Ombre is a style of blending colors to give us an “impression” of a scene and it looks stunning on a wall as a focal point in a room! Here’s how to create it using only 3 colors!
How To Paint An Ombre Wall
Watch as Annie, Ace's Pain Expert, shows you how to create a beautiful Ombre wall in your home with paint.
Here are the supplies you’ll need for this project.
Clark+Kensington Interior Eggshell
Colors Used
Morning Walk 27A-2
Provence 27A-3
Archipelago Islands 27A-4
Step 1 –Prep your wall.
First thing you want to do is remove any mirrors, pictures, shelves and artwork that is hanging. Remove outlet and switch plates by unscrewing them. Put a strip of painter's tape right over the outlet so prevent accidentally rolling paint on it.
Step 2 – Patch and Sand
Examine the walls and repair any small holes. Use a wall spackle. I like DAP Dry Dex Ready to Use White Spackling Compound. This spackle is light weight and has a dry time indicator causing the product to change color when optimum dry time is achieved. It goes on pink and when it’s dry it turns white! The product is amazing.
Apply a spackling product with a putty knife and smooth it out. Let it dry and then use a light grit sanding sponge, around 220 grit to sand it smooth.
Step 3 – Cleaning
Dust off the baseboards with a damp rag wipe and then give your wall a quick wipe down. You won’t believe the unseen dust and cobwebs that are on your wall and knocking them down with damp rag will give the paint the perfect surface to adhere to. Not only will the paint adhere better to the surface of the wall but you won’t have dust globs showing up on the roller and clumping on the wall.
Step 5 - Apply Painter's Tape
The next step in painting a this accent wall is to use painter's tape to mask off your ceiling, moldings, windows and doors. When applying painter’s tape, use 1 foot pieces so you have better control when placing them on the wall.
Always press the painter's tape down even and flat to prevent bleed-through.
Here’s an Annie tip: Choose the right painter's tape for the job. I like using a low-stick painter's tape, like Ace Clean Release painters’ tape, to tape off the walls and baseboards but if you have more delicate areas like a fresh painted wall, wallpaper or finished hardwood I would recommend this Frog Tape for delicate surfaces.
Once your painters tape is applied, spread out a canvas drop cloth on the floor and tuck the drop cloth in as close the baseboards as possible.
Step 6 - Painting
You are going to start by painting the entire wall a base color. Anytime you use paint, always give it a good stir to make sure the color is consistent throughout the can. I’m using Clark+Kensington's Morning Walk as my base color. Even if you just got the paint mixed at the store it’s always a good habit to give the paint a stir with the paint stick, they included. This helps make sure the paint is mixed all the way through. Once the whole wall has been painted, let this color dry for at least 3-4 hours.
Next you will want to break out the wall into 3 equal sections. Use a level to mark the wall lightly with a pencil. Once it’s marked, grab the next shade of color and paint the middle section. I’m going to use the Clark+Kensington color Provence. Don’t paint in a perfect line just get close to the top and bottom line.
Once the middle section is painted grab your darkest color for the bottom section. I’m using Archipelago Islands. Start painting the entire bottom of the wall. Use an angled trim brush to paint right up the baseboards.
Once everything has been painted you want to create a wet paint edge where all the colors meet. From there you want to take a brush move the colors into each other, like this basket weave pattern. Once each section has been blended, go back with a dry brush at a 45 degree angle and continue to blend in three colors. You want to make sure use this technique where all the colors meet.
Wait until the wall is fully dry, another 3 or 4 hours before putting everything back in the room.
Published on 11/10/2022.
Always follow manufacturer's instructions before using any product.
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