Paint - Vertical Striping

1. Begin in one corner of the room.
2. Measure 12" (30cm) along the wall from the corner and mark with chalk
   
3. Continue around the room, measuring 12" (30.5 cm) between chalk marks.
4. If the last stripe is too wide or too narrow, offset the irregular width by combining the width of the last two stripes and dividing that width in half, using one-half for each stripe. Once the room is complete, you won't notice the off-size width.
5. Use a level to mark vertical lines with chalk at the 12" (30.5cm) marks from ceiling to floor.
6. If a painted stripe will butt up to another painted stripe at the corner of the room, or if an unpainted stripe will butt up to another unpainted stripe, halve the width of one stripe so it becomes 2 stripes at the corner. In effect, you are adding one more stripe.
7. Tape off the baseboard trim to protect it, using blue painter's tape.
8. Lay out a drop cloth under the first wall you plan to paint.
9. Tape off the edges of one stripe at a time as you paint, using brown paper tape.
   

1. Brush on the colorwash in the middle of the stripe (at the top) and then rub it around with a rag, as it you were washing a window. If you begin in the middle of the stripe and work out to the edges of the tape, paint will not bleed under the tape.
2. Colorwash in this manner from the top of the stripe down to the bottom.
3. Remove any excess colorwash from the brush with the rag, and then use the brush to stipple the top and bottom edges to achieve a smooth, professional finish.
4. After one stripe has been colorwashed, remove the brown tape and move on to the next stripe.
5. Pull the blue tape off the trim after one whole wall is complete. Pulling tape off is fun, and revealing your neat handiwork gives you a great sense of accomplishment.
6. Finish each wall in the same manner.
   

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