Hand painted wallpaper

When I started thinking about renovating our bathroom, I wanted to give it a face lift without having to spend a ton of money. I started looking at wallpaper, both classic wallpaper and the newer peel and stick removable wallpaper, because I thought this would be the perfect way to add character to a small room. Well, it was a lot more expensive than I expected, so I decided to paint my own "wallpaper". I thought - if I hate it, I can just paint over it.

First, we painted the whole bathroom white. We used Simply White by Benjamin Moore. (This took longer than painting the actual pattern on the wall.)

Then, I got paint samples from JC Licht so that I could test out colors and patterns on a piece of canvas. I would highly recommend doing this before you start putting paint on the wall so that you have a good idea of what it will look like. e.

I decided on Tarrytown Green by Benjamin Moore and used a size 12 synthetic flat brush from Blick.

You can use painters tape as guidelines for the lines or section off the wall, but I just decided to go for it, knowing that I wanted a look that was slightly imperfect. I started at the top left corner and worked my way down and then to the sides, making the groups of three lines perpendicular to each other. I made the lines about 2-3” long (did not measure precisely, but this is what I started with to get this look). I re-dipped my paintbrush every few lines so that some were darker and some a little more faded.

This took me about three hours to paint the pattern on one wall. And it was a LOT cheaper than buying wallpaper. And I love seeing my "artwork" on the wall every morning.

I am confident that anyone can do this if you are brave enough to just try it. It doesn't have to be perfect because you can make it into whatever pattern you feel like. And if you hate it - just paint over it. It's just paint! If you try it, send me a picture! I would love to see what you create.

We also refinished the old wood vanity that was in the bathroom. I ended up taking off the hardware and sink, washing the surface well with just soap and water, and then priming it with Stix primer. After allowing the primer to dry (a full day), I used a mini roller and brush to paint the vanity with Benjamin Moore Advance paint in a satin finish Chelsea Gray.