Painted Wall Design on a Budget

Wallpaper is a design feature that can instantly transform any space but it can quickly add up in price if you’re not careful. If you have fallen in love with a wallpaper but it doesn’t fit the budget then you can consider doing a painted wall design yourself!

Not too long ago, I was living in a house that was 3000 sqft of wallpaper. I mean Every. Single. Room. Soon after moving in we started ripping every inch of that stuff down. Little did I know that meanwhile, wallpaper was about to make a major comeback in the interior design world.

With this new trend, I have quickly become a wallpaper lover but have yet to put any on my own walls. Why?? $$$$$ – damn, it’s expensive! And, it’s hard to forget the many, MANY hours we spent scraping walls at our last home, haha! But, nonetheless, I still love how wallpaper can elevate a room with such ease!

I’ve been on a mission to create the perfect big girl room for my daughter without breaking the bank. Which is really my goal with any project so this one is no different! Although there are some very intricate wallpaper designs out there that I wouldn’t dare attempt to recreate, many of them are actually not that complicated if you break it down. Easy enough to paint yourself for sure! And the best part about paint? You can always paint right over it later when your daughter no longer likes the big girl room you made for her 3 months ago.

Psst….if you’re feeling a little intimidated by paint, that’s okay, I’ve been there too! Which is why I created a very detailed chart and guide explaining all you need to know about paint. It breaks down the different paint sheens and their properties including clean-ability, durability and ease of application. As well as, where to use them in your home and what to use for the best application. Enter your name and email below and I’ll send it straight to your inbox!

Picking The Perfect Wall Art Design

I started looking at wallpaper that had a good wall art design that wasn’t too complicated and could make a simple painted wall design. I’m in a pattern heavy phase right now and really liked the simple complexity of this one a lot. That’s an oxymoron I know but hear me out – this pattern looks complex and makes a big impression but when you break it down to each individual repeating pattern, it’s actually quite a simple design. And, I could just use a 1.5 inch paint brush for each stroke – perfect!

I wanted to blow the design up a little bit because I was nervous this pattern could be a bit overwhelming if done too small. And, frankly, I’m not trying to make my toddler’s world anymore overstimulating than it already is. I practiced drawing the pattern on paper a few times and landed on this scale.

Ensuring the Design Is Even

I tend to get a little too excited when starting a project so I jumped right in without measuring or drawing any reference points on the wall. “Whatever, I’m just going to eyeball it” is yet another Emily-ism that often bites me in the butt. I quickly realized this time that some kind of measuring device was going to prevent this from looking like a total mess. There’s nothing worse than stepping back to admire your work and realizing the entire thing is crooked.

So, I grabbed an empty diaper box (I could write a whole post about the many uses of diaper boxes. Why are they so thick anyways? Diapers only weigh an ounce!) and quick cut out a few templates I could trace and use as wall stencils.

That was the move, folks. With these stencils I was able to trace the pattern onto the wall in less than an 30 mins!

Once I had the pattern on the wall in pencil, I stepped back and verified that it was indeed not crooked – phew! – and then the (more) fun part could start! I happened to have over 30 different paint samples in my basement and I’ve made it a goal of mine to use those in any way I can because talk about the biggest waste of money, gah! Luckily, I had the perfect shade of pink for the job!

I LOVE it! I decided I couldn’t stop there. However, I don’t think I want this pattern on ALL of the walls in here because I don’t need to overstimulate an already overstimulated toddler, remember? I decided to see what it would look like on the two walls that have the windows. The windows are a common factor between the walls so adding another common factor, the pattern, might work. A little unconventional probably but who cares.

This is cool. Well, I think it is at least! Turns out my toddler couldn’t care less about what her room looks like (she’s obviously not my child) but this wasn’t really about her anyways. Haha, just kidding, it’s all about her….always.

All jokes aside, I’m really happy with how this painted faux wallpaper look came together! If you’re feeling frustrated with a space and want to give it an instant facelift without forking over a ton of money, whip out your paintbrush! A painted wall design is such a great way to make a big impact on a small budget. If you’d like help brainstorming your room design, I made a FREE mood board template that is super simple to use! Just drag and drop your furniture and decor into the template to create a flawless mood board and help you visualize your space!

You can find more simple DIY projects in this room from the links below.

• A Gallery Wall Set You Can Make On Your Own
• Painting A Photo Frame With Stripes
• DIY Wavy Picture Frame Using Photo Mats
• Painting Picture Frames: DIY Bobbin Frame
• Simple DIY Headboard Upholstery For Beginners

Have questions, comments or want to share your ideas? Please comment on this post below!