Painting a Squiggle – Accent Wall Design

How To Get the Design on the Wall

For this project I used a projector. The projector allows you to make sure the scale is correct as you see it on the wall. There are several options for how to do this:

• Use a projector
• These can be found on eBay if you want the old school kind that I used. I got mine off of craigslist many years ago. Here’s one on eBay now
• I remember being able to rent them from my local library when I was in school – definitely check there!
• Have a Buy Nothing Group? This is a great time and place to borrow one from a neighbor!
• You can purchase them on Amazon that are for “movies” but I have found many of the inexpensive ones are not bright enough for day time use. If you’re going to use one of those, make sure you’re comfortable making your design after sun down! https://amzn.to/3y5mVAe This is very similar to the one I have and use for projects when it’s dark! And projecting movies on the ceiling, haha.

• Use a “Stencil”
• You’ll take a piece of cardboard or poster board and you’ll trace out the design you want, so in this example, a squiggle. Make one full bell shaped curve on the piece of paper. You can cut that out and use it to draw a line up the wall creating an easy stencil to copy and repeat!
• Free Hand it!
• If you’re feeling brave, just get up there and draw a fluid line down. I would still recommend using something like chalk so you can step back and make edits as needed

As you can see from my images, I chose a projector for my purposes. Because my projector is “manual” I cut my squiggle out of a piece of paper and simply laid it on the projector. I taped it down to ensure it didn’t move around from a breeze, or me touching it.

VideoPress Video Player

Here is an image of the squiggle shape projected onto the wall.

Use Chalk!

To outline my squiggle, I used a piece of light purple chalk. Always test your chalk on the wall first and make sure that it wipes away without leaving any marks. This is a very easy way to draw an outline that will easily wipe away once you’ve completed the mural.

Use a very light hand to draw the shape you want. You can paint over it and use a damp cloth to completely wipe away any area that remains behind when you’re done.

Use an angled brush!

The angled brush allows you to have so much control when you’re doing an edge like this. I am able to completely avoid using any painters tape with this method and the results turn out great with less effort.

I highly recommend this brush for any edge work you’re going to do!!

Tools I used:

• Paint roller
• Paint Tray
• Interior paint
• Step ladder

Other Supplies you might find handy:

• Painter’s tape for your edges (optional)
• Screw driver for your outlet plate covers
• Pole extension for your paint roller – here’s one with excellent reviews

Final thoughts

This would be perfect as an accent over any large piece of furniture. Think over a TV stand, a bar car, a fireplace, or a dresser. What I love the most about it is how customizable it is to your space. It can be any color or width and you can make the squiggle as dramatic or simple as you want. I would love to see if you try it! Make sure to tag me on social media, or you can always email me a picture at bohofrisco@gmail.com!

xoxo,

Amanda