Colouring techniques for walls – Decoration Techniques (Senior 3 Home Science) | Ganzaa

Decoration Techniques

Lessons

Senior 3 · Home Science

Decoration Techniques

4 lessons

Lesson 3 of 4

Colouring techniques for walls

24 min

Let's begin

Look along the corridor of many schools, clinics and offices in Rwanda and you will often see a wall painted in two colours: a darker, washable colour on the lower part, where hands, bags and chairs rub against it, and a light colour above. It is a decoration technique with a practical purpose: the lower band hides marks and can be scrubbed, and the light upper part keeps the corridor bright.

S1 taught you how to paint a wall in one flat colour. This lesson goes further: how to combine colours on a wall with paint effects, feature walls and two-tone schemes, and how to choose the right technique for the place.

Definition

Paint effect (broken-colour technique): a way of applying paint so that a second colour lets the first show through in places, giving texture or pattern instead of a flat colour.

Base coat: the first, solid colour painted over the whole surface and left to dry. Glaze: a thin, see-through layer of colour (paint thinned with water or a glaze medium) worked over the base coat.

Feature (accent) wall: one wall painted in a stronger colour or effect than the others, to make it the focal point of the room.

Dado line: a horizontal line, often a wooden rail, about 1 m above the floor that divides a wall into a lower and an upper part.

Broken-colour paint effects

All four effects in Figure 3 use the same idea: a light base coat, then a darker (or lighter) glaze that is partly put on or partly taken off with a tool.

Effect	Tool	How it is done	Best for
Sponging	natural sponge	dab glaze on lightly, turning the sponge so no pattern repeats; overlap the dabs	walls with small faults, which the mottled texture hides
Rag rolling	bunched cotton rag	roll the rag down through wet glaze, lifting some off; refold the rag often	a soft, fabric-like finish on a feature wall
Colour washing	wide brush	brush thin glaze in loose criss-cross strokes, then soften with a dry brush	a warm, cloudy, sunlit look
Dry brushing	brush with very little paint	drag the nearly dry brush lightly in one direction	wooden furniture and frames: a worn, rustic look
Stippling	stippling brush	tap the brush bristles straight into wet glaze	a fine, even, dotted texture

Working method for a paint effect

Prepare the wall: wash, fill cracks, sand smooth and dust off.
Protect: dust sheets on the floor, masking tape along ceilings, switches and frames.
Base coat: two even coats; let them dry fully.
Test the glaze and the tool on a spare board first: this is where you choose the strength of the effect.
Work in small sections of about 1 m², keeping a "wet edge" so the joins between sections do not show.
Clean up: wash brushes and sponges at once; remove masking tape before the glaze dries hard.

Using colour on whole walls

Two-tone wall: a darker, washable lower part below a dado line, and a light upper part (Figure 4). It hides scuffs in corridors, kitchens and children's rooms.
Feature wall: one wall, usually the one facing the door or behind a bed or sofa, painted in a deeper colour or an effect. The other walls stay light.
Ombré (gradient): a colour fading from dark at the bottom to light at the top, blended while wet.
Geometric patterns: stripes, triangles or chevrons marked out with masking tape and painted in two or three colours.
Mural: a picture painted directly on a wall, such as the murals on school and shop walls in many Rwandan towns.

Worked example

Worked example 1: paint for a two-tone wall. The wall in Figure 4 is 4.0 m long and 2.7 m high, with the dado line at 1.0 m. A door 0.9 m wide and 2.0 m high is set in it, so it cuts 1.0 m of height from each part. Each colour needs two coats, and the label says 1 litre covers 10 m² per coat. How much of each paint is needed?

Lower part: $4.0 \times 1.0 - 0.9 \times 1.0 = 4.0 - 0.9 = 3.1\,\mathrm{m^2}$ .
Upper part: $4.0 \times 1.7 - 0.9 \times 1.0 = 6.8 - 0.9 = 5.9\,\mathrm{m^2}$ .
Lower paint: $\frac{3.1 \times 2}{10} = 0.62$ L, so one 1-litre tin.
Upper paint: $\frac{5.9 \times 2}{10} = 1.18$ L, so two 1-litre tins.
Check: total area $3.1 + 5.9 = 9.0\,\mathrm{m^2}$ , which equals $4.0 \times 2.7 - 0.9 \times 2.0 = 10.8 - 1.8 = 9.0\,\mathrm{m^2}$ .

Worked example

Worked example 2: choosing an effect. Ishimwe's family rents a house whose sitting-room walls have small cracks and patched areas. They want a warm look, cannot replaster, and have little money. Which technique should they use?

A flat or gloss finish would show every patch, because light reflects evenly off it.
A broken-colour effect breaks up the surface so the eye does not notice small faults.
Sponging needs only a sponge and a little glaze, and it is easy for a beginner to keep even.
Choice: a cream base coat sponged with a warm terracotta glaze, tested on a board first.

The Home Depot: how to sponge paint. Notice how the sponge is dampened, pressed lightly and turned between dabs, and how the glaze is tested before it goes on the wall.

Warning

Safety when painting. Keep windows open, and prefer water-based paints, which give off fewer harmful fumes than solvent-based ones. Choose paint labelled lead-free: the World Health Organization states that there is no known safe level of lead exposure, and lead paint dust is especially harmful to young children. Wear goggles when painting above your head. Stand a ladder on firm, level ground, keep three points of contact, never stand on the top step, and have someone hold it.

Tip

Memory hook: "Base, test, small squares, wet edge." And for any effect: the darker colour usually goes on as the glaze, over a lighter base.

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Practice

Define a glaze and a feature wall.
Name the tool used for sponging, rag rolling and stippling.
Why is a dark, washable colour often used below the dado line in a corridor?
Why should a paint effect be tested on a board before it goes on the wall?
A wall is 3.5 m long and 2.6 m high, with a dado line at 1.0 m and no door. Find the area of the lower part and of the upper part.
Using your answer to question 5, how many litres are needed for two coats on the upper part, if 1 litre covers 10 m² per coat?
A family wants to colour-wash every wall of a small, dark bedroom in deep red. Evaluate the plan and suggest an alternative.

Show answersHide answers

A glaze is a thin, see-through layer of colour worked over a base coat. A feature wall is one wall painted more strongly than the others to make it the focal point.
Sponging: a natural sponge. Rag rolling: a bunched cotton rag. Stippling: a stippling brush.
The lower part is where hands, bags and chairs touch the wall. A dark colour hides marks and a washable paint can be scrubbed; the light upper part keeps the corridor bright.
To check the strength, colour and pattern of the effect, and to practise with the tool, before mistakes are made on the wall itself.
Lower: $3.5 \times 1.0 = 3.5$ m². Upper: $3.5 \times 1.6 = 5.6$ m².
$\frac{5.6 \times 2}{10} = 1.12$ L, so buy 2 litres (two 1-litre tins) or a larger tin.
Poor: deep red on every wall absorbs the little light and makes a small room feel even smaller and darker. Better: light walls, with deep red on one feature wall behind the bed, or red used only in small accents.

Sources and credits

Lesson text, Figures 3 and 4, tables, worked examples and practice: written by Ganzaa.
Lead safety: World Health Organization, Lead poisoning (fact sheet), summarised in Ganzaa's own words.
Video: How to Sponge Paint, The Home Depot, embedded from YouTube.

1Broken-colour paint effects

2Working method for a paint effect

3Using colour on whole walls

Broken-colour paint effects

Working method for a paint effect

Using colour on whole walls