Color your world
Painter’s masking tape ideal for creating decorative patterns on walls, other surfaces
Anyone who enjoys paint projects knows how handy good painter’s masking tape can be. It helps you paint straight lines and get into tricky corners, and protects areas you do not want to paint. Painter’s tape is not as sticky as masking tape, so it is easier to remove. You’ll find different widths of painter’s tape for a variety of projects. After painting, remove painter’s tape with care, pulling it off toward the fresh paint.
Here are two projects that were made possible with the aid of painter’s tape.
OMBRE WALLS
I was asked to refresh an open-plan living space on a budget. The homeowner was looking for something different. She definitely did not want a repeat of all white again but couldn’t decide on a color.
If you can’t settle on one color for your walls, why not try a mix? Since the walls lacked any kind of architectural interest, such as moldings or panels, we considered painting stripes. These wide horizontal stripes allowed for a range of colors and added lots of character to the room.
We chose four colors from the same color chip, ranging from taupe to khaki. We applied a creamy white base coat to the walls; then once the base coat had dried, we used 1/4-inch painter’s tape to mark off four equal horizontal sections, creating a striped effect. Finally, we filled in the stripes in graduating shades, from dark to light, beginning at the top of the walls.
This is a variation of a technique called ombre painting, where shades of color
Midnight blue to sky blue or rustic red to pink will produce a dramatic diningroom wall, while calm shades of violet are perfect for a blissful bedroom.”
run into each other, blending to make a gradual switch from light to dark. The ombre effect is very popular now, showing up in fashion, wallpapers and fabrics. For this project, we used painter’s tape to separate the colors, which gives a cleaner, more geometric result.
Choose colors to reflect the mood you want to create. Midnight blue to sky blue or rustic red to pink will produce a dramatic dining-room wall, while calm shades of violet are perfect for a blissful bedroom.
GLIMMERING TABLETOP
Glass tabletops are a perfect complement to a modern space, and if you want to make a personal statement, it’s easy to decorate glass.
Mark off a design on the underside of the surface using masking tape or contact paper; then apply glass paint to the underside of the glass.
When I discovered flexible masking tape, it opened up a whole range of design options.
For the glass tabletop shown here, I marked off a rectangle, then taped off curvy lines inside the rectangle.
Instead of paint, I chose imitation metal leaf to fill in the spaces. To produce a sparkly appearance, I used silver and gold leaf, ripped them up and mixed them together in a paper bag.
Next, I brushed a coat of AquaSize, a water-based gilding adhesive, onto the curvy stripes to be decorated and waited until the size was clear and tacky to the touch. I patted the leaf down over the size using dry fingers and a clean, dry paintbrush and let it dry completely (about five hours).
Then I gently brushed over the stripes to remove any loose pieces of leaf and applied several coats of clear spray varnish to seal the design. Because sprays become airborne, you’ll need to tape plastic over the rest of the glass to protect it from the spray, and wear a mask when spraying.
Debbie Travis’ House to Home column is produced by Debbie Travis and Barbara Dingle. Email questions to house2home@debbietravis.com. Follow Debbie on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ debbie_travis, or visit her website, www.debbietravis.com.