patterned paint roller tutorial (Not Wallpaper).

i had the awesome privilege of working with Not Wallpaper (a shop that sells patterned paint rollers) to decorate my entrance wall.  i knew i wanted something that looked like wallpaper with a fun pattern but didn’t really want to spend the money or time actually wallpapering it.  this was the perfect solution, because it is just paint and can easily be changed whenever i want it to be.  i was leery of how perfectly straight i would have to be or how difficult the overall process would be, but was pleasantly surprised with the outcome.

here’s what i learned from doing the patterned paint roller process:

1.  Paint your wall in a FLAT paint–i used a beige/cream “oops” paint from Lowes.  i ended up really liking that it wasn’t a big contrast to the ceiling wall, because the unpatterned section at the top of the wall blends a little better in my opinion (more on that later).

2.  Tape a large section of the ceiling and the baseboards as well as the light switch plugs.  you can just roll right over the light switches this way and keep the pattern going seamlessly.

3.  Practice with the roller (a lot) before actually using it on your wall.  i practiced on a wall i was going to paint later anyway and it helped me get the feel for the roller (must hold at a 45 degree angle) and also made sure the pattern was going the right direction, etc.

4.  Starting on the straight edge side of the wall (not the stair side), i made sure the roller was in the + position (i has a + and and arrow on the side of the roller) and then rolled slowly straight down to the baseboard.  for the next section, make sure the roller is in the arrow position.  this alternating pattern will keep your design looking like a wallpaper pattern.  also, be very certain that you are overlapping the sections so that there is no space in between lines.  there will be a section at the top that your roller cannot reach, again, keeping the base color similar to the ceiling color helps that blend in better.

5.  When you get to the edge of the other wall and there is not enough room for a full roller length, let the rest of the wall dry completely and then cover it with newspaper.  now, you can roll a full roller’s length by rolling on top of the newspaper and getting the extra part of the wall as well.  don’t try to squeeze the edge of the roller on those spots as it will smear and look bad (i speak from experience).

other tips:

*the roller and the paint sponge HAVE TO BE almost frictionless when rolling together so you have to stretch/bend the top of the metal part of the roller-holder until that happens.  it was a bit trial and error for me and why practicing on a different wall helped me get that worked out well.  if it is not frictionless, the pattern will smear.

*mine is not perfectly straight or perfectly unsmeared, but if you keep alternating the + and arrow positions, you can get a pretty good look even with little imperfections.  the pattern is so busy that your eye doesn’t catch them.

*keeping the colors slightly close to the same hue/brightness may also help with hiding imperfections.

*for easiest application, choose a wall with no small sections.  an open, rectangular wall would be the easiest to paint.  next time, i won’t choose one under the stair rail!

i’m excited to try this patterned paint roller on some furniture soon!

check out all of the pretty patterned rollers that Not Wallpaper has to offer!

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