How to Decorate Walls With Horizontal Stripes

Move furniture away from the walls or, if possible, out of the room entirely. Remove anything on the wall, including brackets holding up shelves and pictures. Caulk holes and brush away speckles, dust or anything that may interfere with the look of the stripes.

Paint the entire wall the first chosen color and let dry. It’s best to use your lighter color first, if you are doing light and dark stripes such as black and white.

Stretch a roll of painter's tape from the left to right side of the wall. A laser level or tape measure is helpful to keep the lines even. A spotter in the room, standing back against the opposite wall, can also guide you so the lines will be even.

Add a second line of tape a couple of inches below the first, or however far down you would like the stripe to go. The further apart the two pieces of tape are, the thicker your horizontal stripe will be.

Work your way down the wall, adding lengths of tape from left to right. Drag a ruler or even a windshield scraper along the length of tape to make sure it – especially the edges – adheres firmly to the wall.

Mark every other stripe with a pencil by writing an “X” on that stripe of the wall. Don’t worry about the pencil mark -- the paint will go right over it. This is optional; you can just paint every other stripe without marking it if desired.

Dip the paintbrush or roller into the paint and apply paint to the highest stripe on the wall, painting directly over the tape. Do not paint into the stripe above or below; the tape is your buffer zone. Work your way from the left part of the stripe to the right, moving from side to side on the wall.

Work your way down the wall to avoid pressing up against the wet paint with your clothes. Let the paint dry, then peel off the tape to reveal your stripes.