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Striped Walls in the Bathroom

by 76 Comments


From the very beginning of our rebuild after the fire, I knew I wanted a statement bathroom.

The half bath on the main level is tiny and I’ve thought of nearly every possible  option for making the tiny space shine. I started a ‘bathrooms’ board on Pinterest and had my eye on this striped bathroom for a year.

I almost tackled this project before Better Homes and Gardens came in September but I had plenty to keep me busy then and was still hemming and hawing around about what exactly I wanted to do.

It all changed when Emily painted her foyer in the most gorgeous stripes ever.   And since I adore her and everything about her, I knew it was time to dig out the rollers and brushes.

Except then I saw this on Pinterest.  And even though striped walls and I had been going steady for nearly a year, I almost ditched them for this brooding beauty from Lonny Magazine.

After a little contemplation, I decided that I  shouldn’t  have to choose.   Why can’t I have the best of both worlds?

So, I painted the strip-ed walls (from here on out, we shall call him stri-ped, with emphasis on the ped, for reasons I can’t quite articulate) and then added the moody/broodiness with my main man, the bust of David, and some quirkily hung art.


The bathroom is the love child of those three gorgeous rooms and now seriously competing with this room and this room for most favored room in the house status.


I had my girls’ bedroom painted with stripes a few years back and loved it. I learned a few things from watching the process being done and I knew I could do it on the cheap.  My trusty side kick, Nick, did all the hard work of taping it off.   It took several hours and it’s not rocket science but it is most certainly tedious.  I would advise all my ‘fly by the seat of your pants, ‘it looks pretty straight’, friends to let the OCDers have this one.  I sat this one out.  I know when I’m defeated.  Some things I’m good at.  Some things I’m not.  Painstakingly taping all those straight lines is definitely not one of my spiritual gifts.

Nick did great but even his tendency towards perfection was challenged.

In my humble, ADD slanted opinion, it just walls and paint.   And someone smart once said, “It doesn’t have to be perfect to be beautiful.”

So, we got it pretty close to perfect and then the next day, we painted it in a couple of hours.

I measured the wall before we started and it was 96 inches, perfectly divisible by 8.  So we decided on 8 inch stripes.

And I loved Emily’s foyer so much that we used the same color as she did for the charcoal stripes.  The color is Urbane Bronze from Sherwin Williams.

The walls were already painted Sea Salt by Sherwin Williams, so we started with that as a base.

I would HIGHLY recommend painting the wall all over with one of the colors you want in your stripes.  Let that dry for a day and then begin the taping extravaganza.

Two keys to painting striped walls:

1.  Take a credit card and smooth the tape down.  DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP.    It will keep the edges from ‘bleeding’ paint.

2.  Dry brush the edges of the stripes before you actually paint them.

And by that I mean, get just a little paint on the brush and do a thin, almost dry layer of paint to seal the edges of the tape.  Then when you go back to actually paint the stripes, you won’t get any bleeding through the tape.  We used Frog Tape and got great results.  Our edges are perfection!

The corners bled a little and Nick is at this very moment touching those up.  I probably wouldn’t even have gone to the trouble but I love that he cares!

We used a 6 inch roller to roll the stripes on, once we had dry brushed the edges.  This is one of those projects with a huge pay-off and very low cost.

I would definitely do it again, although I’m sure Stevie (and Nick) hope I don’t:)

Before::

After::

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Ruth says

    It is most definitely fabulous in all it’s striped glory. I absolutely love it. I would love to go so bold in a small area of our home. Love all the art work you incorporated, too. Totally fabulous. I think that my stripes would definitely be a bit askew.
    Ruth

    Reply

  2. Marsha says

    My guest bedroom is screaming for some love. What do you think of a stri-ped bigger room? The ceiling color is sable, by sherwin williams from four years ago. The walls are a creamy-ish white and there is a mustard yellow canopy(ikea) bed. I really like the color of your stripes for my room too. Whatcha think? The duvet is currently white.

    Reply

  3. Amy Avery says

    Wow Edie! That bathroom is gorgeous and certainly does make a statement! I love it! I also love seeing all the different homes your eagle mirror has had (Sultry Master, Family Room Mantle, and now the Statement Bathroom.) I panted stripes once when I was 8 months pregnant and wanted my first darling’s room to be beautiful and perfect. And being in nesting mode those stripes were perfect. I vowed to never do it again even though they turned out beautifully. My painter did it for me in our new house and he didn’t even use tape! They turned out perfectly and I sang him many praises. Fabulous job on your re-do! xoxo

    Reply

  4. Pat says

    I so wish I could live with you! 🙂 This bathroom totally makes a statement and I love it! The colors are perfect but the art work and David are the crowning glories I believe. Super job and it is awesome!

    Reply

  5. chrissi says

    i love it! looks fab. love the colors. i know my cute husband would just curl up in a corner and cry if i asked him to tape off our guest bath. may i borrow nick? really, i am thinking a tour of bathrooms/bedrooms/mudrooms/hallways across the country.

    Reply

  6. Southern Gal says

    I agree. Stri-ped and definitely masculine. I would cry if I knew I had to paint perfect stripes. Cry a loud ugly cry. And I don’t think there’s anyone in my house, no whole family, that would help me out with it. So I’ll just admire your bee-you-tee-ful powder room.

    Reply

  11. Emily A. Clark says

    This post makes me happy for so many reasons 🙂 I love your stripes-obviously-and just the fact that you like my house makes me super happy. This is going to sound strange, but I swear when I was painting mine, I had the thought “This looks like something Edie would do.” I am not kidding! Maybe I study other bloggers’ homes too much??? Anywho, they turned out great and you have one patient sidekick. I can’t imagine how tedious the stripes must be to tape in a really small room. They were bad enough on a straightforward wall.

    Reply

  13. Carol S. says

    That room is sharp. Not sure what I like more…the bathroom “after”…or the back story and how your inspiration all came together. The stripes are dramatic and classic, and the accessories really take it to another level. Color, pattern, texture, history, it’s got it all!

    Reply

  14. Carol S. says

    And one more thing…most of us that read this blog will not be looking at our (boooring) powder rooms the same near term. My mind is already ticking and looking forward to some free time to check out your pinterest bathroom board.

    Reply

  19. the domestic fringe says

    Gorgeous! I adore the stripes, but I also love all the pictures and paintings you have hanging everywhere. Where are your favorite places to shop for those things. My walls seem pretty boring at the moment. They definitely need a wow factor.

    ~FringeGirl

    Reply

  22. tara lowry says

    and now i’m dating the idea of striped walls.
    it’s gorgeous…and i do mean g.o.r.g.e.o.u.s.

    off to see Emily’s striped foyer…interested to know how the stripes flow into the rest of her house….

    Reply

  24. Amy says

    Hi, I love the sconces in your bathroom. I am thinking they would look great in my daughter’s room. Where did you get them? Thanks!

    Reply

  27. Kristy says

    Hi Edie! I’ve been a fan of yours for quite sometime, but I’ve not commented much, if at all… I just had to tell you (bc you were the FIRST person to pop in my mind) that I came across an eagle/confederate mirror(minus the mirror) yesterday in an antique store in Spring, Tx. (like yours above) I meant to go grab it after perusing the rest of the store and I FORGOT!! (I’ve no idea why that surprised me so much. My memory is pretty “meh”) Needless to say… my uber obsessive mind took FULL control last night leaving me with very little rest. I watched the clock this morning until I knew they opened… I called the store, explained my dire situation and had them on a search for it. A whopping THREE HOUR search… BUT… they called me back. SCORRREEEE!!!!! To say that I am elated is putting it mildly! Gahhhhh…… 🙂

    I LOVE LOVE LOOOOOVE your house, your style and your lovely heart!

    Reply

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