DIY:  Watercolor Walls

I’m sure you have seen all of the images of the incredible watercolor wall coverings going around Pinterest lately.  They are amazing.  I love the fluidity and the sense of calm it can bring to a space.

I wanted to create this look in the studio but I wanted to DIY it, rather than order a wall mural.

I absolutely love the way it turned out!

I created a make-up area in the studio for when we are filming you tube videos. It’s a nice place to be able to double check for holes in my hair or mascara running down my face.

It seems The Handler ‘forgets’ to tell me these things while filming our videos. Ahemmm…

Check out my you tube channel here!

I wanted to do a cool wall treatment that would peak out from behind the fantastic

Rustic Hollywood Mirror

 we made, but not something that would compete for attention.

The process was quite easy.

I started with a solid wall that was painted in Sherwin-Williams SW6107 Nomadic Desert.  It’s fairly similar to the Velvet Finishes Soulful, just a nice, quiet beige.  It was a perfect backdrop.

For the watercolors, I used Velvet Finishes in:

Stately/Timeless/Prestigious/Opulent

I also used the Reviver 2.5 S paint brush.

Other than that I used a plastic drop cloth, Frog Tape Multi-Purpose, a ladder and throw away containers for mixing the paint and water.

I practiced a couple of different techniques before I found the one that gave me the watercolor look I was going for.  I was thinking ‘watered down paint’ but what worked was actually ‘water with a little paint in it’.

Of course, just add more paint to increase the depth of color.  I wanted a very sheer look.

To create the watercolor effect:

simply add the tinted water to your brush,

place the brush at the top of the wall

and

press the water out – just let it flow!

The water takes it’s own directions, rarely running just straight down.  I like that in many areas it went sideways, as it created an overlapped and layered effect.

If it did not go down the wall as far as I wanted, I simply pressed where it stopped, but pressed a little lighter so it looked consistent, as the color became lighter as it tapered down the wall.

I alternated the colors as I went around the wall but did not do 1,2,3,4, 1,2,3,4.

I mixed it up a bit and also made some of the colors wider than others.  I did not want a

strong ‘striped’ look so this was important to the process.

The process was incredibly easy but I’m not gonna lie…

It was messy!

Be sure you have your plastic well taped on the floor or trim.

Definitely do not do this at home with kiddos running around!!!

I had paint all over my arms and feet.

Since I was so in love with this technique, I decided to do the vanity desk I was going to use with the same watercolor treatment.

I painted the table in Velvet Finishes Soulful and after that was dry

I turned the table up on it’s end because I wanted the color to be running in the opposite way

on the top of the table, from the wall.

I did the top and the fronts of the drawers.

After the table was dry, I used the Frog Tape for Delicate Surfaces to create a border.

I taped in about two inches, making sure the edges were pressed down well.  I usually just run my thumb over the edge to do this.  Once all four sides were taped, I painted the outside border with

Velvet Finishes Luxurious.

I also painted the front of the top slab, as well as the legs.

I did this to help anchor the table in the space, as without the darkness, the table

would have simply blended into the wall.

Remember to remove the Frog Tape while the paint is still damp.

Gently pull up to reveal perfect lines!

So what do you think?

I hope you guys are inspired to try this awesomely cool, yet easy treatment!