I am having a hard time wrapping my brain around this one! i would *love* to paint stripes like these on my little girls ceiling but can't figure out how to do it?? i tried to used my level tool but it didn't work lying flush on the ceiling. i was hoping someone here would have a suggestion? thanks!!
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_4955SLDF2OI/SpN77bxZy7I/AAAAAAAAA2s/RuzeI1ndrNU/s1600-h/light+blue+striped+ceiling.jpg
That is really cute. I'd paint the whole thing dark blue, then after it's completely dry I'd tape it off with painter's tape and paint the lighter areas.
I'd probably get a big piece of paper and draw it out first to make sure it's the right proportions. Those angles could be hard to get right.
thanks ruth & doug for the quick replies! i'm sitting here searching the net for some instructions but am coming up empty, lol! anyways, yes, i believe it is a cove but i figured it could be done with a squarish ceiling too?
i guess the part that is *really* confusing for me is how to get *each* stripe to be the same width going all the way across the ceiling? if they were the same width, that would be relatively easy...but these taper?? i was hoping for a somewhat simple solution! lol!
You could use a chalk line to get straight lines, maybe. Then tape over the chalk.
I would use a chalk line as well, and I definitely wouldn't paint the whole thing dark blue and then lighter, that is going to make so much more work for you- getting the coats on for the blue to look even and THEN having to put more coats of white to get the white to look even! JMO
thanks again! actually, i should have been more clear. i am going to leave the ceiling white and just add pink stripes. i did an argyle pattern for my other daughters room and it turned out really cute! just used the level tool, pencil and *lots* and *lots* of tape! figured *this* project would be the same but can't figure how to taper the stripes to all be perfectly even as far as the width?
You probably don't want to hear this, but I'm afraid you're going to have to break out that high school geometry. Divide 360 degrees by the total number of stripes you want (pink AND white) to get the angle for each one. So if you want twelve total stripes, each one would be 30 degrees. Then use a protractor in the center of the ceiling to mark the angles. Then, keeping the protractor in the center of the ceiling, use a ruler to extend those angles and make another ring of marks about a foot out from the center. This will give you two marks with which to make each line. You can then use a long ruler/string/chalk line/etc. to extend those lines all the way out to the edge, then tape off and paint. Once you tape it you can make sure it looks right visually. I would definitely recommend having someone else there to help. It's going to be a ton of work, but it will look great once you're done.
If someone has a better idea, I'd love to hear it -- this would be cute in my girls' room, too!
I would pay a professional and let them figure it out. 
It's very cute-let us know how it turns out!
not sure if this will help but here goes:
The lines all meet up into the center of the room right?? The hardest part I'm afraid will be finding the exact center of the room. Hopefully your walls are true and even.
Measure each side of your wall and find the center of the opposite sides, make a line (chalk line?) across the whole ceiling from the center of one wall to the center of the opposit wall, repeat on 2 opposite walls......where they cross will be your exact center of the room.
(I did these flower pots in a similar way so I'll attach a photo)
Divide your wall up into pieces depending on how wide you want your stripes. Make sure the width is a number that will divide evenly into the measurement or it'll get real tricky!
Then use a ruler and mark off the enter perimeter of the room with little marks of where to start and stop your paint line (also helpful to use pencil and write what color each respective stripe should be, or a simple "paint" "don't paint" on each stripe)
The tape will start at the one point (helpful to have someone on that end to hold the tape in place on the line you penciled in), and then you on a step ladder at the center of the room, use the tape as the line (tape is perfectly straight if you don't pull too too hard and warp it) and line it up to the center mark.......do the same with another piece of tape on the other side of that stripe, and then paint in the center of the taped area. Because you're alternating the stripes (with the base being white) you should be able to tape off most of the sections at one time without interferance.
Might be nice to put something in the very center of the stripes too (like a light in the room, a wooden cut out, etc. if you don't want to worry about the stripes coming to a point exactly perfect!
HTH
edited to add: the angle of the stripes being tapered will happen naturally as you make a tape line from the outer edge into the center of the room. Practice on a square piece of cardboard!! Find the center and use scotch tape, then once you get down how to do it...do it on a bigger scale ie; your daughter's room.
It's absolutely adorable.........reminiscent of a carousel!
not sure if this will help but here goes:
The lines all meet up into the center of the room right?? The hardest part I'm afraid will be finding the exact center of the room. Hopefully your walls are true and even.
Measure each side of your wall and find the center of the opposite sides, make a line (chalk line?) across the whole ceiling from the center of one wall to the center of the opposit wall, repeat on 2 opposite walls......where they cross will be your exact center of the room.
(I did these flower pots in a similar way so I'll attach a photo)
Divide your wall up into pieces depending on how wide you want your stripes. Make sure the width is a number that will divide evenly into the measurement or it'll get real tricky!
Then use a ruler and mark off the enter perimeter of the room with little marks of where to start and stop your paint line (also helpful to use pencil and write what color each respective stripe should be, or a simple "paint" "don't paint" on each stripe)
The tape will start at the one point (helpful to have someone on that end to hold the tape in place on the line you penciled in), and then you on a step ladder at the center of the room, use the tape as the line (tape is perfectly straight if you don't pull too too hard and warp it) and line it up to the center mark.......do the same with another piece of tape on the other side of that stripe, and then paint in the center of the taped area. Because you're alternating the stripes (with the base being white) you should be able to tape off most of the sections at one time without interferance.
Might be nice to put something in the very center of the stripes too (like a light in the room, a wooden cut out, etc. if you don't want to worry about the stripes coming to a point exactly perfect!
HTH
edited to add: the angle of the stripes being tapered will happen naturally as you make a tape line from the outer edge into the center of the room. Practice on a square piece of cardboard!! Find the center and use scotch tape, then once you get down how to do it...do it on a bigger scale ie; your daughter's room.
It's absolutely adorable.........reminiscent of a carousel!
thanks for taking the time to write all that out! i *hope* i can do this~i absolutely love the way it looks! wish me luck everyone, i'll post a pic if it turns out okay, lol!
I just rememberd this post tonight... sorry last night got hectic around here and I never got back on. Then computer rebooted in the middle of the night so this post wasn't up anymore.
Khalstead typed out what close to what I would have. The only difference I have is to find the center of the room accurately, take a Chalk line (or string) from one corner to the opposite corner and do the same thing with the other two corners, you'll end up with a large X on the ceiling. Incase your room isn't perfectly square this will give you the center the most accurately. Finding the center of each wall may not give you the exact center, and also takes more time.
Also another suggestion, once you determine approximately how wide you want the stripes along the outside do a rough estimation of how many that will be around the edge of the room. Then take the total perimeter of your room and divide it by how many stripes will go around the room (this will give exactly how wide your stripes will be when measuring around the room, will either be a tad bit smaller or wider
Hope this helped and didn't confuse you.
Quote by @%username% on %date%
%body%