Our first home was a three-bedroom house with no real hallways. When we moved into our new house, I was so excited by this long hallway. Whereas all three bedroom doors used to be right next to each other, we couldn’t even see the door of the 5th bedroom at the end of the hall. It felt gloriously spacious. I knew I had to something special with this long wall. I settled on wide stripes as the backdrop for the gallery of photos I had just put together for the old house. If you’re looking for a statement hallway, go and ahead and try this stripe hallway paint idea.

Hallway Paint Idea

While searching for ideas for the new house, I was inspired by a wall on Girl in The Red Shoes. I loved the gray and white color pallet. The wide stripes also seemed less time consuming and busy than thinner striped versions. 

Getting Started

Supplies:

• Painter’s Tape
• Measuring Tape
• White Paint in your desired finish (I used Satin)
• Gray Paint in the same finish
• Lazer level (if you have one)
• Paint brushes
• Two Paint Rollers
• Step ladder
• TIME

Maybe your asking yourself, “what is my desired finish”? To answer that, check out this fun pictorial from Building Moxie.

I generally stay away from flat for the simple reason that it seems to collect dirt. Our walls had year old builder grade flat white paint that was DIRTY from 3 little girls.  Satin was my paint finish choice. 

The first step was to paint the whole wall with satin white paint. I used Color Place paint in Candlestick Silver for this. A quick tip for those painting over builder’s flat paint; you need to buy more paint than you think. The flat paint absorbs a lot of it.

The Stripes

Measure Measure Measure

To start, I measured the height of the wall (85 inches) and then determined an equal measurement for the stripes (7 stripes at roughly 12 2/16inches). As I said in my Stencil Coffee Table post, using those math skills tends to be necessary in my projects. This hallway paint idea was no different. Since I didn’t have a lazer level at the time, I initially measured from the ceiling and marked the height at several distances across the span of the wall. After the measuring and marking was complete, I started taping. 

What I realized when I got to the end of the hallway was that the crown molding was not completely straight and even. This meant my last stripe was thinner on one end than it was at the other. AHHHHHH. I had to measure all over again but from the floor. This was why my husband was wondering why it was taking me so long to finish. From there, I painted two coats of gray from the top and alternating down the stripes. 

Alternative Method for this Hallway Paint Idea

If measuring seems too tedious, I would definitely recommend a lazer level. I tend to do things as cheaply as possible, which generally means I’m not buying the tools that will undoubtedly make my life easier. Easier in this case being also more time effective. Obviously, that’s not everyone’s cup of tea. For those looking to make the project easier, here’s a quick video to help you decide what kind to go with Top 6 Lazer Level Review.  Among some common uses of lazer levels could be hanging pictures in line and placing anchors for shelves. 

Gallery Wall

Harder than measuring and taping was figuring out how I wanted to place all the photos and choosing the photos. As a fan of symmetry,  I tried to maintain symmetry as best I could. I put the frames on the floor to figure out how I wanted them to be positioned before taking it to the wall. Then, I measured the wall to find the middle position to hang the middle picture frame of my husband and me. 

Gallery wall with our initials. I had the K and G for years before I found a D that was close enough in size and style.

For the other walls in the hallway, I painted them solid gray. The white trim and crown molding tied it all together nicely. I hope you enjoyed the rundown and tips. Happy painting!