Easy tutorial on How To Paint Chevron Stripes: Black, White & Turquoise

Simple Chevron Pattern Tutorial

Painting a statement focal wall in a bedroom is easier than you think! I’d love to share my step by step tutorial on how-to paint black, white, and turquoise chevron stripes in just one day. 

Chevron stripes have been popular for a while now but combining them with turquoise, black and white is on trend! Black and white graphics are becoming ever more popular these days in clothing and home decor.  Therefore, I couldn’t think of a better way than to paint a wall in a tween room makeover.  If you’ve been watching my stories on Instagram lately then you’ve seen a glimpse behind the scene of my painting methods, but those stories disappear in 24 hours and I can’t tell you how many questions I’ve been answering. Here’s a very simple how-to tutorial to guide you thru this 18 foot by 8 foot wall that took me just under 7 hours to complete. It’s a bit trickier than the modern painted  horizontal stripes that I posted earlier this Summer or the ombre turquoise bathroom walls 

Painting Supplies

What you need to paint wall stripes 

Paint the wall one of the colors that the stripes will be at least two days before you stripe. 48 hours is a safe time period to have the paint cure to the wall so that when you remove your painter’s tape it does not remove the paint.

You will need a ruler, level, a variety of sizes of brushes, painter’s tape, pencil, a screwdriver to remove any switch plates, a small roller, water bucket, and drop cloths.  We painted the wall a crisp bright white and are striping with Sherwin Williams Tricorn Black and single stripe of SW 6767 Tame Teal as an accent. We also painted the other three walls in the room Tame Teal.  With all three colors we chose the Emerald line of paint which has the best coverage.

Paint Tip: Quality paints give you better coverage thus less times to have to recoat. All this adds up to a better and faster painting job. 

Oh, There’s Math Involved

Before any paint is applied I needed to figure out the math part.  We decided on 9 inch stripes. A traditional chevron is based on a 2/3 ratio.  So with the 9 inch stripes the distance between the points would be 12.  If we would want 10 inch stripes I would make the distance 15 inches apart and so on.  I find the center of the wall and with my ruler starting from the bottom base moulding I mark a small pencil dot every 9 inches on the wall all the way up to the ceiling. Once that row of dots is done I moved 12 inches to the right and proceeded to pencil another row of dots 9 inches apart until I made a pencil grid across my entire wall. I always figure out my design on paper first before I start marking up my wall.

I then connected the dots starting from my first dot and went up and to the right and then down and to the right with my pencil lines.

Tips and tricks to painting stripes

Using my painter’s tape I taped just outside the pencil line so that when I paint the black it covers the lines. I run my finger across the tape edge to make sure it is sealed tight against the wall so minimum bleeding occurs. Sometimes if the wall is porous I run a quick line of the base paint so if there is bleeding, it’s the wall base color.

Double Check your Work

Continue until the entire wall is complete. I place a small piece of tape where I need to paint so that I don’t get confused. Keep in mind that these stripes look uneven but the tape is covering the base white color. All the stripes are 9 inches wide.

I prefer a 6 inch roller so that I can maneuver better in the small spaces. If your stripes are thinner consider a 4 inch roller cover. The roller set and tray combos are affordable. The smaller trays are also easier to hold when you’re up on a ladder. 

You might need to give the black stripes three coats to make sure it is completely opaque. I use a small brush for the tight spaces.

Remove the tape slowly and away from the painted surface. Touch up any bleeded areas with a small brush.

The Big Reveal

Let dry for 12-24 hours before putting any art or drapery on the walls. This is the view once you come up the stairs. What a focal wall!  It’s super dramatic and eye catching. I will be adding an image once the new bedding and accessories are in! Thanks for stopping and let me know if I can answer any questions!

Can’t get enough of black and white? Follow my latest picks on my Pinterest board BLACK, WHITE AND GORGEOUS ALL OVER!  for tons of eye candy.  

Happy painting!  xoxo Amie

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