Orchids and Sunshine

I finally got to use a technique on the walls of my girls' room that I've been waiting for years to use!  The color choices were my daughters', Ace Hardware Latex Satin in Sunny Day, Straw, and I forget the orchid color's name.  I've been excited to try the pinstriping technique. 

I took a long level and used it as a guide for the stripes.  I was going for a handpainted look, and did not measure the distance between the individual stripes.  After penciling one line (I had to move the level down the wall to continue the entire height) I just moved the level along the wall, spacing randomly.  I liked the look I got from grouping the pinstripes together, separated by larger empty spaces.

For the painted part, I used only the pencil lines as guides.  I also used a small pointed brush to apply the paint.  I had to reload the brush a couple times to paint each line.  I think this really enhanced the hand painted look.  I have a photo here to show the way I held the brush.  I think this gave me the most control, and kept the waviness to a minimum.  I wanted some waves, but not to the extent that it looked like I'd had a "couple" before I started this project.  While holding the brush this way, I twisted it in my fingers a bit, to use more of the paint on the brush, and add to the look.

My older daughter wanted the orchid walls to face each other.  I painted stripes only on one of the two yellow walls.  It is the wall you see as you walk in to the room, directly across from the door.  This makes no question as to the focal point of the room, where the heads of both beds are.

This could be done with just about any combination of colors you can think of.  I used 2 colors from the same paint chip, with only one step between them.  It would look great with a darker color as well.  I could have also used a more orangy color, or even the orchid from the other wall.  Lots of ways this can be done.  Have fun!