Does anyone else have “the dark” room at their house? You know, the room that just doesn’t ever seem to get enough light, no matter how bright it is outside? Well, for me that room is our bedroom. I would love to someday add bigger windows to that room, but I decided in the meantime that it would probably be more cost-effective to just paint the room a bright white to reflect as much light as possible. The furniture colors are pretty neutral in our bedroom because the walls used to be a robin’s egg blue, but now that the walls are white, well, I realized pretty quickly that I needed to add more color ASAP.
I thought it would be the perfect solution to make three wooden panels to act as an art headboard and paint something really colorful and bright across the panels. When deciding what to paint, I remembered a geometric background I made for my laptop last year and thought it would be a fun pattern to use. Since the original design used overlapping shapes with different opacity levels, I had to choose a bunch of different paint colors to create all the hues that are made when the shapes overlap. It was like a big color puzzle, but kind of fun to figure out all the different shades.
While I was tweaking the design and picking out the paint colors, Josh got started on the panels and cut three identical boards 20″ x 53″. He added a 1.5″ x 1.5″ border all the way around the edges to give the panels extra stability and assembled the pieces together using a pocket screw method. Once assembled, the panels were painted a bright white and they were ready for some color!
I printed an outline of all my shapes onto a transparency so I could use my projector to project the image onto the boards. I also hung the panels the correct distance apart on the wall so the shapes would line up correctly when it was hung above my bed.
Once the pattern was projected in the right spot, I used a ruler and pencil to trace the outline onto the wood.
I made a printout of my pattern and assigned each color a number so I could make a chart of what color goes where (believe me, this made it way less confusing when I went to paint each color).
Once the pattern was traced and my colors were planned out, I used painter’s tape to tape off each section and painted one color at a time until the whole pattern was completed. It wasn’t actually as much work as I thought it would be, but it did take a bit of time to complete since I had to wait for each color to dry before doing a second coat or painting a color right next to it. Thankfully, I had a big fan pointed at it, so that helped speed up the drying time.
Once the paint was dry, I added wire hangers to the back of the frames so I could easily hang them above the bed.
So far I’m really into the pop of color that the new headboard adds to the space. It definitely adds more personality and life to the room, and I love the fact that it really looks like overlapping transparent shapes. I’m trying to plan out my other pops of color to add to the room, but I think I’m on a good path so far! xo. Laura
Credits // Author: Laura Gummerman. Photography: Laura Gummerman and Sarah Rhodes. Project Assistant: Josh Rhodes. Photos edited with Stella from The Signature Collection.
What an incredible idea. I am going to try this myself.
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This is rad! Incredibly cool idea and result!
Could you provide a copy of the design you used?
Great project! Where did you find a projector?! I NEED one! Did you borrow or buy it?
Hi Laura,
This color pallet is gorgeous! Would you be willing to share the paint colors you used?
Thanks so much! : )
Ashley
So impressed! Ahh I wish I had a backyard or garage for these kind of projects!
Soooo beautiful! Congrats!
That’s just unbelievably beautiful! Great job!
Love, Lily
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I love this color scheme!! And this DIY project looks like hundreds were spent to get this sort of statement art piece. I love it. So fab 🙂 xo
I love this project and it turned out beautifully! AND what great use for an overhead projector! LOL – honestly though, how often do you really get to use it?
-Rebecca
Idealism never goes out of fashion
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I’m in love with this! Seems like a lot of work though http://sadityinthecity.com
This came out awesome! I totally want to give this a try!
Laura always does the best projects! She’s great! I love everything she does. Most of her projects are difficult but in the end they always turn out perfect!
wow, that is impressive!! You are making me want to buy an over head projector and go to town on artsy crafts ha ha!!
Wauw, you have so many beautiful DIY’S.
I’d like to do most of them myself, but sometimes it is just too expensive.
But you keep me inspired <3
You could add a few throw pillows in fresh colours, or maybe find a way to display colourful clothing pieces or jewellery? I´m a big fan of using stuff that´s actually needed in the room in a way that also works decoratively
I love this! Could you share the brand/names of the colors you chose?
Hi Laura!
Random question, but do you happen to remember where you got your curtains? I love charcoal. 🙂 TY!
This looks really cool! I didn’t expect it to be painted since it looks like the colors overlap perfectly.
This is absolutely beautiful! SO much talent!
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