A Renter-Friendly Paint Hack Transforms This “Dull and Cold” Dining Room
ABOUT THIS BEFORE & AFTER
HOME TYPE: Apartment
PROJECT TYPE: Dining Room
STYLE: Bohemian
SKILL LEVEL: DIY
RENTAL FRIENDLY: Yes
When decorating your space as a renter, you have to get creative. From light covers to stick-on tiles, there are plenty of options. But there’s a tried-and-true renter’s friend that always makes a big impact: paint.
Sarah Brazier (@thatruralhome) took the paint route for a dining room makeover in her rental. The previous tenants had painted everything a neutral white/cream shade. “The space felt dull and cold,” Sarah says. “[It was] definitely not to my taste, but did provide a blank canvas to work with.”
There is one highlight in the dining room that Sarah was excited about, though. “My favorite part about the space is that the window has a view onto the garden and is a lovely place to sit at the table and have breakfast,” she says. Sarah planned to use painted stripes to bring attention to the window and create a unique dining space.
Measure twice, tape once.
“I knew I wanted more stripes in this house, as we had previously done them, and I loved the effect they make,” Sarah says. She was excited for the opportunity to bring stripes to the ceiling in this rental, something she’d never done before. “Ceilings do not need to be white!” she says. The stripes also help define the dining room area. “I wanted to create a zone so it felt separate [from] the cooking space,” Sarah explains.
She and her partner, Jake, measured and taped where to paint the stripes along the dining room’s back wall and onto the ceiling. “The most important thing to do was measure — twice, in fact,” Sarah says. “The preparation is the time-consuming part.”
Creating even stripes was the most challenging part of the project, according to Sarah. “We did use a laser level for this project, which most certainly helped!” she says. “[It] was a first for me, but it did make the whole process much easier and gave an accurate line.” She also used FrogTape to get those ultra-crisp edges.
Use “quality paint” for the best results.
Sarah and Jake had to paint the design once the stripes were taped on the walls. But it’s not as simple as one swipe of your chosen color. “The secret is to paint just over the FrogTape with the base color first; this seals the tape and avoids any bleeding!” Sarah says. They used V&CO paint, color-matched to Lick’s White 05, as the base hue.
After the base dried, Sarah and Jake painted the stripes in Valspar paint color-matched to Lick’s Yellow 02. “Don’t be afraid to go bold, as you can always paint it again if you don’t like it,” she says.
Sarah’s tip for keeping your lines crisp is to pull up the tape earlier than you might expect. “Once you have painted your stripes in your chosen color, it is best to remove the tape while still wet to avoid pulling any of the paint away,” she says.
For anyone also attempting ceiling paint, Sarah warns it can wear on you. “The hardest part was doing the stripes on the ceiling; it can hurt your neck a little!” she says. But it was worth the effort for Sarah — especially considering the project came in at a total cost of £84 (or $111 USD). “I am absolutely thrilled with the finished result and get so many compliments on the stripes,” she says.
Sarah completed the room with a table from Pipe Dream furniture, a Dunelm dining bench, as well as colorful decor and plants. “It is now a fun room to be in, and we can’t help but smile when in there!” she says.
Inspired? Submit your own project here.
Further Reading
We Tested (and Rated!) All the Sofas at Ashley — Here Are the Best to Suit Your Style and Space
I Just Discovered the Smartest Way to Store Paper Towels in Your Kitchen (It’s a Game-Changer!)
We Tested (and Rated!) All the Sofas at Pottery Barn — Here Are the Best for Every Type of Need
