Paint your base color for the stripes It’s a good idea to paint the lighter color first. It’s easier to paint a darker color over a lighter color than the other way around. Use Frog Tape to tape off your baseboards and molding and paint your first coat. We like to use paint with the primer added in because it saves a step or two.

Mark off stripes and adhere Frog Tape to the wall It’s important to remember that not all stripes are created equal. You will want to vary the width of your stripes. On our project the white stripes were 6.5″ and our gray stripes were 7″. This creates an optical illusion and gives the stripes depth.

You want to remember to tape inside the pencil markings for the white stripes and outside the pencil markings for the gray stripe. A good tip is to add a piece of tape on the stripes you don’t want to paint. Make sure the tape is scored to prevent the paint from seeping through.

Paint your second coat Here’s the stripes painted gray. When you pick your darker paint color, always go a shade lighter than you planned. Any paint against a white stripe will appear darker.

As soon as you apply the second coat, remove the Frog Tape immediately.