Written By:  Michelle Fortin @ Our Dream Foreclosure

My husband and I recently gave our boring, white living room a serious face-lift by painting large, bold stripes on the walls. We are thrilled with the result! However, it wasn’t necessarily an easy DIY project and we learned a lot, which is what I want to share with you today.

Complicating this already challenging project – our textured walls. Ugh! I wish it was easy to make textured walls flat, but it’s not. So, we’re choosing to keep ours around, but not let them stop us from creative painting projects.

Here’s a shot of what our living room looked like before we painted and upgraded the furniture…

Why, yes! That is, in fact, the most boring living room in America. Not anymore! Here’s how we went from boring white to bold stripes…

Step #1: Painted the wall with two coats of the lighter color. In our case, that color is Sherwin Williams’ Colony Buff.

Confession: My husband, Jason, did most of the painting. I’m pregnant – so I tried to be good and stay away – but I did paint a bit (with a mask, of course!).

Step #2: Tape off the stripes! We decided on a width of 15-inches for our stripes and we had a heck of a time getting the lines perfectly straight. So, I’ll save you the trial & error drama and let you know what worked…

2a) Since neither the ceiling nor floor can be trusted as 100% straight (house settling and such), use a laser level to get that first line just right.

We picked up that laser at Home Depot for $15.

2b) Make sure you tape on the outside of where your darker color will go. So, that means the inside of the lighter stripe. When all of your tape is up, it will look like the stripes are different widths, but that’s okay.

2c) Once your first line is straight and taped off, use a plumb line to measure the other lines off that one. Since we weren’t sure it was going to work, we didn’t think to take pictures. But basically, a plumb line is a long string that you put two nails on either end of – then snap to reveal a chalk line – which, in theory will be perfect level. We didn’t use chalk though – we just taped along the string and that worked well for us.

Step #3: Once your lines are level and taped off, don’t rush and get your darker color! Take the lighter color again and dab paint on top of the tape where the darker color will eventually go. This is an especially crucial step for those of us with textured walls. Make sure that lighter color seeps into all of the nooks and crannies in the textured wall and seals that tape in as close as possible. The goal of this step is to not have any bleeding over of the colors between the lines.

Step #4: Okay, now go get your darker color! For us, it is Sherwin Williams Oak Barrel. This is the time to start rolling it on!

Step #5: Roll on two coats of this darker color and while the second coat is still wet and tacky, slowly start to peel back your tape. This is the moment of truth. Hold your breath and hope you did Step #3 correctly! If you did, your lines will look like this…

…perfectly straight with no bleeding over of the colors. Our stripes turned out fantastic! Up close, they almost look like wall decals. That’s how perfectly this method worked for us.

We painted stripes on two walls in living/dining room area… the long wall that connects the living and dining rooms and the wall that you immediately see when you enter the house.

Those stripes seriously make me smile every time I see them.

What do you think? How did we do? Would you do something similar in your house too?

So God Made a Mother book by Leslie Means

If you liked this, you'll love our book, SO GOD MADE A MOTHER available now!

Order Now

Check out our new Keepsake Companion Journal that pairs with our So God Made a Mother book!

Order Now
So God Made a Mother's Story Keepsake Journal

Michelle Fortin

Michelle Fortin and her husband, Jason blog about their DIY home improvement adventures on their site, Making Our Dream. That’s where you’ll also hear more about her life as a part-time SAHM to Kenton (born 5/2011) and baby #2 – due to arrive in October 2012. In addition to being a wife and mom, Michelle also teaches broadcast journalism at Arizona State University, is actively involved in her local MOPS group, dabbles in photography, and is a self-confessed social media addict. Currently, she lives in Scottsdale, Arizona, where she and Jason bought their first home in 2009. It was a foreclosure that’s needed quite a bit of work! If Michelle looks familiar, that may be because you remember her as Michelle Frey – when she anchored the weekend newscasts on NTV a few years ago. She also taught a few classes at UNK. The years she spent in central Nebraska produced some of the best memories and dearest friends a girl could ask for – which is why she’s thrilled to be a part of the Her View From Home team.

What My Son Taught Me About Joy at the Holidays

In: Fatherhood, Uncategorized

There’s not a lot going on right now, but that doesn’t mean my family can’t still enjoy some of our favorite seasonal pastimes like trimming the Christmas tree, counting down to Santa’s arrival, and riding bikes around the neighborhood and loudly critiquing everyone’s decorating choices. Amidst the December doldrums, the announcement of a holiday decoration contest by our neighborhood HOA certainly sent a frisson of excitement through our household. My children are enamored with decorations anyway, but the prospect of a cash prize just for filling our yard with more inflatable monstrosities dialed up their excitement level to an 11....

Keep Reading

Christmas Magic May Look Different For a Special Needs Family

In: Kids, Motherhood, Uncategorized
Little boy looking at Christmas tree

Christmas can be a very magical time of year with Santa, decorations, presents, and family gatherings. It can also be a very tough and difficult time for families with special needs children. For many of us as parents, we are hanging on by a thin thread as we try to honor the traditions of our extended families while keeping our children with special needs happy and on routine.  My son was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder at 21 months and is non-verbal. He is now 5.5 years old. He doesn’t like the noise or chaos that gatherings bring. Sometimes lights...

Keep Reading

Kevin Hart to Star in Movie About Fatherhood That Promises to be a Tear-Jerker

In: Fatherhood, Uncategorized

Imagine having it all: you’re happily married to your high school sweetheart, settled into your dream home in Los Angeles, and over-the-moon excited for the birth of your first child—a baby girl. Then, without warning, tragedy strikes. Just 27 hours after your little girl enters the world, your wife suffers a pulmonary embolism and dies instantly, without ever holding the daughter whose arrival she had so eagerly awaited. Heartbreaking stories like this seem like the stuff of fiction, but for Matt Logelin, it is a terrible reality. After finding himself the sole caretaker of his newborn daughter, Maddy, Matt turned...

Keep Reading

Why Didn’t We Think of That? Dad Invents Candy Chute for Contactless Halloween Trick-or-Treating

In: Uncategorized

We know we aren’t the only dads who had big dreams for Halloween this year—after all, how often does the spooky holiday actually fall on a weekend? And one that coincides with a super rare blue moon, no less! Our kids have had their costumes picked out since last October, and we were fully prepared to endure 48-hour sugar highs and demand extra candy tax in compensation. Of course, no one could have predicted a global pandemic would throw a wrench into those plans, leaving many of us scratching our heads as to how to make a highly anticipated event...

Keep Reading

To the Great-Grandparents: Thank You For Loving Us So Well

In: Uncategorized

Can we take a minute to talk about the blessing of great-grandparents? Grandparents (i.e. your own parents) spoil your kids, of course—it’s a time-honored tradition, really. The reward for surviving parenthood with your own children is spoiling your grandchildren with abandon. All that spoiling prompts the inevitable wondering, “Where were these people when they were raising me?!” Your parents limited television and junk food. They enforced rules and consequences. Who are these pod-people who’ve invaded your parents’ bodies and are now spoiling the living daylights out of your children? This question doesn’t exist where great-grandparents are concerned. You know exactly...

Keep Reading

I Want My Son To Take Pride in His Heritage

In: Uncategorized
Mother holding newborn baby

I don’t know how many times I’ve been asked the same question, THE question. The one I have grown accustomed to hearing yet not grown accustomed to answering. “What are you?” I’ve been asked this by people I’ve known for months and people I have known for mere seconds.  As a child, I had my prepared answer, “I am Polish, German and Native American.” Not the full story. As an adult I’ve tested out different responses, “I am American; I am mixed.” Not the answer they want to hear.  The truth is I was ashamed. Ashamed as a young child...

Keep Reading

To the Average Kid: One Day You’ll Realize You’ve Always Been Exceptional

In: Uncategorized
kids students graduate graduation academics www.herviewfromhome.com

Hello average and below average kids and teenagers! Today you will not be on a stage receiving an honor, a pin, a certificate, a sash, a cord, or a badge for high academic achievement. Nobody will tell you your future is bright and positive, or that you can do and be anything you want. You will shuffle along the rest of your school days and years sheepishly wearing the “average” badge—which is actually no badge at all, rather it’s just you sitting small watching everyone else standing tall with honor. But I want to tell you something. Something incredible. It’s...

Keep Reading

I’m Not a Princess – But I’m Raising One

In: Kids, Motherhood, Uncategorized
I'm Not a Princess - But I'm Raising One www.herviewfromhome.com

It was at my baby shower that I received my daughter’s first princess tiara. It was a gift from a family friend and it was truly beautiful. Radiantly adorned with Swarovski crystals and perfectly sized to fit atop a tiny toddler’s head. I remember my mom gushing over it when I unwrapped the box after the party was over. I scowled at it. “She will not wear that thing,” I said. My mom looked confused. “But she’s going to be a little girl. Of course she will want to wear it!” she said. “My daughter will never be called a...

Keep Reading

Make Wanderlust a Must: Raising Kids Who Love to Travel

In: Kids, Motherhood, Uncategorized
Make Wanderlust a Must: Raising Kids Who Love to Travel www.herviewfromhome.com

The love of travel is perhaps one of the greatest gifts parents can give their children. It breeds curiosity, tolerance, adaptability and a sense of adventure. Whether it’s three hours or three continents away, traveling broadens the mind and restores the soul. Plus it’s just plain old FUN. But there is a difference between taking your children on a trip and cultivating a love of travel, and that difference lies in how you involve them in the process. Get their input. Where do they want to go and why? What types of activities interest them? While an African Safari may...

Keep Reading

For the Expectant Mom: You’re In For a Crazy, Beautiful Ride

In: Humor, Kids, Motherhood, Uncategorized
For the Expectant Mom: You're In For a Crazy, Beautiful Ride www.herviewfromhome.com

This article is meant for the woman who is expecting her first child. Congratulations to you momma. I am so happy for you and wish you all the best. You are in for a lifetime of happiness and joy, and also a whole lot of crazy. There are a lot of articles out there for expectant moms that talk about the joys of motherhood, or tips on how to survive, but here are the top ten things I’ve learned since becoming a mom four months ago myself. Take heart, it’s a great adventure. Days of eating meals with your spouse...

Keep Reading