By Evija

Blog: https://fromevijawithlove.com  

Instagram handle @fromevijawithlove 

Over 8.6 million households are rented in the UK. Renting your current home shouldn’t  hinder your creativity. One of the easiest ways to make your house feel more like your home is by using different colours, textures and patterns.  

Painting the walls using the colours you love, will not only allow you to freshen up the space but also let you change the colour in the room over and over again without causing any damage to the walls. Plus, you can always revert to the original colour once you move out.  

If you don’t want to commit to wallpaper or one dominating colour, why not create a bespoke wall mural instead using tape and paint? Sometimes the smallest things can make the biggest impact. 

I’ve picked paint brands using metal cans – mainly because once empty they are easily recycled. And while in use, metal cans are durable and easy to store.  

  Here is what you will need: 

Supplies: 

Paint in various colours of your choice, I picked: 

• Dulux – wall emulsion in soft stone  

• Dulux – wall emulsion soft truffle 

• Dulux trade – custom mix to match soft stone in satinwood  

• Rustoleum – chalky wall paint in colour Oyster 

• Rustoleum – satin furniture paint in colour Oyster 

• Paint roller 

• Paint brush 

• Painter’s tape 

• Laser level (optional) or handheld level   

Step one: 

Decide on the colours you will use for the mural and wall. This bedroom was painted in a lovely pink shade called soft stone and I picked complementing colours for the mural. You can pick as many colours as you want but I decided to only use two extra shades as I didn’t want to overpower the room and wanted to keep it nice and neutral. 

Step two: 

Create the pattern for your mural. You can go as simple or as creative as you like. Do a drawing on paper or simply improvise and just start painting on the wall. Use shapes or patterns that you love and be creative.  

  Step three: 

A laser level is probably the easiest way to mark a straight line on a wall, simply tape the line projected onto the surface. However, you can also mark a line using a handheld level, moving slowly across the wall.  It’s a good idea to stand back and ‘eyeball’ the lines, to check they look level to the human eye. Often the surfaces we’re working on are not perfectly straight in themselves.   

I used a round mirror to mark the round shape on the wall and free handed the half circle. 

Step four: 

Start painting! Paint the area using a small brush for the outline and then use a paint roller to cover larger areas.  

It will usually take two coats. So once the paint has dried, put the second coat of paint on. 

Top tip: remove the painter’s tape once you have done the second coat and the paint is still wet. This will create a nice crisp line and will not pull any dry paint off the wall. 

The round shape was the hardest part on this mural to paint. I used a small brush and painted the outline of the shape first. It took me a couple of attempts, but it got easier as I painted the second coat. 

Top tip: dip the paintbrush in paint and then water to make sure the paint is thin. This means it will glide across the wall, allowing you to paint a continuous round shape. 

Step five: 

Don’t just stop on the wail, paint the skirting board in matching satin paint to finish off the lines and make the space stand out even more. 

Remember, it is just paint and if you mess it up, get tired of it after a while or you are moving out and need to leave the property in the condition you found it – you can paint over! Have fun! 

  

Blog: https://fromevijawithlove.com  

Instagram handle @fromevijawithlove