ACCENT WALL- SPONGE PAINTING
BEFORE
WHITE WALLS ONLY
I needed to brighten our primary bathroom, but I was not ready to tackle the entire project. So, I started with the toilet room. It was builder-grade brown paint, with a horrible light/fan, and no natural light. I painted the room white (I chose Benjamin Moore- White Dove). Oh my goodness it did wonders! However, we have pretty high ceilings and it looked too bleak in there with just white walls.
A DIY project popped into my head- what if I painted some kind of pattern onto the walls to liven it up?? Full disclosure, I had already started a stencil painting project in another bathroom and it was SO time consuming I did not want to do that in another space. Also, I really did not want to spend money on this project because…well, it’s a toilet room. And I thought, how about sponge painting? I saw a few projects on Instagram and decided my own version! (This tiny space is impossible to photography by the way, so excuse the lack of photos or videos of my process.)
Here are the materials I used:
Kitchen sponge (2 pack)
Roll of painter’s tape
Pint of paint or a sample size can of paint (I had a pint of Benjamin Moore- Oynx, from another project on hand. This did not require a lot of paint whatsoever).
Here is the process I used:
I practiced on a big piece of cardboard and I highly suggest this step if you are going to try a project like this! I taped off a few squares with painter’s tape on the cardboard. I tried a few different sized squares to see which spacing I liked. I also used this as an opportunity to test the amount of paint you want on the sponge and how hard to press on the wall.
I ended up taping off 7 in. by 7 in. squares with painter’s tape. I started with a piece of tape around the top trim and made my way down the wall from there. I used a level to ensure that each line was straight all the way across. **Note- When you are coming up with the measurements for your pattern, make sure you measure the total width of the walls around the room and make adjustments from there. For example, if I had done 7 in. squares all the way around the room, at one corner there would have been a 4 in. wide square left after going all the way around, which would have looked odd because it would be in the corner next to a full square. To account for this, I made each square on the wall behind the door (my last wall going around the room) 1/2 in. wider (so the squares on that wall are 7 in. high by 7 1/2 in. wide) and the slight difference made up for the 4 in. extra space and because I spread it out over several squares. And luckily, the slight difference in spacing is not noticeable.
I used a paper plate with a little bit of paint. I dipped the sponge in the paint and blotted it on a paper towel to remove any excess paint. Since I did the three stripes of paint freehand in the squares (I did not measure the stripes or mark where they should go within the square), on each wall or section I chose to do all horizontal stripes at a time because I got into a rhythm and it seemed to work out better that way. Then, I went back and did the vertical stripes, again getting in a rhythm of spacing and placement. For the smaller squares around the bottom of the wall or the door, I cut the second sponge and used a smaller piece to complete the pattern. I made a few small touch ups at the end, but once you pull off the tape and the whole pattern is done, your eye does not notice the little imperfections in the overall pattern.
I pulled off the painter’s tape, and voila! I. Love. It. And it was a simple project. And the project cost less than $15.
