How to Make Trompe L'oeil Curtains

Murals painted on bedroom walls create the illusion the bed is elsewhere.

Trompe l'oeil means "fool the eye." Usually this type of painting is done with perspective tricks so that the viewer initially thinks she is looking at a real landscape or object and it isn't until she is close up that she realizes it is a painting. Draperies or curtains usually hang next to windows or at the side of openings. To make good trompe l'oeil curtains, they have to look like they are working with another structure like a window or even the corners of a pergola.

Things You'll Need

• Tape
• Drop cloth
• Base paint for walls and ceiling
• Paint roller and pan
• Tape measure
• Ladder
• Chalk
• Acrylic paints
• Assorted paintbrushes

Instructions

1. Empty your room and tape off all of the trim moldings or other features that you do not wish to paint. Place a drop cloth over the floor. Paint the walls a soft blue color and the ceiling a white canvas color. Allow the paint to dry completely.

2. Apply painter's tape on the ceiling at the corner of the ceiling and wall. Measure down 6 inches and apply a parallel tape. Paint between the tape a rich brown wood color to replicate a wood beam. Allow the paint to dry for 4 hours before removing the tape.

3. Tape vertical lines 6 inches from each wall corner and repeat for all corners in the room. Paint between the tape the same rich brown color paint that you used for the ceiling beams. You are painting pergola posts. Allow the paint to dry for 4 hours before removing the tape. When you remove the tape you should have posts and cross beams framing a blue view. You want your room to feel like a patio.

4. Draw curtain vertical lines starting 3 feet from each corner. You can taper the curtains back toward the post as if the curtain is tied back, or they can hang straight down. The curtain will appear to attach to the underside of the ceiling beam, and it should have a serpentine line across the top to represent how the fabric is gathered. If you need help visualizing this, use a real curtain for ideas. Draw all of your curtains on each side of your posts around the room.

5. Paint the majority of each curtain canvas white. Paint the shadows gray and blend the gray and white together to create a realistic look. Add highlights to the areas of the curtains that are opposite the shadows. If you designed tiebacks, paint in the posts and the tieback fabric or rope. Once the paint is dry, add in details like curtain hooks between the curtain and beam. You can also add wood grain to the beams.

Tips & Warnings

• Decorate alongside the walls and faux curtains of your patio room with potted plants and elevated plant stands to give the illusion that the room is in the garden. Add patio furniture mingled with the plants to further the illusion.

References

• UH Edu: Trompe L'oeil
• Emily Smith: Faux Painting Techniques