Painting Horizontal Stripes on a Wall to Make a Room Look Bigger

Pick a paint for the stripes that coordinates with the paint that is already on the wall and the decor in the room.

Measure the amount of space between any molding on the ceiling and the baseboards with a measuring tape. Generally, stripes that run horizontally create the greatest impact if they are one foot wide or larger.

Divide the total inches by the number of stripes you want on the wall. For, instance if the wall is 120 inches tall and you want to use stripes that are 12 inches, you can incorporate up to 10 stripes.

Using a tape measure and chalk, mark the wall to indicate the limits of the stripes.

Apply the tape across the width of the wall to create the stripe pattern. Use a carpenter's level to ensure the tape is even on each end and in the middle. Painter's tape is ideal because it does not pull off any existing paint the way other tapes might. Painting inside the tape creates the horizontal stripes.

Stir the paint well and pour about 2 or 3 cups in the paint tray. Use a roller brush or paint brush to fill in the area between the tape strips with the paint. Wait for the horizontal stripe to dry thoroughly before removing the tape. Repeat this on all the horizontal stripes.