Operation Ombre: Turquoise dip dyed wall treatment.

How to Paint Ombre Walls

I’ve been itching to get back to using my paintbrush and started with gorgeous painted ombre walls. I’ve been working at my friend Nikki’s house for a few weeks now concentrating on her three kids bedrooms. In  her daughter Cate’s bathroom we were going for a dip dyed ombré effect that matched the color of the upholstered headboard in the adjoining bedroom. I have painted ombre furniture before but never an entire room. This painting technique is not for beginners. If you’re trying this for the first time i’d practice on a board or a small wall for starters.  You’ll need to work quickly within the drying time.

Paint Supplies

3 sample testers of paint- I used  Benjamin Moore Eggshell Finish Blue Flower 2057-60, Ash Blue 2057-40 and Galapagos Turquoise 2057-20, 3 large bristle brushes, painters tape ( I prefer the orange core 3M 1  1/2 “) ,  three paint trays and 4” rollers and covers, latex painters glaze, two extra jars to mix the in between colors, and a ruler.

When picking out my paint colors I skipped every other one. I knew that I would have enough paint and glaze to mix the colors in between giving me five gradiated colors.

Prepping For Paint

After I taped off the entire bathroom, I measured the height of the walls from the ceiling to the floor. The height of the room was 104 inches. I divided that by five (one for each of my colors) and that gave me just over 20 inches for each band of color. On the nearby window moulding I put pieces of tape every 20 inches so that I would know where to start blending from color to color. Do not put pencil marks on the wall. They will show thru the glazed colors.

This technique takes organization

Before I started, I mixed all my paints. I blended one part paint with one part glaze. I started with the lightest color Benjamin Moore Blue Flower 2057-60.  Whenever painting faux finishes always start at the top and work down. Using the roller I rolled the colored glaze vertically making sure that the the color went beyond my tape mark. I painted the entire top band of the bathroom with the lightest color. I then moved down to the next darker color. Again applying the paint in a vertical motion. As I came to the light color above I let up on the roller pressure letting the paint fade into the adjoining color.  After painting the second color I  used a wide brush and blended the two colors together removing any roller marks. make sure the paint is still wet when you do this.

Painting Tips and Tricks

If you find that the paint/glaze mixture is not wet enough to blend, let it dry and use your brush to blend the colors by dipping in your paint trays. Never apply more paint to a surface that is not fully dry. It will remove the paint down to the wall color. Be patient and let dry before touch ups or second coats. Painting ombre walls is tricky!

Continue the same method for the remaining darker colors until you finish at the bottom with your darkest color. Let dry before you take the tape off. Remove tape away from your painted surface slowly for a clean crisp edge.

Remember this is a hand painted effect and slight imperfections add to it beauty.  A true tie dye has light and dark spots and there isn’t a perfectly horizontal line delineating the color breaks. This gives it its drippy look.

 The final look

The best part is when you can step back and appreciate all your hard work. This job took me just over 6 hours to paint these ombre walls. I just love the way it came out and I can’t wait to try this in other colors. Another painting project finished!  If you love turquoise then you’ll love my painted chevron stripes!  Phew. xoxox Amie

Details of the hand painted French inspired picture frame moulding.