Martha Monday {painting vertical stripes}

so, Martha Stewart didn't have much to say about painting vertical stripes.
at least not that i found.


so, hi! i'm emma & i painted these beautiful walls almost all by myself!
{my brother helped... a little}

so instead of a Martha Stewart info column {see here, here, here, here, here, & here}
i'll be the one giving the tips!


so, here are my tips for painting vertical stripes.


tip # 1- always start with the lighter color first!
First paint a base coat on the entire wall. for stripes that's really important because the base coat will be one of the stripes


tip #2- measure TWICE paint once.
from sewing i've learned that you measure twice, cut once. instead of ruining your work, your fabric, the whole thing. i would suggest {& so would the rest of the "experts" online} that Stripes should be between 4" and 12" wide. {A width of less than 4" would be too narrow and busy; more than 12", too wide and heavy} my stripes as 4 & 8 inches wide. measure from the corner least seen out. i used a pencil to mark my lines. I think a laser level would've been ideal for this! if i had one.


tip #3- mark the stripes you're NOT going to paint!
mark them with an x, or as i did in the picture below, with a diagonal strip of tape. you might get in the painting groove & paint a spot that you weren't supposed to.
{mathew & billy thought i was going to paint diagonal lines on those. silly boys}

tip #4- paint your edges FIRST!!

tip #5- be patient with the tape.
it'll tear your base color off if you don't wait 48 hours before even thinking of measuring & taping your stripes. trust me! 

and last but most important!

tip #6- know what you're up against.
48 hours for base coat to dry. if you need to primer before that you'll need to make sure that dries. then dry time for the stripes. cleaning your walls before you even begin. this is at least a 4 or 5 day process. not 2 like initially thought. & that's not counting the 3 layers of wall paper & boarder I had to remove. also look up "painting vertical stripes" on youtube. there are some great videos by Home Depot!

 love my stripes, though it was kind of a pain to do because i didn't know tip #6 & didn't know there were 3 layers of wallpaper. i'm still glad that i followed through, did it right & got the kitchen paint i wanted!

kitchen reveal

so... long story short, we live in the house my husband grew up in. his mom's kitchen theme is apples, which means i inherited her dark green wallpaper & light tan walls. not horrible, just too dark green for me. & light tan??! i think my legs blended in with that color. lol

forgot to take "before pics" so here's one of D in it making icing :)

I love red. specially my red Kitchen Aid Mixer. <3

& i KNOW that yellow isn't for everyone.

but i've always wanted a yellow kitchen.

yes that's sunscreen on the counter under the microwave! doesn't everyone keep sunscreen in the kitchen?! ;)

but i didn't just want plain yellow, i wanted a little something....

extra?!

a little something more....

emma?!

how about some pain in the butt stripes?!!

& one with some plates {& a fly swatter} on the wall.

{sorry for the crappy "night pic"}

i feel like maybe it's a little too bright...

but maybe just cause i'm not used to it...

honestly though, i really love it.

it's me.

it's way different than the rest of the house, maybe it needs painted too?!!

one room at a time emma... one room at a time!

it was photographed nice & neat just for you, but soon after i had to put my lovely "new" kitchen to work..

I think all the hard work, late nights, & under my breath cursing was worth the effort. i like it... & since i'm the cook, that's all that matters

{both colors by Sherwin-Williams. the brighter yellow is Cheerful Yellow & the lighter yellow is Fun Yellow}