DIY - Arch Accent Wall
How to Paint an Arch Accent Wall
with beer of course…
I am obsessed with arch accent walls. So easy to do, it’s very inexpensive, and makes a huge impact!
It was definitely weird trying to explain what I was doing to my boyfriend. “I am painting an Arch”. He honestly trusts my weird DIY ideas so his response “oh cool” was expected.
I was skeptical of the placement of my arch in my small hallway but it honestly transformed my space! This wall was lacking character and color so the arch totally fixed that.
Okay, now grab a drink and lets get to painting!
Arch Accent Wall featuring Ruger
Materials needed:
Beer of Choice
Towel/Rag - To clean wall before
Paint of Choice (I used Canyon Dusk)
Level
Nail/ thumb tack
Hammer (if nail is used)
Pencil
Paint Roller Tray
Ladder (if short)
Step 1: Grab your DIY Beer
For this project I am drinking a few different beers. I bought a mix pack from Upslope Brewing Company. Upslope Lager was actually my first beer here in Colorado. They are based out of Boulder, Colorado and have an awesome variety of good beers. They actually have one of my all time favorite Pumpkin Beers.
In this mix box I really enjoyed the Oatmeal Stout, it was such a smooth stout. You can taste the oats, chocolate, and even a hint of coffee flavor. It was a perfect crushable DIY Beer.
Step 2: Prep your Wall & Space
Remove all hardware/nails/etc. if necessary.
Clean the wall - use a rag or sponge and mix dish soap and water into a bucket. Wipe the wall with the soapy mix to remove the nastiness that’s on your wall (theres a lot of dust & dirt). Allow to dry - the longer the better.
Just wait and enjoy your beer.
Note*: My walls are white so I didn’t need to prime before painting. If you have dark colored walls I would recommend priming before painting your arch.
Don’t forget to add those drop clothes to your floor, if you are messy like me these come in handy.
Before photo.
Step 3: Measurement Time
Measure the width of your wall. My wall was exactly 50 inches. I knew that I wanted my arch to be in the middle and to take up most of the wall.
This is where your math skills come into play. Since my wall was 50 inches wide I divided it in half (easy math) which is 25 inches. I took a pencil and my tape measure and marked 25 inches on my wall. This will be the center of my arch.
I guessed that a 30inch width Arch would look best according to my wall width.
I suggest you draw out what you want before to understand how you want your arch to look before sketching it out on your wall. Do you want it to be thin? Thick? Half of the arch? Make it your own it doesn’t have to be too perfect.
Once I found the center of my arch I measured 15inches on each side to make my 30inch width arch. I marked each side with a pencil.
Step 4: Let’s Design that Arch!
Now that we know how wide you want your arch let’s draw it out.
Take you leveler and place it against your wall with the pencil mark. Make sure it is leveled correctly and straight. Once it’s lined up draw the line using the level as a straight edge. Do this until you get your desired height for each side.
Let’s design that arch (the hardish part). You want to make sure the radius is accurate. I used the thumbtack and string trick.
Cut your string to the width of your arch. I used butcher twine for the string and cut 30inches. My boyfriend is pretty much a chef and has all sorts of cool cooking equipment.
Put the thumb tack in the center of your arch (for me it was the 25inch mark) then fold the string in half around the tack and tie your pencil to the end of the string (I ended up just taping the pencil to the string).
Make sure the string and pencil line up to the ends of your drawn side lines and start on one side. Stretch it out and make your circle.
You can hand draw the half circle/arch as well. I just needed the extra assistance to make sure it was accurate.
Step 5: Tape Time
Let’s tape that arch using the pencil traces. The straight sides are the easiest to tape.
Honestly you don’t have to tape the arch, I just didn’t trust myself to free hand it. You can always paint it without taping and use a small angled paint brush.
Do whatever works and makes you feel more comfortable. I had about 4 beers at this time and free painting an arch was not on my radar…
When I taped the arch outline I used 1-2inch strips of painters tape and slowly taped the entire arch. Just make sure you don’t miss any spots!
Taped the arch outline - Also, you can see the pencil taped to the string that was more helpful than tying it.
Step 6: Take a little beer (drink) break
Okay so you honestly just completed the hard parts of the project. Crack open your beer and enjoy your tape art.
Step 7: Paint Time
This is the fun part! You are almost done with your master piece!
I used Canyon Dusk by Behr. It is the Color of the year for 2021, it felt very neutral and earthy which is what I was going for. I only bought 1 quart of paint.
I started to paint the trim first around the edges of the tape. Make sure the tape is pressed down good so no paint seeps through.
Then let’s get rolling!
Pour some of the paint into the roller tray. Grab your paint roller and fill in the rest of the arch. Make sure you do not go over the tape!
Double check! You may need to do two coats. I ended up doing around 2-3 coats.
Now let that baby dry!
Step 8: Remove the tape
AHHHHH. My favorite part. Get that beer ready to enjoy once that tape is removed. Slowly remove the tape from the wall.
Step 9: Inspect the lines
You may have had some paint seep through make sure you have your wall paint on hand just in case.
Take a tiny paint brush to paint over any of the arch paint that bled through the tape. This will make you have the sharp lines your arch deserves.
If your paint didn’t seep through, then congratulations you are an arch pro.
Step 10: Admire that work
You did it. You made an awesome accent wall for cheap with so much character. Now finish that beer and brainstorm how you want to decorate that arch.
Maybe a mirror? Some Shelves? My empty beer can collection?
If you have any suggestions on how to decorate my arch let me know in the comments!
Cheers :)