How To Paint Thin, Really Thin, Teensie-Weensie Stripes

A few weeks ago, when I started painting this Pottery Barn bookcase, I wrote a post that should be labeled ‘TMI’. I’ve found it’s an occupational hazard of blogging – revealing way too much about the inner workings – work-ings? – hmm, maybe inner ramblings of my mind.

Today I’m gonna exercise restraint and just show you how I painted thin stripes in the bevel trim of the bookcase. Thin, as in wear granny classes thin. Thin, as in my granny glasses weren’t strong enough so had to wear Mom’s granny glasses. Thin, as in 1/8 to 1/4 inch. Thin, as in what was I thinking when I told the client we should add antique gold detailing to the bookcase. Me. I did that. No one else to blame but moi.

But here’s the deal. . . here’s how it started as a plain, cute, but plain white Pottery Barn bookcase.

Cute, right? But it was headed for this room -

And that’s just one part of one wall in the baby girl’s nursery. I just wanted you to see the antique gold crib so you’d understand why I wanted to add the gold stripes to the bookcase. Just wait ‘til you see the entire room with the pink chandelier, custom bedding and ruffled pillows on the daybed, comfy glider and ottoman. And, oh yeah, the antique gold frames I faux finished to match the crib.

We’ll get to the entire room eventually. Today is about painting thin little gold stripes on a bookcase.

I thought I had them mastered a few weeks ago, but the more I looked at the stripes I painstakingly painted with a tiny liner brush, the more I knew I couldn’t leave them like that.

So I had to take a break from the bookcase to paint a tray ceiling and faux finish some walls that were inset into a nook. Sort of. But, no worries. I did what I always do – tape off the wall, burnish the edge of the tape, and then paint over it with the wall base color to get a complete seal and there’s absolutely no color seepage.

Duh! Why wouldn’t that work on a skinny little wood bevel? I couldn’t wait to try it. So I laid the tape down on either side of the bevel, burnished the tape, and slapped on the basecoat color.

Then I painted a light brown coat because metallic gold paint doesn’t have a lot of opacity (full coverage) and requires a bunch of coats. Make sense?

Then a couple of coats of gold metallic.

And then, heart racing, sweaty palms, I tore the tape off for the big reveal . . .

Wait! Before we get to the big reveal I thought of a simple little tip -

You know how you lay down one strip of tape, then another, and maybe another, overlapping each edge as you go? When you’re ready to pull the tape up, start at the opposite edge from the way you started and it’ll pull up all in one piece.

I know. Simple. But stuff like that makes someone like me with OCD-like tendencies very happy.

Okay, ready for the reveal now?

Ta-da!

Ok. So it’s not perfection, but it’s pretty dang close. Close enough to make me do a happy dance and get excited about painting the rest of the bevels.

So if you want to paint teeny-weeny stripes, just tape ‘em off, paint with basecoat, and go to town. Just know that the straighter you place the tape, the straighter your lines will be.

If you don’t have any basecoat color – like for a wall or something – you can use acrylic matte medium (it’s clear) or even Mod Podge matte. Both work great.

Cool, right?

So, aren’t you gonna ask me about the flower detailing on the apron and sides of the bookcase?

You gotta come back tomorrow to see the flower reveal.

Ha! I’ve been watching way to much TV with season-ending cliff hangers.