Painted Trellis Wall

By Kate Riley July 26, 2010

Hiya folks, hope you had a lovely weekend !  Today I’ll show you my step by step for the hand painted trellis pattern on our wall in our bedroom.

I wanted something elegant behind our headboard but also dramatic with a hint of shimmer.  My original idea was to use wallpaper with a subtle metallic pattern, but when I saw Kristen’s wall featured on YHL a few weeks ago, I decided to this was a much easier (and cheaper) way to add the large scale design I wanted without the expense of wallpaper.          

cg lattice painted wall

 

This 13’ x 9’ feature wall was not difficult, but it did take a lot of patience.  I created my own stencil, sketched the pattern on the wall, and then filled in the lines with acrylic craft paint, all in about six hours.  

Supplies: poster board; utility knife or sharp blade; silver colored pencil; level; painter’s tape; craft paint; artist’s Filbert paintbrush. 

How To:

To create the stencil, I found the pattern to inspire me from the lattice pattern rug in my living room.   I traced half of the basic pattern onto a piece of poster board, then cut it with a utility knife.  I folded the poster board in half (vertically) to trace the other half of the pattern and to make sure the left side and ride side of the pattern were symmetrical, then I cut the other half of the pattern.   

cut posterboard

 

You can see the fold in the middle of the poster board in the picture below.   I avoided cutting a small portion of the pattern to keep the inside border connected to the outside border.   

I started in the upper right corner of the wall, secured the stencil with painter’s tape, then traced the first link of the pattern.  I worked my way down the wall, using a level each time to keep the stencil straight.    

use level

 

I used a silver colored pencil to lightly trace the pattern on the wall ~ the metallic pencil blended better with the acrylic paint than a standard lead pencil. 

draw pattern

  

I also marked the edge of the stencil as I worked my way down to keep it vertically straight.   

mark edges

 

Tracing the entire pattern took about 2 hours ~ once you get going you’d be surprised how quickly you can trace a repeating pattern like this.   

I chose to use acrylic craft paint in ‘Metallic Taupe’ (available at Michaels) because it was a pretty champagne color, and cheaper than gloss paint!  Although you could use the gloss version of your base paint for a subtle effect, or a pearlescent paint like this one.  One bottle of $2 dollar craft paint covered the entire wall  ~ my other tool was a high quality Filbert paintbrush. 

metallic taupe craft paint

 

Once the pattern was traced on the wall, I simply filled in the lines with paint.  If you have an ‘oops’ moment ~ and I had plenty ~ just keep a damp rag close by to correct your little imperfections . . .  

paint in lines

 

Total time to paint the entire pattern with two coats of the craft paint was about 3.5 to 4 hours. 

Before:

wall before

 

After: 

cg trellis wall 2

  cg headboard

  

Need more pattern inspiration ?

Here’s just a few more repeating graphics that could be reproduced with a little paint and a lot of patience!!

graham and brown darcy wallpaper

jilian wallpaper thibaut

  

massucco warner miller bedroom

 

ballard trellis wallpaper  

york lattice wallpaper

Images: Graham & Brown; Thibaut; Massucco Warner Miller; Ballard Designs; York Wallcoverings

 

What’s the next project you’re planning with paint ?  

 

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135 comments

  1. You really did an amazing job! What a transformation!!! I especially love the pics of additional inspiration you posted.

  2. I really like the way that turned out. I would like to do that, but with a year old baby it might be awhile. It looks great!

  3. WOW! You make it look so easy. :) Once I can decide on colors, I need to paint my kitchen, hallway and dining room. They need a change!!! I may need to do another Decorating Dilemmas party specifically for myself. ;)

  4. Your wall is so amazingly beautiful!! This is exactly what I want to do in the MB. Seeing yours makes me want to start immediately!!!

  5. excellent! welp, looks like whenever i get emails about how to do my pattern from here on out, i’m directing them here! hehe…

    oh! another helpful hint when you are doing patterns on a wall – using watercolor pencils (available at all crafts stores) in the same shade as the paint you will be working with are a realllly easy alternative to pencils (to trace with), because they blend right in when the paint goes on! no erasing needed, and if you do need to erase, it’s super easy because it dissapears with water! :)

    great work!!!

  6. Looks fabulous. I love the elegant look of it, and to think of the cost, what a major plus. I think I’ll start looking for a pattern. Thanks for sharing the how to with us!!

  7. It looks amazing, love it! I have made stencils out of poster board, it is actually pretty easy to do isn’t it? Yours looks very very high end! Janell

  8. love it!
    thanks for showing us how you did it- I think it makes the project seem a lot easier and more do-able.

  9. Love it! Now I’m even more depressed that I will probably never have painted walls again–I just married an AF man . . . And we’re moving in two weeks, so that’s my next project. ;-)

  10. Wow–that took a lot of work. My next painting project will be to refinish a desk–but it will have to wait a few weeks till the kids go back to school.

  11. I totally love this – once I get done with our office, and our backyard, and get the chair rail up, and make the headboard. . . . maybe then this can go on my project list!

  12. Thanks for sharing Kate, it looks wonderful. I would never have thought to use poster board (a staple in my daughter’s craft supply cabinet!) to make a stencil. The best part about this project-no removing of wallpaper will be necessary when you want a change!

  13. Great job – I love the way it gives a nod to the sidetable as well! perfect.

    This is the downfall of bumpy plater walls – nothing would ever look as crisp!

  14. Kate you are really inspiring me!! I have several projects lined up now to prioritize. I will keep this for sure! It is beautiful!!

    Karena
    Art by Karena

  15. Fabulous! I was considering the Darcy wallpaper you showed but maybe we will attempt this. 4 hours,huh? Not horrible! Thanks!

  16. This is GORGEOUS like everything else that you do!! You have been my inspiration with the redecorating taking place in my home right now. I have been spray painting, re-finishing and working like mad on getting everything complete. Now I’m thinking this wall treatment would look perfect on the wall behind my workspace. Thanks for the constant source of inspiration!!

  17. The wall is gorgeous. There’s no way I could have painted it that fast. You’re amazing and have a lot of patience. I love the colors too.

  18. I’m amazed at how fast yout got this wall done-it looks very time consuming but I love trellis! I really loved your whole makeover and the wall is just gorgeous. I love YHL too and come to think of it, now I remember seeing something similar a while ago.

    I wanted to share your transformation with my readers, so I added it to my Pure Inspiration post on Friday here:

    http://theclassywoman.blogspot.com/2010/07/pure-inspiration-blog-posts-im-loving.html

  19. Wow that is so beautiful! I love it! I can’t believe it was done by hand it looks perfect like wall paper would.

  20. I absolutely love your wall!! Gorgeous!! Wish I had that kind of patience!

    The hubby & I did something similar in our dining room…but not nearly as much patience required :D We used the same color of paint, with two different sheens and painted vertical stripes on the wall by alternating between the two sheens. Very subtle but looks fabulous!

    Thanks for sharing!

    Melissa {http://www.BoutiqueMe.net}

  21. i LOVE your wall! I also saw Kristen’s a while back and fell in love. Now I just need to get up the nerve to put the paint on the wall.

    Was it just luck that you started in the corner and the patteren ended up centered above the bed or did you scale it to the right size?

  22. LOVE this.
    You did such a great job!
    I’m SO into this craze as well!
    I just get too lazy and make my vinyl machine do all the work, when I can. LOL.
    I did a quatrefoil design in my “new” pantry.
    The grey and white just make my heart swoon :)

    http://houseofsmiths.blogspot.com/2010/07/pantry-remix.html

    I’m thinking that I might attempt paint next time though, on the large wall that we want to do in our master :)
    Thanks for the tips!
    Beautiful as always.
    ~Shelley Smith
    houseofsmiths.blogspot.com
    wonderfullywordy.blogspot.com

  23. WOW! I am sooo impressed! And thanks for the play-by-play, this now looks much more doable than I originally thought! I love the metallic paint you chose, which is just subtle enough.

  24. Can six year olds help with this? Perhaps diamonds for my children’s wall. I love love love it, you did a fantastic job and praise you for your patience and attention to the detail.

  25. I will definitely try this next time I paint the bedrooms. It’s gorgeous and so elegant! Also love the second inspirational pictures, the one with that amazing floor lamp!

  26. Love it! Thanks for the inspiration. Might try this in my older daughter’s room.

  27. Respect – that must’ve taken so much patience. And what an amazing end result! Think I might try out something myself

  28. This is just beautiful Kate! Thanks for the tutorial. May I ask what color your wall paint is? I love the colors in your home. So bright yet soothing and sophisticated. You have such great taste!

  29. Yay! Ever since you posted the first pictures of your gorgeous wall, I’ve been waiting anxiously to see how you did it! It is absolutely stunning! We are moving in a couple weeks and I’m pretty sure our new bedroom will be getting a makeover, courtesy of CG ideas!!! (c:

  30. Looks fantastic! I’ve been wanting to do something similar to the ceiling in my sewing room/office/guest room but after reading The Agony and the Ecstasy about Michaelangelo’s experience painting the Sistine Chapel, I just can’t motivate myself. Your experience is pushing me a little bit closer to that becoming a reality. Thanks for the inspiration.

  31. You are wildly talented…and patient! That looks amazing…and thank you for posting the color of the walls, I’ve been looking for the perfect gray. I’m in the process of re-doing my son’s room…so there is a lot of painting involved!

    Beautiful job!

    xoxo, cassie

  32. Looks stunning – but may I ask why you painted the design freehand rather than stenciling it straight up?

  33. Hi Kathy, if I understand your question, do you mean why didn’t I paint it link by link when the stencil was taped to the wall? First, I didn’t want any paint on the posterboard, that would just smear everywhere ! Plus, you can see the pattern overlaps a bit, so I would have had to wait for each column to dry before moving on. It made more sense or me to simply paint between the lines after I sketched them all out on the wall.

    :-)

    Kate

  34. Thank you!! ForEVER I’ve been looking for the perfect paint color for the wall behind my fireplace -it has 3 large windows over the fireplace so decorating it is minimal and I wanted a subtle tone to pop from it. My walls are sort of a taupe grey and the sheen of your color above is exactly what I wanted. I bought 3 little bottles of it today and have already painted – it is PERFECT! I may just have to send you a before and after, I’m so pleased with it. I didn’t do a stencil, but totally stole your color choice. The walls and windows stand out beautifully now, with mercury glass collection on the mantel itself. Thank you!!

  35. This is so subtle, yet so eye-catching – love it! Wonder how it would turn out on my plaster (with texture) walls?

  36. I love it!!! I have been plotting the same method for our powder room, but so far have only been bold enough to try it on a stool. So my worry is with the craft paint, if I need to wipe down the wall will the paint wipe right off? (I used poly on the stool, but that won’t happen on the wall!) I really appreciate your guidance and pictures (it will help convince hubby!)

  37. This is really stunning on that wall behind the bed. I love it!!! And it does not look hard, but probably is time consuming. Love & blessings from NC!

  38. Wow, Kate, I can’t believe that only took you 6 hours. I am confident I’d be there for days if I attempted this. But the end result is so amazing. You did a wonderful job! (I too loved that post on YHL, so it’s cool to see it implemented in another house.)

  39. my hubby wants to do this and I said no as I just could not get the concept – so thanks great to see this done as it’s a master piece….well done you are soooooooo sensational!!!!!!!!

  40. LOOOVE THIS!!! I wouldn’t ever put up wallpaper again if I could do this wonderful and dramatic look!! It’s just gorgeous!!
    ~Terrell @ FrouFrouDecor~

  41. You are the best! This is so much better than using wallpaper, because when you want to change it, it is easy to remove. Now let’s see how that wall looks with your dresser, etc. You should have a box on your blog with your favorite paint colors.

  42. I just found your blog via Tipnut and I am in awe! I could spend days here! Your work is so creative and your photography is wonderful! I have signed up as a follower and will come back often!

    Sherry @ A Happy Valentine

  43. BEAUTIFUL! Is there a way you can sell the stencil so I can just buy it from you? I’m kinda challenged with making my own stencil. Pretty please?

  44. WOW. You are brave! And even-handed! Your wall looks better than any of the inspiration photos you posted. Just GORGEOUS!!!

  45. This really inspired me I have used stencils with metallic but love this pattern sooo much I may have to use it somewhere in my own home. I have used the color Nantucket grey on some jobs and is very popular and goes with everything! Thanks for sharing you do an amazing job…………C.

  46. I have been anxiously awaiting this post since I saw the reveal! I really want to do something like this for my bathroom wall.

    BTW, thank you for posting such amazing tutorials! I’m also getting ready to paint some cabinets for the first time and didn’t know where to start. From your product recommendations to your fantastic how-to photos. I finally feel confident enough to try my hand at some good old DIY home improvement!

  47. This is such a fantastic project. What you did makes such a big impact for such a little expense. I would love to do a similar project in my home. Thanks for the inspiration!

  48. This is one of my favorite things you’ve done! It is gorgeous and so inventive! I really want to try it on the large wall behind our bed too. Thanks so much for sharing your how-to.

  49. I’ve been searching for awesome wallpaper for my office makeover project – haven’t found a winner yet. I’m highly considering the stencil idea. Although stenciling will take more time, it’s much more cost effective – and right up my alley as far as budget. This looks so nice and pretty!

  50. WOW! I just bought a new house that I am SO excited to start decorating, AND I just discovered your blog. I can’t WAIT to try this idea in a couple rooms! I might even do a cherry blossom branch version of this in an Asian inspired room!

  51. How big is your stencil? Is there any way you can upload it and share it with us? Thanks!

  52. I love this so much! I want to do it in my master bedroom or bath. I was wondering if you would be willing to share your stencil? Or do you have a full picture of just the stencil? Thanks!

  53. I love your stencil! I have been searching through stencils all day and cannot find one close to yours. Do you have a straight on picture of the rug or a link to the page the rug can be seen from? I went to the site you got your rug from and cannot seem to find it.
    So gorgeous – great job!!!

  54. CG – I love your creativity. You did an amazing job. I was wondering if you could show me the whole stencil pattern or even emailing it to me. I would love to do this project in my room too. Thanks a lot!

  55. LOVE THIS. I live in an apartment and my small wall would look great with this. Would you mind sharing the stencil?

  56. It was fabulous also like the other reader can you email a way to see the whole stencil pattern… awesome work

  57. Oh! Love the easy peasy stencil making. I’ve been drooling over the one at the Benjamin Moore site.

    {Complicated but-totally-worth-it instructions: Click on Inspiration, Envision 2010, Slip (the pink) then View Rooms}

    I picked up some sample paint over the weekend and am just about ready to break it to the DH that he needs to move furniture.

  58. I Love it!!! Please share the stencil with me also. I would love to do this somewhere in my salon.

  59. What a beautiful master bedroom! I love the wall and would be thrilled if you would be able to share the stencil pattern you used!

  60. This is lovely. Would you mind if I asked you to share the pattern with me? I really like it, and would love to try it out.

  61. Wow! That looks amazing!

    I too love the stencil and have been looking for a design like this.

    Will you be sharing it??

    Thanks so much!

  62. Hello,
    I LOVE what you’ve done! I had bought a stencil a while back which I like but I love this. Have you been sharing your stencil? If so, I’d love to try it out too!
    Thank you,
    Sylvia up in Canada :)

  63. This is so beautiful! I am so inspired and would LOVE to try it out myself – would you share your stencil with me? I’d be thrilled! Thanks!

  64. I don’t know if you would be willing to share the stencil, but I would LOVE it! I plan to do this in my bedroom too! Thanks so much!

    P.S. I’ll send you a pic when completed!

  65. HI Alyssa and others ~ I have yet to recreate the stencil because I need to scan it, and it’s too large to scan at home. Take a peek at this company’s ‘Moorish’ and ‘Ribbon’ stencils which are very similar.

    http://www.royaldesignstudio.com/

    Kate

  66. I love your pattern!!!! I have been wanting to do a semi-gloss vs flat pattern in a room and it might just have something to do with this post…and it might just be in the bathroom we are currently remodeling…and my husband just might KILL me for changing the paint AGAIN for the 4th time now LOL

    oh dear, but it will be SO worth it in the end right? ;)

  67. I am loving this! After living in my house for almost 6 years the only room that has yet to be painted is my master bedroom. It’s huge, we have dark wood, and the blankets and curtains are red and gold… Thanks for the inspiration to do this! I hope to get this done this year for sure! It’s officially on my 2011 list of things to do! :)

  68. I have been checking out your site and this is one of my favorite posts of all. It has totally inspired me to use patterns on my own walls – I can’t decide between paint and wallpaper – you’ve given me a lot to think about!

  69. I love your website! My 17 y/o daughter has been trying to make a decision on the color of her room. I showed her this pic of the stenciled wall and she said, “I want to do that!”. Could you please share the paint colors (including the stencil paint) on the walls? Thank you sooo much!

  70. Hey,
    Your room looks amazing. I was wondering if you could tell me what base color you used for the walls. Is the opulence pearl similar to what you used for the trellis details?
    Thanks a lot!

  71. Oh my heck….I am in love with your site. I love love love your room. Can you let me know what color the base coat is???? Such an awesome idea. Also, if you don’t mind can I get a copy of the stencil too….you are amazing. I wish I could be so creative.

    Thanks.

  72. Beautiful and amazing. I love your blog and am now a follower. I also wanted to let you know that I featured you and your work on this post in a post of mine a few days ago. Thanks for all of the inspiration!

  73. if you’re using a large wall stencil, do you think I could use the folk art paint and a foam roller??

  74. hello, i am ordering the stencil but what color/brand paint did you use. my foyer is made up of greys and i wanted to use a soft metalic. thanks! cant wait

  75. I showed her this pic of the stenciled wall and she said, “I want to do that!”. Could you please share the paint colors (including the stencil paint) on the walls? Thank you sooo much!

  76. I have been searching for a pattern I could see in my minds eye for many months. My bathroom is waiting to be completed as soon as I find what I wanted. I had seen the a trellis pattern on an episode of Candice Olsons on HGTV (yes I am addicted) it was on the wall in her office. Which I had been unable to find as as a stencil anywhere or even the wallpaper.

    Your blog has it, it is the york pattern, BUT after all the hours spent hunting for it or something close to it, I really like the pattern you drew better ! My bathroom is cottage style with bead board and your pattern has a fishnet appearance with the overlapping lines. And I see I am not the only one who loves it.I But, saw no answer as to how get it. Are you sharing (or selling) the pattern? I have not 1 bit of drawing ability. My talents are in another arena. I would be so grateful and will send you a picture of my finished bathroom.

    Thank you do much, Marilyn

  77. Hi Kate!

    Can you please share with me the name and brand of your base coat!? I have tried to look at your post with all of the names of paint in your house, however i can’t seem to find this particular one.

    Thanks for all of your inspirations!!!

    Emily

    • Hi Emily, do you mean that olive gray paint? It’s Ben Moore’s Nantucket Gray.
      Kate

  78. I am in awe of the wall! The scale is so perfect. What is the size of the stencil you made? I am going to make it tomorrow. Any additional tips that you would suggest? Thank you for sharing your beautiful design.

  79. I can’t even tell you how much I love this (just discovered your site today and I’m kind of obsessed – you’re SO talented). I see that you have referred people to stencil sites since you created your own – the thing is: yours is perfect. I really recommend you PDF it and sell it.

    Thank you for sharing your amazing talents with all of us.

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