If your walls are feeling less than inspiring, try splatter painting to pump up their wow-factor
Yes, white walls are a classic choice, especially if you’re planning to sell your home sometime soon. But if you’re looking to give your room an artistic touch (and you’re a fan of Jackson Pollock), try a splatter paint accent wall.
Splatter painting brings personality to a room while giving your artistic side an outlet. Here are some tips for creating the perfect splatter paint wall.
Wearing old clothes is pretty much a rule of thumb whenever you’re painting. No matter how neat you think you are, there’s nothing worse than ruining a new pair of jeans because you got a paint spot on them. Wear something that you won’t care if you ruin—better yet, designate “painting clothes” so you can wear them again and again.
Just as you don’t want to ruin your clothes, you don’t want to ruin anything in the room you’re working on. Get some plastic sheeting and cover the walls, doors, and windows that you’re not going to be painting. Tape plastic sheeting over the ceiling, but make sure you don’t block off any part of the wall you’re going to be working on. Cover your floor with plastic or old sheets and tape it down so it doesn’t move around while you’re working.
Whether you’re planning to splatter one wall or multiple walls, make sure to give them a wash with water and mild soap and let them dry completely before painting. If there are any cracks or holes, patch them up and let them dry. Sand down any drywall repairs with sandpaper or a sander. If your walls were painted previously with a glossy paint, go over the entire wall lightly with a sander to ensure that the new paint doesn’t slide off.
Whenever you’re painting, whether it’s a full paint job or decorative, you should prime your walls so the paint adheres properly and doesn’t flake off. Allow the primer to dry completely before you begin your wall art project.
Once you’ve finished cleaning and priming, you’re ready to begin your art project. Mix your paint and pour it into a clean roller tray. If you’re planning to use multiple colors, mix one color at a time and use separate trays so the colors don’t blend together.
Your painting technique will depend on the look you’re going for, so it might be a good idea to experiment with different tools before you start so you can decide which you like best.
There are lots of different tools and techniques you can use in splatter painting, but these give good results:
Paintbrushes: Dip brush into paint, don’t wipe the paint off, then flick your wrist to throw paint against the wall
Balloons: Use a funnel to fill balloons with paint, tie them, then throw against the wall
Toothbrushes: Use same technique as paint brushes
Squirt bottle or water gun
Rags: Same technique as paint brushes
Roller: Same flicking technique as paintbrushes, rags, toothbrushes
Remember, you don’t have to choose just one tool. You can use different sizes of paintbrushes or combine different types of tools to get the look you’re going for.
Now it’s time to get creative! You don’t want to use the same movements again and again to create a boring splatter pattern; use vertical flicks or horizontal flicks to get different patterns on your wall. If you want a geographic pattern stenciled in, use painter's tape to create the pattern before you start. And if you’re using different colors and don’t want them to blend together, let each color layer dry before you start the next one.
