My New Hand-Painted Wallpaper Look: Give It a Try!

My new hand-painted wallpaper look.
Spring green wall with aqua blue floral design.

When we first moved into our home, we had loads of home renovation projects to do. We decided to start with the hardest rooms first – the bedrooms. These rooms were wallpapered with multiple layers of wallpaper and then a few coats of paint on top of that – YIPES! Talk about a chore removing it. It took quite awhile and a lot of elbow grease but we got it done! I tell you this because when it came to redecorating our primary bedroom, I wanted to do something fun and innovative to the walls…wallpaper came to mind. However, my husband had an emphatic NO – NOT AGAIN!! So I had to come up with an alternative. What would be a creative alternative to wallpaper? And what would give me the drama of wallpaper without the high price? The answer? A hand-painted design with a wallpaper look.

Inspiration For The Design of My Hand-Painted Look

A sketchbook with a drawing of a simplified tropical flower. Used to make a hand-painted wallpaper look design.
Give it a try!

I had a clear vision in my mind of the type of design I wanted: floral but not fussy and organic shapes but not geometric. I knew that I wanted a simple large pattern to fill up one wall and something I wouldn’t tire of. So, for inspiration, I did some research. Looking through decorating books, and wallpaper designs online was my first step. However, nothing was speaking to me. I needed a fairly simple giant pattern that I could repeat. I guess I was looking too hard because the answer was right under my nose. The answer was in my Idea & Things personal inspiration book. I had drawn a simplified sketch from a round throw rug that I used to own. It had a really beautiful tropical floral design. So I pondered over the sketch and imagined it on my spring green walls, painted in a shade of turquoise. YES, this was it! One single blossom repeated six times on the wall. The perfect floral motif.

Supplies That You Might Need

Supplies to paint a wallpaper design on the wall. Paint cans and paint brushes.

The remainder of the wall paint, 1 gallon latex Valspar interior paint (Leaf Bud) from Lowes.
The pattern paint, 1 quart latex Valspar interior paint (Green Supreme) from Lowes.
A drop cloth
Stir stick
Paint brushes, from Amazon (paid link).
Paper towels
The sketch of the design

The Process

Open can of spring green paint and aqua blue paint.

Come up with an idea. I looked in decorating magazines, art books, and outdoors in nature. I never know where an epiphany will strike me.
Sketch it out. Simplify the pattern.
Come up with the wall color and the pattern color. I contrasted the colors a bit, so I could see the motif clearly. I picked a lighter wall color, and my design color was darker.
Before painting I figured out the size and the placement of the design.
Lightly sketch out the pattern on the wall, one motif at a time, if you want.
Paint one floral design at a time.
Clean up any irregular edges with the wall color paint.
Two coats of pattern color might be needed.
Step back and check spacing and porportions.

An unfinished handpainted tropical flower on a bedroom wall.

Painting Tips

TIP: Painters’ tape can be used to block out the placement on the wall, but I eyeballed it. I watered down my pattern color and I lightly sketched with that, so if I messed it up I could quickly wipe it off. And if it didn’t come off, I had a whole gallon of wall paint that I could use as an eraser. Maybe I could have used a pencil, but I was not sure if it would leave eraser lines on the wall. I used a half inch wide rounded tip brush, about the same width as the lines on my flower. Then I took my time, sketched one floral motif, and then painted it…six times until the wall was complete. I kept stepping back and viewing and checking the proportions. I can’t emphasize that enough. Importantly, I kept having to stand back to look at the proportions, and the overall spacing.

A woman sitting on a stool painting a stylized tropical floral pattern on a wall to mimic wallpaper.

It’s not easy to stare at an entire blank wall and say, “Ok I am going to do this.” I had to trust in myself and have courage. I’ll tell you, nothing was more thrilling than to get the first blossom painted and then stand back…YAY! I did it! It did take a few days to finish but I thoroughly enjoyed the process. My finished design is not perfect and it shouldn’t be. That’s what makes painting a pattern on a wall different from store bought wallpaper. Because it’s hand-painted it’s meant to be unique. It’s rather organic. Each floral pattern is slightly different. But I don’t mind. I absolutely love it, and it came out better than I ever dreamed!

An aqua blue tropical floral design on a spring green wall.

The Result: My New Hand-Painted Wallpaper Look

One wall finished…time to Jazz up the rest of the room! I have some fun decorating plans, so I’ll post more after the final product. So, why not give it a try? Create something new? A hand-painted wallpaper look can turn hum-drum walls into FABULOUS.! Remember you are making a one-of-a-kind piece of art. Express yourself!