How to Paint Chevron Stripes

Chevron strips are all the rage right now. Well they were when I came up with this idea, but the time I executed it, who knows. My mind tends to work that way; think ahead but wait a long time to put it in to action. I definitely put the pro in procrastination.

I love chevron. Anything I can get in chevron stripes, I will be a happy camper. So naturally when repainting my room and redoing Olivia's room I wanted to add chevron on the wall. It makes a big impact I believe in my opinion.

After searching for DIY instructions on many different websites, I couldn't find one with the dimensions I needed. I wanted my chevron strips long and a little bit flatter. Rather then tight together and pokey, if that makes sense! So here is my simple, not so simple to explain instructions.

First, figure out your measurements. I knew I wanted them longer so I figured out what distance between the peaks would be best and how thick I wanted them. The diagram below shows my measurements. 27" between peaks and 9" thickness.

Next find the middle of your wall. On my bedroom walls I wanted them to go to the floor so I started at the top of my wall, right in the middle. For Olivia's, we were only going 2/3 the way up the wall so I found the bottom, center, so that the stripes would land perfectly at the bottom.

In the middle of your wall, make a mark. That is where you first, top peak will be. Measure 9" down from that and that is where the bottom of that chevron will be.

From there, center of your wall measure 13 1/2" over on each side and then 4 1/2" down from there. That is where the down peaks will be, so measure down 4 1/2" down from 13 1/2" marks.
(27/2=13 1/2 :: 9/2=4 1/2)

From there, continue that on each side of your wall. The first stripe will be the hardest so be patient with this one.

From there, you will continue to measure down 9" from each peak. You can either make all your markings at once, or do one stripe and tape and then continue. I recommend doing all your marks at once so your tape does not throw you off.

Once all markings are made, start taping! Be sure to know what stripes are going to be what color so you account for the tape. You want them to all be the same size so make sure your tape is placed properly.

Once taped, take a razor blade and ruler and cut your tape where the corners intersect. To save you time you only have to cut the edges on the inside of the stripes that will be painted a different color.

Once you are all taped, seal your edges. Which is the most simple, most revolutionary thing for stripes. Take your wall color and paint over the tape to seal the tape, that way your stripe color cannot seep under the tape.

Once that is dry, start painting your stripes. I had to do two coats, so once your second is painted take your tape off while the paint is still wet.

Step back and enjoy your work!