Earlier this year I fell in love with arch accent walls. I’ve seen this trend becoming more popular on Instagram and Pinterest by the day, so I finally built up the courage to do my own.
Spending so much time working from home made me realize that my dining room wallw as the perfect place for this DIY project. The wall has been completely bare since I completed my last round of updates, and since the rest of the space in my home is fairly full, the idea practically fell in my lap.
I’m still a big believer in the power of paint and how it can transorm a space. My dining room also gets a ton of light, so I wanted to make sure there was some contrast to the room. A simple arch seemed like the perfect way to add a touch personality and a little architectural interest with out completley darkening the space.
I made sure to keep my paint color neutral, something that would blend in with the rest of my home decor. I looked for colors in tan, beige, and blush tones until I stumbled upon Valspars Sahara Sands. I bought a quart of this color (because I know I’ll incorporate it in other places in my home), but I only used about 1/3rd of it. Sahara Sands is technically in the Brown Paint color family, however, it’s warm undertones boasts and a touch of pink.
Other than the paint, I had most of the materials I needed right at home. So the total cost of this project I would say is under $30. Other materials I used for this project were:
- Painters Tape
- Twine (string to create my arch)
- Pencil
- Angled brush that’s sized to your arch (I used a 1.5-inch wide brush)
- Paint Roller
- Plastic Paint Roller Tray
- Protective gear for the floor (drop cloth, brown paper roll)
- 2×4 piece of wood (to make straight edges)
- Level (to make straight edges)
How To Paint An Arch Accent Wall
Before beginning your wall, make sure you patch any holes and have as smooth a surface as possible.
Clean & Prep & Measure Your Wall
Make sure to get rid of any imperfections. Wipe away any residual dust, scratch marks, and dust off the trim of your baseboards.
Start with measuring your wall. I started with little tick marks where I wanted the edges of the arch to be. I measured in 2 1/2 feet evenly from both ends of the wall to assure my arch would be centered. Once I marked my edges, I measured the distance between them and made another mark for the middle. This is where you will be putting your string to complete the top of the arch.
Begin prepping the wall with your painter’s tape, starting at the trim, then working your way up the edges about halfway up. This is where basic geometry comes in. I used a pencil tied to a string attached to a pushpin. For this particular shape, I tacked my string at the middle point of my arch, so my string only measured 1/2 the width of the arch. Then starting at the corner of the arch, move the pencil on the string up the wall to draw the curve. (See above in video)
Prime (if necessary)
My walls were white, so I was able to skip this step by using a two-and-one paint and primer product. But if you are going from a dark color to a lighter color for your arch, you’ll want to prime your wall, following the manufacturer’s instructions on coat and dry time guidance.
Paint Your Arch
The bulk of this project’s time is spent on taping the arch. So now that you’ve taped the outline, you’re ready to paint! I only painted one coat with my Sahara Sands, but you may want to apply two depending on the color desired. It’s important to let the paint dry completely before pulling off the tape.
As with any arch wall, the end result is not going to be perfect. I recommend taking your time in taping the arch in small sections. This will leave you less touch-up work to do once you take the tape off. After your wall is painted in dry, remove the tape and take a small angled brush and smooth out any rough edges. It’s also helpful if you have a bit of paint on the hand of your original wall color. That way if any of the paint bleeds under the tape, you can go back and touch up the edges.
If you’ve seen arches or circles or other shapes online and thought it was maybe too difficult to pull off, I’m here to tell you that’s not the case. I’m sure there are plenty of ways to do this DIY, but this is the easy method I used for my arch.
All and all arch accents wall are easy to do, budget-friendly, and add both form and function to your space.
XO,
Amanda Jo
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