How to Add a Stippled Effect to Walls

Stippling a wall, or an entire room, adds dimension and depth to any room. The soft-textured walls are elegant and sophisticated, bringing a sense of style to your home. Applied in a sleeping area, stippling can induce rest and relaxation or can add an uplifting atmosphere to the dining area. The effect depends on the colors you choose for the walls and how they interact with the furnishings of the room.

Things You'll Need

• Neutral base paint
• Glaze
• Stippling brush
• Painters tape
• Tarp/floor covering
• Water
• Newspapers/paper towels
• Paint pan
• Paint roller

Instructions

1. Move furniture away from the area to be painted. It is preferable to move it out of the room completely, but if that is not possible, move it to the opposite wall.

2. Inspect and repair any damaged areas on the wall. Be sure any nails or hooks are removed. Dust or wash down the walls to remove any residue that may prevent paint from adhering to the wall.

3. Use painters tape to tape around windows, doors and molding. Cover the floor with a tarp or drop cloth to prevent stains on the floor.

4. Using a roller, apply the base coat to the wall. This should be lighter than your glaze. If you are going for bold color, choose a glaze that is two shades darker than the base coat. For more subdued color, use a soft eggshell for the base coat and a color that is two shades darker for the glaze.

5. Allow the base coat to dry for four to eight hours.

6. Pour glaze into a roller pan and apply a thin layer to the wall using a clean roller. It is best to do this in sections that are 2 X 3 feet.

7. Use a clean stipple brush to daub the glaze in a random pattern. Use a straight up and down motion to remove glaze and leave a textured pattern.

8. Leave a 3- to 6-inch strip of the glaze unstippled. Apply glaze with a roller to meet this line, but do not overlap. Overlapping will leave a visible difference in color intensity.

9. Continue daubing the glaze with the stipple brush following the same procedure and the same pattern.

10. Wipe the brush often to prevent a buildup of glaze. Wash and dry occasionally.

11. Continue the process until you have completed the entire area you wish to stipple. It is difficult to match the same pattern if you take a break in between sections.

Tips & Warnings

• This procedure is called a stipple-off procedure because you use the stipple brush to remove glaze and reveal the base coat. You can also stipple paint with a stipple-on procedure. Instead of rolling the glaze onto the wall and stippling some of the glaze off, simply apply the glaze to the base coat using the stipple brush. Be sure to dab the brush onto a paper towel or newspaper first to prevent too much glaze being applied.

• Complete the entire project at one time to prevent differences in pattern.

• Practice on newspaper to get the look you want before attempting the entire wall.