Thursday, May 27, 2010

Teddy's Argyle Room


After being completed for nearly a year, I am finally getting around to blogging Teddy's nursery. His bedding is Pottery Barn Kids Monkeys and I thought long and hard about what painting treatment for the walls would work to compliment the decor . I thought about polka dots or stripes or just painting the walls blue and being done with it. In the end, I decided to go with a funky argyle!

I was inspired by this scrapbook paper by We R Memory Keepers. I believe the line is is called White Out and this paper specifically might be Explore Argyle. I had already used this line of paper to make a magnet board for Teddy's room and I had already done a harlequin diamond room for my daughter a couple of years back. So, I thought 'what the heak' and decided to give it a go.

First, with my awesome sister-in-law Shannon's invaluable assistance, we painted the entire room blue. Had I thought it through more, I would not have painted the argyle wall blue, cause almost all of it got covered in a different color! To make a diamond wall you will need: measuring tape, level, straight edge, and a lot of painter's tape. I started by deciding the size of my diamond. These are 14" wide and 28" tall. I eyeballed where I wanted my center row and marked out every 14" using a level. Then 14" above those marks, I marked out every 14", but in the middle of the last marks, and then I did that below the first set as well. To keep from getting confused and to make sure I was near the mark, I had a diamond template made from a sheet of packing paper. I just kind of stuck it on the wall every now and then to make sure I wasn't deviating from the plan. Since two points determine a line (Yes!! When your kids ask 'When will I ever need to know this stuff I'm learning in math and geometry,' you can tell them about this project), once I had a few of the markings up, we started drawing lines with a straight edge. This way, you don't have to measure out the WHOLE wall. It can get a little tough at the edges since you won't have the space to make all the measurements. Luckily we had my brother-in-law Adam with us who is a mathlete. He was able to figure out a system involving making sure the angles of the little top and bottom diamonds were correct. Even if you don't have a mathlete around, with a little patience and perseverance you should be able to do it!

Next you will need a lot of painter's tape and a steady hand. We started by taping off the brown diamond. You have to do this in two or three stages, because you can't paint diamonds that are touching each other at the same time. So you will tape the first, third, fifth, and so on, and paint them. Wait for them to dry, paint the second coat, repeat until they are coated as you like, then take the tape off and tape off the second, fourth, and sixth diamond. When all the browns were done we went to oranges and so on. From the scrapbook paper I chose a section that was as many diamonds across and high as I had in my room. I cut it out and used it for reference in placing my colors.

After we had all of the diamonds painted, it was time to paint the argyle cross hatching. I wanted to stay true to the funky scrapbook paper which had the lines going from skinny to thick and crossing anywhere in the diamond, not necessarily the middle. We thought and thought about the best way to go about it and finally with a little sadness in our hearts decided that more painters tape was the best option.

We simply applied one piece of tape keeping the same angle as the diamonds and then put up another really close to the first one. But with the second piece of tape we placed it closer in some sections and further away in others. You do all of the lines in one direction first, making sure to coat it as many times as necessary before removing the tape. Make sure it is good and dry, and then repeat the process in the opposite direction.

You may notice that some of the tape looks like it has paint where it shouldn't be. I think we went through about 7 rolls of tape and ran out in the middle of the night. So we reused some of the tape from the first set of lines to do the second set of lines. It worked, but I don't think it is a step I would have taken if it wasn't necessary.

And here it is finished. I took us about 40 woman hours to complete. Whew!! A couple tips: for all of the colors except the light blue, I used acrylic craft paint...but I wouldn't do that again! I didn't realize that Lowe's paint samples come in satin finish, which is the finish of the light blue paint. I would suggest using that. It would have covered better and been the same price and had the finish that I wanted. If you want a flat finish, Home Depot's sample paint comes in flat. To do the lines, the thin painters tape works best. We also had a couple of fans blowing in the room to speed up the drying time. Also, do not attempt this project if you do not have patience. If you are the type that wants to start and finish a project in one day, this isn't for you! Because of a mistake with the orange paint color (it was too red, so we had to retape and paint all of the orange diamonds again) ... where the white cross hatch meets in the middle of the orange diamonds, there is 17 coats of paint!! So, this project really demands patience. And lastly, having an assistant to work with you is mandatory. It is so helpful to have another pair of hands, another brain to bounce ideas off of, and a great girl friend to chat with to help pass the time. Thanks Shannon, you are the best!!

Ahh...and the completed room. There is Teddy's name on the wall. I got the paper mache letters from JoAnn's and modge podged the coordinating paper on.


This is Teddy's monkey collection and my Where The Wild Things Are figures by McFarlane that my husband bought for me for my birthday one year.

And this is the message board that started the whole thing. This paper was perfect for the colors of the bedding I had chosen. I just love orange for boys! The monkey faces are vinyl rub ons. And you can kind of see Teddy's invitation for his first birthday party. It was a monkey theme, of course!

The monkey rug was from Target.

On the wall between the argyle and the curtain, you can kind of see a frame that I made with the same paper and modge podge.

I simply love the way Teddy's room turned out! I love it so much I never want to change it...and to paint over that argyle would be criminal. So now I am on the look out for twin bedding that would match his wall and so far I have had no luck. I have about one more year before he will be growing out of his crib...so we'll see what happens.

Sharing my argyle love with: the CSI Project. This week is hardware store...and most of the supplies for my argyle wall were purchased at Home Depot. My main paint is Bahr and the supply that made it all possible...Blue Painters Tape!!

Visit thecsiproject.com


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40 comments:

Cheryl said...

That is amazing! I wouldn't ever paint over it either. You may just have to make coordinating bedding!

Simply Stafford said...

Wow, what a job! I love argyle! Looks super cute!

Beverly {Flamingo Toes} said...

This is so wonderful. I love the colors you used and it turned out amazing. Such a great focal point for the room.

Debra said...

Wow! What a cute room. The wall is really neat. The colors are great. Lucky boy!

Mandi@TidbitsfromtheTremaynes said...

Holy crap Stephanie that is.a.maz.ing. I love that! Have you seen that same pattern in material?? My favorite!!! Beautiful! I could go on and on!

Rebekah Lindenmayer said...

Great Jod! love the colors :)

asnipofgoodness said...

That looks like a ton of work, but so very worth it! Your lines are so crisp, and your colors are perfect, and I really love the final outcome! One of the really cool things about the argyle too, is that it is for any age! Terrific with a capital T for sure, LOVE it!

Thanks for sharing, and stopping by.

Sue@Uniquely Chic said...

That turned out awesome. Love all the colors in it. I also love the idea of mod podging the letters...nice!

Mrs T said...

WOW! You are one super crafty (and patient) mama! I hope that Teddy loves his room. I can see that paint treatment lasting til college.

way to go!

Melissa said...

HOnestly, this would be my dream bed room for my son! I LOVE LOVE argyle! It is honestly my favorite. Great job. I can't wait till we have a house so that I can do something like this!

Emily said...

hobby lobby carries that argyle in a fabric-i dont know if it matches exactly but it would be pretty darn close!

Unknown said...

I AM GOING BANANAS for this room. My sister would more so. She has nick named her baby monkey, and just threw him his monkey 1st b-day. She buys anything monkey. I ADORE HIS room love argyle and the color scheme. The floating shelves with all the sock monkeys and monkey animals is SO CUTE. JOB WELL DONE! Jenn

Katie Olthoff said...

Wow! That is one seriously amazing wall! I am so impressed by your patience!

Unknown said...

I am amazed by this!! I LOVE the argyle--and I completely understand the work it involves--I have a diamond pattern painted wall myself! (Actually, my hallway and half my kitchen) and when people ask about it I say "SAVE YOURSELF--DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS!!" I can't believe you did so many colors! But the effect is AWESOME!! Here's crazy for ya though--I hate blue painter's tape, so I handpainted all my diamonds! :0)

Stephanie Cameron said...

Thank you all for your super sweet comments!! They mean the world to me!

Homemade Heather said...

Love all of the monkeys!!! Totally recognized that paper - I have it too!!! LOL Thanks for visiting my blog - be sure to check out the pirate room that I did for my boys! Take care!

LindseyRockers said...

SHUT U.P.

that is one of the cutest things that i have ever seen! i am DEFINITELY going to be referring back to this when we have our first baby boy!

thanks so much for stopping by my blog... i am so happy because now i have found yours! i hope you'll come back and visit sometime and follow along if you like what you see!!!

i'm definitely a subscriber!
only b/c you dont have followers:)

Jane@Little House of Projects said...

Wow! What an ambitious project! When I first looked at the picture I thought the argyle was a purchased wall mural and that it was great. The fact that it's paint and that you did this yourself makes it fabulous.

Decor To Adore said...

Oh my goodness what a work of art! I adore it.

Homemade Heather said...

Thank you for the lemony idea! Going to use it for sure!!! Have a fabulous day!

THE GIFFORDS said...

I LOVE the room! My little boys would have this exact same room if it wasn't for the fact we live in an apartment and aren't allowed to paint. I got the matching argyle fabric at Hobby Lobby to make a bed spread. I ended up getting colors to match and made a argyle pattern and I'm going to accent the room with the argyle fabric.

Anj said...

FABULOUS!!! I love it!

Letsmakeitours said...

Wow that is beautiful! I love seeing original touches in kids rooms. Great job!

RedHeadedStepChild said...

Wow! I'm amazed at the attention to detail, it looks outstanding! It's one of my favorite boy rooms EVER!

www.thatredheadedstepchild.com

Heidi said...

That looks amazing! Great work.

Natalie@Endless Crafting said...

This is SO cool! I love argyle! The nice thing about argyle is it is classic so it will never go out of style! Super cute.

New follower!

Goings on at the Glenn's said...

I saw this and thought right away that I need to save this idea in my stash. I will HAVE to do this if we have another boy! I love it!

Brooke said...

I LOVE LOVE this nursery. Its hard to find well done nursery's that aren't too cheesy. This is perfect.

Julia said...

now, that is one awesome paint job! I have fabric that is just like that.

Jen @ tatertotsandjello.com said...

Those argyles just blow me away!

Thanks so much for linking up to The CSI Project's hardware Store Challenge! We hope you will come back next week for the Martha Stewart-inspired challenge -- The MS Craft Department are our guest judges!!!

XOXO
Jen

Jamielyn said...

This is such a cool wall, I LOVE IT! I totally want to do this now. I'll be featuring it tomorrow at iheartnaptime.blogspot.com!

Anonymous said...

I love argyle! This is amazing!

Em said...

Too cute! Love it!

Molly {Eeny Meeny & Moe} said...

Wow... I am really BLOWN AWAY by the argyle wall - that is amazing!

Sarah @ Hennessey House said...

wow. i am so impressed by your patience and precision!! i cannot even imagine how much time and work that took. but hey, it paid off, cause the walls looks outstanding.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for a great article that helped me to along the route, I am happy for all your hard work in looking into and writing this post

Anonymous said...

Outstanding challenge! I've been looking for matters nearly as exciting as that. Looking towards the following publish.

Amy MoMomma said...

This is exactly what I have been looking for my son's room! Would you be willing to email me the colors you used? mrsmomomma (at) aol (dot) com? This looks fantastic!

Two Monkeys Cakery said...

I started to make this pattern on power point before I saw it on your blog, and then all the stuff i had in my head was all of a sudden so clear!! if you could email me the Behr paint colors you used, I would greatly appreciate it....rs2h@yahoo.com - thanks so much...you're an inspiration :)

Unknown said...

So cute and adorable, I have to incorporate this is my soon to be sons room, you have inspired me.!!!