From Plain White to EPIC! Hallway Makeover

Want to do something EPIC? - paint your hallway!
Now you might think: "Uhm...?"
read along

I wanted to do something with our boring white hallway,
first i thought:
"Maybe a unusual colour or panels..."
- well that sounded boring too!

So I decided to go for a little more X-TREME paintjob!
the walls I painted measure about  42 sq yd - sounds more in square feet: 377 :D ( for the metric- ones: 35m² )

I have to admit, that i am a little cheap - or should i say X-TREME cheap :D so the whole project was under 50$

Step 1: You'll Need

• white walls - loads of them :D
• paintbrushes - suitable for fine lines
• Different colours of wallpaint - the cheapest ones will do
• a sponge
• latex gloves
• colored pencils
• an eraser
• some thin cardboard for templates
• some mirror-mosaic-thingies and glue for cool effects
• MP3-player with your favorite working-musik
• and finally TIME - LOADS OF IT!

Step 2: Templates

Make templates for the repetitive motivs such as fillers -in my case it were cherryblossom, maple leafes and lotusflowers.

You'll thank me for that when you draw more than 100 flowers :)

furthermore you have to decide what motive you want, the Web is a good source for that, print some examples as a working guide.
I'm no artist so i decided to stay with 2-dimensional Koi,
but if you are an artist go ahead with 3-D effects!

Step 3: Prepare the Wall

now take your colored pencils ( I used orange)  and draw the big motives directly on the wall.
choose a colour that matches the later wall-paint, you can use a normal pencil,
but you'll getting problems to cover up the lines - trust me I've been there :D

Use the eraser if your not pleades with the result.

after drawing the big motives ( the koi or whatever you've chosen) it's time for the helpful templates you made.
spread your filling motives all around the wall - tracing them with the colored pencils

Step 4: The Paint Job

Now grab the wall paint and a paintbrush and go ahead!

start with the lighter colors such as yellow or pastel-colors

you may want to mix them - use a plastic plate or something like that.
take just small amounts of the paint, you won't need that much.

Step 5: Background Work

Sponge - time!

get those gloves on, cut a small piece of the sponge and get started,
i had two colors in my working-pan - UNMIXED, mix it direct on the wall, for cool effects and shades.

first paint the details around your motives, and then instantly with the bigger sponge all the rest
- DON'T wait until the paint dries for the best result always paint wet in wet.

Step 6: Detailing

Now every spot is painted,
time for details,
add small leafes, contours

paint a crab ....

almost done :)

Step 7: Mirror, Mirror on the Wall

for cool effects glue some mini mirror mosaic tiles on the painted walls.
Looks very nice in daylight and even cooler with lights on.

Step 8: Admire!

Admire your hard work,
call it EPIC,
open a bottle of beer,
get slightly angry if visitors don't realize that this is a paint job and not a bought wallpaper...

Skål ! ( Cheers in swedish )

Comments

[CreativeGeek]

That looks awesome.

[Midsummernight]

This is truly daring, artsy and beautiful! I think you ARE an artist! Congratulations. I wonder if I will ever have enough guts to do it! What if I just make a gigantic mess, hard to cover up???

[Mimikry]

Hey again Midsummernight :)
Thank you very much - but I'm no artist - just bored in the long winters, and alcohol is way to expensive here ;D

I really don't think that there is a way to fail that much that you would have to cover up - everything is better than a white wall ;)

I covered up some wallpaintings in a flat, when i moved - it took about 2-3 times with white wall paint

[Midsummernight]

Keep on using your imagination it is inspiring. I will do it next Winter, since Winters are long and cold here in Saskatchewan!

[kittywitty]

Very talented. Thank you so much for sharing.

[pikachu4592]

Very nice, like the bright colors and contrast of the fish on the blue background.

[ChrysN]

That looks gorgeous, what an amazing job!

[Mimikry]

Thank you! - i have lots of time in winter :)