How to Paint a Checkered Wall

When we created a pantry from nothing in the house we are renovating, there was one full wall that was blank and didn’t have a shelving or cabinets. We added some hooks but it still felt like it needed something. We decided an easy project that would make it more interesting would be a checkered wall. We could have bought wallpaper to do this, but since we will be selling this house, we didn’t want to do something that wouldn’t appeal to more buyers. Paint can be easily changed if the buyer doesn’t love it but will help the buyers see how they can add something to that wall if they want to.

What You’ll Need:

• Measuring Tape
• Level
• Scotch Painter’s Tape
• Paint
• Small Paint Roller

We started my measuring the wall and decided how much we wanted each of the checker boxes to be. We went with making them each 6 inches wide and long.

We marked each square off with a pencil and then used a long level to make straight lines down and across.

Once we had all of the lines drawn, I went in and put a little piece of Scotch Painter’s Tape in every other box to mark off the boxes that will not be getting painted. Then I taped around the lines for the boxes that will be getting painted.

Then, we used a precision knife to cut the corners for each box that will be painted so the boxes will have crisp lines. After the boxes were all prepped, it was time to start painting!

We used a small paint roller to paint each of the boxes. The prep took a little more time and was a little tedious but it made this step so simple and fast. We knew exactly which boxes to paint and the tape made painting so easy.

We painted the whole wall and then waited until the paint was dry to the touch and peeled off all of the tape. Scotch Painter’s Tape is the best paint and left such crisp and clean lines for the boxes. This project would have taken so much more time and been so much more difficult without it!

The finished look is exactly what this small pantry needed. The wall was so bare and plain before and now it has just the right amount of pizzazz and will show the buyers the potential this space has. It looks great, especially through the glass barn door.

If you’re looking for a simple beginner friendly DIY for a wall in your home, this one is a great option!