Paint effects are back – the perfect weekend craft project

From stencilling to upcycling vintage furniture or painting a stair runner, these inspiring ideas will brighten your home. They’re super easy to achieve, too. All you need are a paint brush or roller, stencils and any paint colour you like…

By Ruth Farnsworth
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Here are 5 gorgeous projects to inspire you to try paint upcycling..

Roll on a border
A decorative paint roller can give a wall a country feel. ‘Paint, applying even pressure, and
try using on furniture and fabric, too, for a beautiful hand-painted effect,' says Josephine Bennett, Head of Design, Home Furnishings, Laura Ashley.

white wall with design paint roller and wooden storage for equipment

(Image credit: Laura Ashley)

Aviary Garden decorative paint roller, £30, Laura Ashley.

Paint a runner
Add a painted runner to a staircase in hard-wearing floor paints in sympathetic shades. A multi-stripe design will make narrow stairs in a country cottage seem wider. Experiment with widths and use masking tape to section off the areas you want to paint.

white wall and white steps with blue pattern design

(Image credit: Little Greene)

Shirting and Blue Verditer Floor Paint, £27 each for 1L, Little Greene.

Create an ombré effect
Be inspired by a heat haze and blur the lines with graduation. Marianne Shillingford, Creative Director, Dulux, suggests warm Copper Blush, ‘evaporating into a neutral to expand the sense of space'.

shaded pink wall with cardboard painting stick with tape

(Image credit: Dulux)

50YR 36/263 (Copper Blush) and 10YY 83/071, £24.49 for 2.5L Matt Emulsion, Dulux.

Treat your wall to a mural
Bring the outside in and paint a mural inspired by nature. Solid-colour trees, leaves and flowers are ideal for a modern rustic twist on an old classic. Stencil or project a photographic image onto the wall and use as a template. Or commission an artist from the Association of Professional Muralists, a local gallery or art school.

white and grey wall with tree shadow painting white seat and cushion

(Image credit: Association of Professional Muralists)

Upcycle furniture
Get crafty and breathe new life into a vinatge find. Design expert Annie Sloan used two contrasting colours in varying quantities to create the graduated effect on an old chest of drawers. ‘Chalk paint is perfect for decorating wooden furniture owing to its incredible sticking power - and no priming or sanding is necessary.'

wooden drawers in orange to blue shade

(Image credit: Annie Sloan)

Barcelona Orange and Greek Blue, £18.95 each for 1L Chalk Paint, Annie Sloan.

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Ruth Farnsworth
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