Ombre Scallop accent wall tutorial
For quite a while we've been trying to figure out what exactly we wanted to do with the back wall of our studio space. It's a small wall...about eight and a half feet wide...with a window right in the middle. When we decorate a room we like to treat each wall as it's own space. We rarely create a uniform look that continues around the entire room. It's safe to say that we're into hand painted decorative wall finishes in a big way...from stripes to oversize wall paper prints...color blocked faux chair rails, damask patterns, polka dots...you name it. We like to decorate with paint...it's our creative crutch, our weapon of choice, our go-to gallon of goodness.
So, we finally decided on a fab design for this little accent wall in our studio. An overlapping scallop pattern using a gradient color palette. And we made sure to take some pics along the way so that you guys could possibly share in the fun and do a wall of your own at home.
supplies needed:
-a big circle to trace, we used a 12 inch dinner plate
-pencil
-big piece of paper to trace your big half circle onto
-scissors
-1 inch paint brush
-small round detail brush
-a gallon of the paint color of your choice
-a gallon of white paint (for lightening your paint color step by step)
-4 containers for your shades of paint
Step 1:
Trace a half circle onto a piece of paper. Our circle is 12 inches in diameter. Cut out your paper template. Find the center of your scallop (either measure with a ruler or fold in half) and draw a pencil line there...this will be your guide line for when you are tracing the scallop pattern onto the wall.
Step 2:
Trace the top row of scallops onto the wall. Just make sure the flat end of your template is flush against the ceiling or molding. We wanted our pattern to be symmetrical, so we first measured our wall...it's 8 and a half feet wide. Since our template measures exactly 1 foot then that means there will be 8 and a half scallops in a row. Instead of ending with a half of a scallop...we split the half scallop into 2 quarters. So the row starts with a quarter of a scallop and ends with a quarter of a scallop...and has 8 full scallops in between. Again, we did it this way because we like a symmetrical look. Figuring out the exact measurements is not mandatory. You can simply work left to right and let the row end however it ends.
-ok, in Step 1 you drew a guide line marking the center of your scallop template. When tracing your row of scallops onto the wall, draw a little pencil dash that indicates the center of the scallop. This will be your guide line for the next row.
Step 3:
Continue tracing to create the overlapping scallop pattern. Use your top row as your guide and trace your template on the wall from left to right. Line up the end of your scallop with the center guide line from the row above. This will give you a staggered pattern of overlapping scallops. It's really easy this way. You just line up both edges with the center lines of the row above, and then trace. When you get to the corner all you have to do is bend your paper template into the crease of the wall.
Repeat this for four rows.
Step 4:
Mix your shades of paint in 4 containers. The first container is the paint color with nothing added. In the second container lighten your color with some white paint. In the third lighten it even more with a little more white paint. And in the fourth lighten it even more with a little more white paint. You'll have four gradient shades of paint...this will give you the desired ombre effect.
Step 5:
Paint your first row of scallops using your 1 inch brush. It'll probably take two coats to get each row solid.
Step 6:
When painting your second row of scallops with your #2 container of paint, first use your small round detail brush to cut in. That little narrow point between the scallops can be difficult to paint with a 1 inch brush...so we recommend cheating a bit, with a little brush.
Repeat this process for four rows...each row getting one shade lighter.
You are all done! It really was easy and we absolutely love our little wall now. It has a very soothing effect. We could totally imagine doing this in a nursery or kid's room...or a small bathroom. We used to do wall painting in lots of beach houses and in this aqua color palette this would turn any room into a mermaid theme instantly ( back in the day we were hired to do so so many mermaid themed kid's rooms! )
Being that this is fairly easy to do, we were thinking that it would be great to do on a makeshift wall of a photo booth at a wedding. A fab way of pulling the color theme into the photo booth backdrop.
Please feel free to contact us with any questions and pretty pretty please send us pics when you do this yourselves.
xo, Jenny
That looks so gorgeous, wow! Love those colors.
ReplyDeleteThanks bunches doll!!! :) We are digging it! Now..what to hang?! xo
ReplyDeleteOh gosh I love it!!! You guys are the cleverest ever.
ReplyDeleteOh it turned out even better than I thought it would, and I thought it was going to be AMAZING!
ReplyDeletexo
Alex
What a brilliant idea! I am definitely digging the scallops. Saving to favorites for when I buy a house later this year (hopefully)!
ReplyDeleteWowwwwww!!! Your wall looks AMAZING!! Thanks for sharing how you did it!!!
ReplyDeleteThat looks AMAZING!
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness, that looks adorable!!
ReplyDeleteoh i guessed right it was onbre! YAY
ReplyDeletetotally going to do a version of this in the rented property we are in at the moment.....will let you know when i post
meg
You two rocked that scallop and the paper plate guide was brilliant. Love the colors you chose..
ReplyDeletei LOVE it!! soo clever too!!
ReplyDeleteThis is beautiful! You guys did an amazing job! I want to do this somewhere in my house, but where?! I wish I could hire you guys to come on over ;) Thanks for the inspiration...perhaps I will try to do a smaller version of this on something!
ReplyDeletexoxo
Lidy
umm this is fantastic. The colors are so so great! Love it!
ReplyDeleteIt looks incredible, but I'm not sure I have the patience!
ReplyDeleteA wall of fun! I just painted my rusty old bicycle in a similar color and I love it! Thanks for the "how to".
ReplyDeleteIN LOVE! I am putting this on my things i love thursday ;)
ReplyDeleteWhat a fantastic idea! It looks beautiful!
ReplyDeleteBecky
xx
http://www.beckybedbug.com
It was so inspiring to visit your lovely blogg!!!
ReplyDeleteGreetings and hugs from Finland by SisustEllen decoration blogg
So flippin awesome. I really love it!
ReplyDeleteI love the way this turned out! So cute and fun! Y'all are just way too creative! Thank you so much for sharing! Hugs, Leena
ReplyDeleteLooks GREAT!
ReplyDeleteJenny, I love this!! So pretty, and such a creative idea!! Thanks for sharing!! xo Heather
ReplyDeleteThank you SO SO much guys!! So happy you like it! We both really appreciate all of your kind words and feedback! :)
ReplyDeleteLove ya!!!!
xo
Amazing! :D
ReplyDeleteWOW! I love love that wall! I can't wait to have my own place. That will be one of the first things I do.
ReplyDeleteOmg Jenny!! I love this!! I might have to steal the idea for my daughter's nursery!! So cute!
ReplyDeleteI seriously love this!
ReplyDeleteAMAzING! i love it. is it okay if i post about it in my blog? x
ReplyDeleteHow beautiful! -Marci
ReplyDeleteSo pretty and creative! I love your colour palette in the whole space~
ReplyDeleteI like your style. Hi Stopping by from a hop. Come visit sometime the coffee is hot, tea is cold, and you'll feel right at home.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.southernmadeintheshade.blogspot.com Kathy B
I just painted some pastel ice-cream motifs on my bedroom wall. This will go perfectly with the whole theme. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteHi Jenny,
ReplyDeleteLove this ombre project - very beautiful! I'm actually the digital editor of Simply Homemade magazine and am writing an article about the technique for our new site.
I was wondering if you might be able to give me three tips for using ombre in interior design projects for our readers.
I will of course link to your blog and project page.
If you could get back to me at sarah.adie@practicalpublishing.co.uk that would be great.
Thanks,
Sarah
Oh, wow, that's so cute! I wonder if I could pull it out so nicely. Seems a little bit tricky to me. You've done a great job though. :-)
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteAre you able to provide the paint colors that you used on the circles? Thank you
DeleteThanks for reading! We custom mixed colors but the closest we could come with Benjamin Moore paints are these: Teal Tone 663, Mexicali Turquoise 662, San Clemente Teal 730, and Jack Frost 729. Hope these help. xo, J & A
DeleteWhat paint color did you use?
ReplyDeleteWe custom mixed colors but the closest we could come with Benjamin Moore paints are these: Teal Tone 663, Mexicali Turquoise 662, San Clemente Teal 730, and Jack Frost 729. Thanks! hope this helps. xo, J & A
DeleteThis is so gorgeous! My little girl's room has a pitched ceiling. You think I could still pull this off? Perhaps start with one scallop in the pitch and work my way down?
ReplyDelete