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In a bid to get my house looking more like my home, I was itching to get out the paint and start tackling walls. A month in (thanks full time job), and I’ve now completed my 1970s-meets-eco-friendly upstairs living room, that I’ve affectionately named the ‘Snug’.

I’m blessed to have a house that’s both South and West-facing, meaning that it’s always nice and bright indoors. While it can be a pain when a heatwave strikes- as there is NO respite from the sun- it’s inviting and warm regardless of the weather outside.

So rather than dull the tones in the sun-kissed carcass, I decided that this room would be both warming and natural- a place to unwind, a cooly chic retreat within what was designed to be the second bedroom.

First was the colour. The previous occupiers seemed to have a penchant for browns and greys – not something I cared to keep within my colour palette. The greyish-almost-purple walls in this room might have been perfect for the little girl who used this room as her bedroom, but for my tranquil space I wanted it to be brighter and airier.

For the snug, I chose Cousin Claire by Valspar in their V500 paint. It’s a pinky-orange that isn’t too much one and not the other. It’s got 1970s bathroom vibes to it but paired with my next colour – Benjamin’s Buttons: an earthy forest green- I hoped to turn kitsch to chic.

Now for the trickier part: figuring out where to paint what colour. Dado rails used to be a huge hit in the 70s, but have since fallen out of style. A new modern take on this outdated trend is to paint two colours horizontally on the same wall, to give a sort of ‘mock-dado’ effect. It’s a fact that painting a dark colour towards the bottom of a wall, and light at the top, gives the impression that the room is much taller than it is. So I split my wall in line with the bottom of the windowsill and carried the line around the room.

Now, for the things I wish I’d known before I started:

#1 – Make your peace with chaos and mistakes

I know this is an odd one to start with, but honestly, mistakes are going to happen. You need to embrace this fact before you begin and try not to stress out too much. All I heard from my mother when I told her about my pseudo-dado rail was about how difficult it would be to achieve. Yes, it was. Yes, I made mistakes, but yes: I did it!

#2 – Paint your ceiling first

I’m taking my parent’s word for this one. Also, don’t be an idiot and do it on the hottest day of the year (like yours truly) because it dries faster than you can paint it and with it being white – you won’t see what you’ve done and what you haven’t. Anyway, I painted my ceiling following guidance from the parentals who said ‘You’ll notice it if you don’t – trust us!”

So trust them I did, and it looks amazing.

#3 – Pencil vs. Pen – another Space Race

Once you’ve applied your ‘base’ colour (the lightest of your shades) and waited a few days for it to cure (about 3-4 days), draw a line around your room however you see fit. I used a 1200mm spirit level that worked a charm and used a pencil, so if I did make a mistake with line drawing- it was nothing an eraser couldn’t handle.

Fun fact: the human eye can’t see flaws in lines that are a few millimeters out- so don’t stress too much!

#4 – Section by Section

DON’T go around your room like a Bat out of Hell trying to do the whole wall with one bit of tape (like I attempted). While you might be a keen tape-artist (and trust me, some of the guys on these DIY youtube channels really are), you’ll breathe a sigh of relief when you’re painting your dark colour around the room and can peel the tape off section by section and marvel at the crisp lines you’ve just created.

#5 – Frog Tape is great… but…

Frog Tape on its own is not going to keep your lines bleed-free. Trust me, I watched 10,000 videos on YouTube and learnt all about ‘burnishing’ my tape before starting, and put all my bodily strength into making sure the line was flush and still – I had bleed marks on the first wall I ‘tested’. Don’t gamble with it.

PS- I would still opt for Frog Tape over normal masking tape. No going back!

#6 – You need to let it bleed.

Yes you heard me correctly. Remember point one about chaos- this is the part where we force some bleedage- but not like you’d expect.

The penny dropped while watching an American guy with some caulk in hand and he said to caulk the line so as to avoid bleeding. I was googling like a madman trying to find ‘clear caulk’ and in the UK this doesn’t exist (clear silicone being the closest thing), and debating calling my friend in the US begging him to be my caulk importer before I stumbled upon this absolutely great video that had me almost weeping tears of joy. This woman is now my best friend even though she has never met me or know that I exist but she has SAVED me future tears of sadness as I watched my dark colour bleed into the lighter one.

Anyway, the genius that she is, she said “if its going to bleed into the light colour, might as well paint the light colour on and let that be the colour that bleeds” – WHY HAD I NOT THOUGHT ABOUT THIS?!

So at 6 am, being the morning person that I am *not* but being unable to sleep on account of thinking about horizontal stripes, I got to work and painted all my Frog Tape with my light colour.

The one thing she doesn’t tell you and I will state it here is:

#7 – Peel the tape off while the paint is still wet

It might seem counter-intuitive, but once you’ve painted the lighter colour onto the tape, you need to apply your dark colour BEFORE the light has fully dried. Be prepared for a little colour mixing (but don’t worry, the second coat will hide that)- just make sure that the light colour paint isn’t like ‘freshly freshly’ applied, give it a half-hour or so, make a cuppa and then start in the same place you started painting the light colour with your dark.

Seriously – I’ll be damned. My test wall without these little tips has bled quite badly, but the other 3 walls look marvelous!

#8 – Don’t create obstacles for yourself

They say “preparation is key”, which is true – especially when it comes to your workspace. I can’t tell you how many times I almost trod in paint, knocked over my poor Mona the Monstera plant, and caught myself leaning on the freshly painted wall to steady myself. If you need to lean by the way- always on the darker colour!!!

Make sure that you can move around the room freely and that you’ve covered all surfaces that you’re worried about. My carpet got a beating (thank god the sofa will be hiding those bits!) and I managed to get ONE blob on the back of the sofa that I’m hoping will come out (it is only emulsion after all…)

#9 – Soap and water go further than you think

I used to have a housemate that, whenever he dripped paint, would reach for the white spirit. Yeah it works, but it isn’t exactly healthy. Luckily soap and water will get the majority of emulsion off of any surface- hands (or in my case: feet, head, hair, arms) or otherwise. Worst case, then reach for the potent stuff.

#10 – Paint however you like

Valspar has some wonderful How-To guides on their website, which are great if you have absolutely no experience (like me). They recommend you paint in a V shape as this makes blending roller marks easier. I’m going to slightly contradict them and say – paint however feels best. I got too into my own head when I was focussing on painting a V that actually I made more mistakes than I did using my avant-garde-Aly-freestyle. If it looks good, who cares how you did it?

I still have a few touchups to make in this room, but am so happy with the near-end result. I am by no means a professional painter, so sharing my thoughts is purely from a newbie’s perspective.

Want links to the home furnishings I used in this room? Check out this post.