5 Ways to Decorate Your Walls With Paint Pens

Sometimes a beautiful pattern on just one wall can bring a room from blah to gorgeous. Wallpaperachieves this purpose, but it can be expensive and a headache to put up, let alone remove when youget tired of it. You can achieve the same effect with a couple of paint pens. Read on to learn about 5ways to decorate your walls with paint pens!

1. Freehand It!

If you have some artistic skills, you could just freehand a design on a wall to make your room pop!You could look at wallpaper designs and get inspired by one or two and create a similar pattern onyour walls, like Kellie did on her hallway walls. So great!

And one of Kellie's readers did a similar wall treatment with a paint pen and her walls turned outjust as beautiful.

Another great freehand design done with paint pens is this modern faux stone accent wall. Monicasketched out her design with a pencil on the wall first and then traced it all with a black paint pen.

So, if you're not totally confident at freehand designs, you could easily test out any design you wantby sketching it out with a pencil beforehand.

2. Use a Pre-made Stencil

Another way to decorate your walls with a paint pen is to purchase a pre-made stencil and use apaint pen instead of paint! It'll be a much less messy project and the results are more delicate.

If you want to go this route, check out the amazing selection of stencils at Royal Design Studio.

3. Create Your Own Stencil or Template

Of course, you can always create your own stencil or template instead of buying one! A BeautifulMess created a fun stencil with cardboard and cut it out with an x-acto knife. They made sure thatthe pattern was interlocking and used push pins to hold the stencil on the wall as they drew away.

Instead of making a stencil, Wendy created a template based on a pattern on a fabric she liked andtraced around that with a pencil. Then she went back and went over the lines with a paint pen.

It's probably best to decide the pattern and design of your walls before deciding whether to create astencil or a template. Or you could just use something around the house as a template, likeSavannah did! She used a steamer pot lid, of all things, to create this beautiful scalloped accent wall.

4. Measure Out a Geometric Design

No matter how you feel about math, you have to admit that it does amazing things in our world. Itcan create bridges and advanced technology, predict human behavior, and help you design abeautiful accent wall.

With some measuring and creativity, you can come up with a design that you can sketch out with apaint pen. Mandi used a level and a ruler to create horizontal lines and then did some moremeasuring to draw her triangles. Her finished accent wall is a beaut!

Here's another example of a geometric accent wall created with paint pens that was done by Beckyfor her son's nursery.

Again, a ruler and a level was all that she used to create her accent wall. She also planned out thedesign in Photoshop, so that might be a good route for you if you have that program or a similar one.

A simple, diagonal design with a gold metallic paint pen is unexpectedly gorgeous! And it can bedone easily with just a little measuring and a long, straight ruler. Julia's bathroom turned outbeautifully using this method.

5. Use a Projector

You can use paint pens to draw a huge mural on a wall instead of a pattern. Amanda made this greatworld map mural for her son's room with an overhead projector.

If you don't have an overhead projector, you could ask your local library if they loan them out or getan image projector. The options for a mural is limitless -- you could draw your own design, createone in Photoshop, print out a photo from the internet, or trace an image from a book.

The best thing about using paint pens to create an accent wall is that it is a VERY cheap project thathas a big impact. A paint pen usually costs around $3 and you can find them at craft stores. Just besure to buy latex, or water-based, paint pens so you can easily cover them up with paint withouthaving to use primer when you tire of the design.

For more decorating ideas, check out 8 Ideas for Decorating a Kids Bathroom and Great MudroomRound Up.

"I'm Elisa and I live in Austin, Texas with my husband and our two little girls. I used to teach readingand writing, but now I stay at home with my two kiddos and read and write in my spare time. I alsolove to undertake DIY projects, find new recipes on Pinterest, and dream about someday finallycompleting our home. Above all, I love to learn about new things and sharing my new-foundknowledge with others." Please check out my blog What the Vita!"

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