You guys know I love my white walls. Almost our ENTIRE home is painted white. And I love it. I even recently went BACK to white on a couple spaces I haven’t shown you because I couldn’t handle the darker tones. With that said, today I am branching out… WAY OUT.
Today I’m so excited to share a rainbow accent wall that we put into a spare bedroom to make it into a creative space. I have always wanted a rainbow wall, and it’s finally happened!
We partnered with Chalk Paint decorative paint by Annie Sloan to create this accent wall and loved working with their product! This paint has a beautiful matte finish and dries darker than it appears. When I first saw the paints shown here, I thought the colors were wrong compared to the swatches, but don’t worry—it dries darker.
Here’s how I planned out my wall—
I cut apart the Annie Sloan swatches to see how the colors would look together. These are all their pre-mixed colors by the way. I was extremely happy with the selection for a rainbow. The colors mix so well together. I knew as soon as I saw them laid out like this that it was going to work!
Next, I chose the design. You can see above I chose between two designs. Ultimately I felt like the vertical lines were going to be less busy and easier to decorate a room around. So I went that route. The only thing that would have been cooler about the diagonal lines is that you’d be able to see more colors in a frame. I definitely think about my rooms in photo terms, since I love to take photos in our home.
Maybe one of you will try the option I didn’t choose so I can see how that would look as well?? The colors I used (from left to right) were Henrietta, Antoinette, Barcelona Orange, Arles, English Yellow, Antibes Green, Provence and one of their newest colors, Giverny. If you’re looking for these colors or others, you can use this link to find a stockist near you!
Supplies:
-paint brush or mini paint roller
-painter’s tape (We used frog tape and would highly recommend it for super clean edges!)
-measuring tape or ruler
Step One: Start by measuring the length of your wall. Then, figure out how many colors you’re going to be using and divide the length of your wall into however many colors you have so that each color is an equal size. For example, our wall was 144″ and we used 8 colors. 144 divided by 8 is 18, so we knew to mark our walls every 18″.
Step Two: To get your lines perfectly straight up and down your wall, get a measuring tape (or a ruler is easier!) and measure 18″ from the top of one side of your wall and mark little 1/2″ lines every 6″ or so all the way down the wall. Continue this process over the entire wall until completed. Now you have a guideline for your tape! Next take your painter’s tape and tape off every other color using your pencil marks to get a perfectly straight line.
Step Three: Paint those colors doing as many coats as needed until your surface is completely covered. (It’s very important to make sure you have enough coats so you don’t have to fix it later!)
Steps Four-Five: Let dry completely for 1 to 2 hours, and then it’s time to peel off your tape and repeat the process with the remaining colors.
I’m so so so so (!!!!) excited about this space. Since my sunroom isn’t winterized, I am planning to move my painting studio here for the winter. There’s nothing better than a bright, colorful space to get creative in.
Woohoo!! I am so so excited to settle into this space and make some art!
What do you think? Do you have a space in your home for a rainbow or color blocked wall? xx -Elsie
Credits//Author: Elsie Larson. Project Assistant: Collin DuPree. Photography: Elsie Larson, Collin DuPree, Laura Gummerman, and Jeremy Larson (haha—that really was a group effort!).
This is the greatest idea, I love the colours you chose for the rainbow. What a fantastic idea for my niece, I am going to have to show this to my sister!
The things you do are GORGEOUS!!
Love, love love your wall!!!! So cheery!!! I plan on painting a wall in my home, I wonder do you have wax the wall for the final step?
Omgosh yes. If I have a kid one day, I want this rainbow wall in his/her room.
I love Annie Sloan chalk paint! It covers furniture and everything else perfectly. One fun new product you should check out (if you already have done so, sorry, I just found your blog today) that works GREAT with chalk paint or alone on wood, glass, metal, pottery, fabric, canvas, etc. is Unicorn SPiT colored gel stain. Completely non-toxic and an amazing product. Go to UnicornSPiT.com and look up information for days about how this is growing across the nation and globally.
That’s so bold! I would never consider doing a rainbow accent wall in my house- especially not by myself!
But it looks great- and you’re right, sometimes creativity is inspired by color.
Thanks for sharing!
It looks awesome! I would love to have this in my home <3
Wow! What a statement. I love it.
This is so cute, Els!!!
Carrie
www.wearwherewell.com
I would never have thought to do this, and will never be brave enough to, but I’m so impressed! It looks fantastic and not juvenile at all!
Yeah- I kind of just went with my visual instincts on that one. :))
xx- Elsie
This wall would make anyone happy!! So brilliant
Painting is so so daunting to me, but I think this would be worth it. It looks amazing!
Jamie
www.sweetteasalvage.com
It looks so pretty 🙂
I just love this! A rainbow wall could easily be too much if it wasn’t done right, but this is perfect for a creative space. Such a great idea.
But, but…it’s not in rainbow order. ROY B GIV forever! 🙂 It is very cheery, and will feel nice in the middle of winter.
That wall is gorgeous! It’s an awesome idea! When I saw the first picture I thought it would look great in a kid’s room because it’s fun and not gender specific. But having an office with that wall would be amazing as well, to boost creativity and inspiration.
I love the idea!
https://www.makeandmess.com/
Oh my God, pretty! I love how the bold accents can still blend in with the whole decor.
Man, I can’t wait to buy a house one day so I can paint without having to worry about painting it back to white upon move out! Rental woes!!