Ombre walls were mentioned in last week’s blog as a way to liven up your guest bedroom. But, ombre accent walls don’t have to be restricted to the bedrooms, they can add interest and excitement to almost any room in your home. If you’re ready to take on the challenge and reap the style rewards of this accent wall trend, read on to find out how!
Ombre walls look best on a medium to large sized wall that can be the focal point of a room. Choose a wall that is not obstructed by a fireplace or other built-in feature, or blocked by a large piece of furniture. You want to be able to appreciate the artfulness of the wall itself.
After you’ve chosen the perfect wall, prep it for painting – i.e. wash it, fill in any holes with spackling, sand down rough spots and tape off the edges to ensure a clean line. Gather all your paint supplies (you’ll need rollers and a couple of large brushes), move furniture and put down drop cloths. Now you’re ready to begin.
Start by painting the entire wall in the lightest shade first. Use paint with primer already in it to ensure good coverage and any existing paint doesn’t show through. Let it dry for at least three hours and turn on fans to help circulate the air.
Once the base color is dry, you’ll want to mark off the height at which the second and third (or fourth!) colors will be applied. Dividing the wall into thirds or quarters, use a pencil and ruler to draw a horizontal line where you’ll start and stop the next colors. For these additional colors, you’ll only paint inside their specified areas. Use a roller and keep close to the lines you drew, but don’t worry if it’s not perfect as you’ll be blending a little later. Leave about an inch between your second and third colors on the wall to help smooth out the blending process.
Paint the medium tone color in the middle and the darkest shade at the bottom of the wall. This will give you a nice gradient from the top down to the bottom.
Now for the most important part – blending. Using a large paintbrush, repaint a section about four to six inches tall and about 18 inches long along the top edge of your darkest color and (using a different brush) do the same for the bottom edge of your middle color – creating two wet edges along your bottom blending site. Then take a third brush and make strokes in the shape of an X to blend the colors together. Continue making these strokes until the colors are blended to your liking, then move on to the next section as you work your way across the wall. Repeat the process at the second blending section to complete your wall.