Painting a Straight Line

I know I haven't updated for a while – I have not fallen off the grid, I have fallen back into New Jersey!

This past Monday, Sienna (my doggy) and I took a road trip back home for a few weeks. And after a 8-hour car ride it felt good to be home! 

Within 24 hours, I was already back in the car finding my way down the shore and have been enjoying time away from my computer!

It has seems natural disasters have become the norm here. We got an east coast earthquake last week, and now we are bracing for Hurricane Irene - which has already ruined my Phillies game my friends and I were supposed to go to tomorrow! :(

But don't fret, I have a great tip to share!

So for some reason, the day before I left for Jersey, I felt the need to repaint our dining room.  A few months ago, I painted a dark blue with a purple accent wall.  It was a complete lapse of judgement, and needed to be fixed!  

Those accent walls are difficult to paint because it is so hard to get a straight line where the two colors meet.

Before I began, I looked for any tip on how to make that line straight without any color bleeding under the tape and found the most useful tip - I need to share it! 

 It is kind of confusing, but I will do my best to explain step by step:

1. Tape off the walls surrounding the accent wall. I used frog tape which works very well. I am painting over the purple wall, so I taped the dark blue walls on both sides, and the ceiling, and trim under it.

2. Then, you need to carry over the existing colors of what you just taped on. So, I painted over the tape with the 2 blue walls, and white on the ceiling and trim. 

 The picture might make more sense. 

 (The first color applied is what will bleed under the tape, and it's okay because it will match what is already there.)

 3. You need to let it dry completely! Then proceed with your intended new color. I applied 2 coats of our new gray-blue and let each layer dry before going over it again.

 4. Let it dry all the way before peeling off the tape, and it should leave a straight line!   

 So here is our newly painted dining room!

Honestly, I was very skeptical of this process, but it actually worked!!! 

I was more happy than I should be!

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I picked these colors because I was inspired by Carrie Bradshaw's new apartment in the Sex and the City Movie.  I looove the blue with white trim!

http://charlesandhudson.com/archives/2008/06/carries_sex_the_city_apartment_makeover.htm