Painted Trellis Wall
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.
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.
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.
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.
I also marked the edge of the stencil as I worked my way down to keep it vertically straight.
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.
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 . . .
Total time to paint the entire pattern with two coats of the craft paint was about 3.5 to 4 hours.
Before:
After:
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!!
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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Tags: craft paint, painted, trellis wall
Respect – that must’ve taken so much patience. And what an amazing end result! Think I might try out something myself
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!
The paint color is ‘Nantucket Gray’ by Ben Moore. Love it !
It’s so pretty!
Absolutely beautiful!! You did an amazing job. Thanks so much for sharing. I love your work.
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:
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.
Wow! That looks awesome. You make it look easy!
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
That looks gorgeous! I’d love to paint a damask or quatrefoil pattern on our bedroom wall, but I don’t think it would read well since our walls are all kinda bumpy. :o(
Beautiful as always.
Fabulous. I love that you used a silver pencil – great idea!!
:)
ButterYum
Looks stunning – but may I ask why you painted the design freehand rather than stenciling it straight up?
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
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!!
Just gorgeous! I might have to copy your beautiful wall in our master bedroom… I makes such a beautiful focal point!
This is so subtle, yet so eye-catching – love it! Wonder how it would turn out on my plaster (with texture) walls?
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!)
FANTASTIC feature wall- clever and so chic.
That is gorgeous, and so perfect for your room! Very CG :)
I am definitely going to do this in our master bedroom…such a great idea!
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!
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.)
Just AMAZING! I love it! I am so inspired!
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!!!!!!!!
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~
wow ,, i thought it was a wallpaper ,, great job !
Gorgeous! I love the idea of looking like wallpaper without the hassle or the price!
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.
See, now I’m even more amazed that you did that. It’s just amazing. Really.
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
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?
WOW. You are brave! And even-handed! Your wall looks better than any of the inspiration photos you posted. Just GORGEOUS!!!
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.
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!
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!
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.
[...] I was oh so giddy to receive a note from a reader that he had recently stenciled his walls with an amazing trellis pattern in his living room just like I did in our master bedroom. [...]
WOW~~~ So elegant and hats off to you for being so patient!! Love it!
I think this looks amazing. Very impressed with your hand stenciling!
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!
[...] too dramatic. I wracked my brain for ages, trying to come up with something…until I found this idea, and fell in [...]
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!
I love the design and color! Fabulous job!
How big is your stencil? Is there any way you can upload it and share it with us? Thanks!
Beautiful! I did something similar in my office and just posted the after photos this week.
http://jonesdesigncompany.com/decorate/my-office/
beautiful! what is the name of the wall paint? (not the metallic paint)
wow!!! Amazing result. Congrats from Spain.
leticia
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!
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!!!