
Then I experimented with a couple of methods to set out our game plan for the stripes (taping paper to the wall? way too complicated. using a laser leveler? not accurate enough) and found that a good ol' fashioned tape measure was the best way to go. Michelle and I laid out the stripes by measuring from the ceiling down to the floor every three feet or so. The reason for this was to allow for shorter tape runs (trying to run a wall's length of painters tape gets a little messy) and to allow for "checks" for the proper dimensions of the stripes. I'm not going to lie- it was kind of difficult to remember which stripe was being painted and whether the tape had to go above or below the mark. When you're taping, you have to tape above the stripe line and below the stripe line and it ends up a little hairy looking (ie. like you've completely mismeasured the entire thing).
After a couple of hours of measuring and taping the walls, it was time to start rolling. As the paint went up, the stripes became visible and the effect we were looking for was coming to fruition. I'll point out a key step to the process - tape removal. It is crucial that the tape be removed while the paint is still wet to ensure clean, crisp stripes. Otherwise, as the paint dries, it will bleed under the tape. And yes, we learned that the hard way.
After all that work, we were really excited with the results. Here are the stripes, in their glory.
As you can see, the process was fairly easy and offers all kinds of character to brighten up a space.
We like the fact that the stripes peak through the view from our living room. We definitely got the fun character we were looking for. Cheers to Mic for her great idea!
So there we have it! David's first blog post ever and our amaaaazing office makeover. In the words of David, hoo-ray stripes!
Linking to:
And featured on Remodelaholic!
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I absolutely LOVE these horizontal stripes! Thank you for sharing the tutorial link...I'm going to bookmark it! Until I have the opportunity to paint some of my own though, I'll just drool and be jealous of yours:)
ReplyDeleteAll the more reason I want to paint something in my house with stripes!
ReplyDeleteLove Love Love this, so much more interesting and bright!
ReplyDeletesoooo cute!! love the stripes!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE a stripe... perfect for an office!
ReplyDeleteOh! I've been thinking of hrizontal stripes recently! Now I'm really eager to try this. The room looks awsome!
ReplyDeleteLooks great! Love, love the stripes.
ReplyDeletethat looks great, i love the color you used. what a sweet space.
ReplyDeletewww.thecapeonthecorner.blogspot.com
I LOVE this! I need to just take the plunge and DO these stripes somewhere in my house! They always look so fab!
ReplyDeleteConsider me your newest follower :)
Love your style!
~Shelley Smith
houseofsmiths.blogspot.com
WOW! I love the stripes! Well done!
ReplyDeleteThis looks AMAZING!!!
ReplyDeleteNow I'm trying to figure out where I can do stripes!
I'm a new follower!
1. I love that your husband is posting on your blog! Awww!
ReplyDelete2. The stripes in the room are gorgeous! You did a beautiful job!
Looks beautiful; I love it!
ReplyDeleteSue @ Beach Bungalow
xo
* So thrilled to "find" your blog, ESPECIALLY since I have been wanting our painter to do these stripes & he's been a little hesitant... NOW he can see "the finished project" as well as how Y"ALL accomplished it! You did a BEAUUUUUTIFUL job here! So glad you shared~~~ Many thanks!!!
ReplyDeleteLinda in AZ *
bellesmom1234@comcast.net
SO SO GREAT!!! Stripes are the easiest/cheapest way to breathe life in to a room. Glad to have found your blog!
ReplyDeletexo, cassie
I can't stop looking at these stripes! I am in love! That office is dreamy. Thanks so much for stopping by my little blog! I am so excited to have you. I am smitten with your blog and the design of it. Wow. Anxious for naptime so I can dive in! Following for sure!
ReplyDeleteI love what you did! great job. If you need new recipes come on over to our site and check us out
ReplyDeleteLove this room! And how fun to let your husband whip up a post! Great job guys!
ReplyDeleteLonden
thanks for featuring my print in the book shelf! this room looks GREAT!
ReplyDeleteWow! Those are some cool stripes! Can you come over and do that at my house???
ReplyDeleteAwesome! hmmm... where can I put some stripes???
ReplyDeletePERFECTION!
ReplyDeleteThis looks GREAT!!!!! LOVE IT!
ReplyDeleteHooray, stripes! They look fabulous! I love how they draw you in through the doorway, too. And I LOVE that yellow rug. I need one! Does it come in blue?
ReplyDeleteI never tire of seeing this room. heck, I've already commented!! But when I saw it on CSIProject, I had to come back and see what else you've been up to! ;)
ReplyDeleteI am in love with those stripes! I have seen so many horizontal stripes all over blogland, but I will have to say, your's is tops!! Fantastic job! Visiting from CSI!!
ReplyDeleteI love your stripes. Could only get only brave enough to paint stripes on the curtains.
ReplyDelete-Rene
Your office turned out so great. It sounds like the taping is a little more harrowing then one would imagine. I like the contrast of colors you chose - nice job!
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing how much it adds to the room! I am getting ready to do stripes in my baby room so thanks for the visual! I love how it turned out!
ReplyDeleteOh my! I am loving those stripes! I really like that you had the darker color meet up with the moldings. Great doors too :)
ReplyDeleteWow...really love those stripes! Isn't blogging the best ;) Enjoyed your recap and found you via Southern Hospitatlities link party. I've been blogging for three years and this is the first re-cap post that I've completed and it really makes you appreciate all that you accomplish in a year. Best wishes for the New Year. Fondly, Roberta
ReplyDeletehttp://con-tain-it.typepad.com
I love your office!! The stripes are perfect and not overdone! The room looks so calming and that window is gorgeous! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI love it! I just featured your office as the inspiration room for my future office.
ReplyDeletehttp://thejunkhouse.blogspot.com/2011/02/office-inspiration.html
Who doesn't love a beautifully striped room? This is awesome and turned out absolutely lovely!
ReplyDeleteWho doesn't love a beautifully striped room? This is awesome and turned out absolutely lovely!
ReplyDeleteSo inspired by all of your before and afters, I love your style. Your home is beautiful!
ReplyDeleteVery chic and impressive. Following you.
ReplyDeleteSaw this post on The CSI Project. The stripes look amazing! Such an improvement and I love that wreath!
ReplyDeletePopped over from the CSI Project and I am sooooo impressed! I've been wanting to do stripes in our dining room so thanks for the low-down and the inspiration. Now, can I come work in YOUR office?
ReplyDeleteKudos!
Heidi @ Show Some Decor