DIY Painted Vinyl Roller Shade

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A few weeks age I posted about my intention to paint a plain white roller shade for the nursery and asked for your insight on which pattern to choose (see here for that post). Thank you to all how commented- much appreciated! Well, there was no clear winner so I turned to my husband and he really liked the argyle pattern. So here is the final result:

Note that it is not installed since the nursery isn’t yet painted. But I must say that I’m super happy with the way it turned out!

In case you’d like to work on a similar project here are the instructions:

Step 1: Prep Your Shade
Completely unroll the shade on a flat surface (on the floor works perfectly). Clean the surface using a damp cloth (unless it’s really dirty in which case you can use a cleaning agent such a TSP). Find the middle of your shade with a tape measure, and mark with a pencil. This should be the starting point for your pattern or stencil, and then work your way the the edges of the shade.

For the argyle design, first figure out how many rows and columns of diamonds you want- I decided on three columns and two rows. To calculate the size of each diamond divide the length of the shade by the number of columns and the height by the number of rows. 

Here is my sketch which was then transferred onto the shade.

For greater detail on how to undertake an argyle pattern check out Toni’s description at Design Dazzle.

Step 2: Painting the roller shade
Once your pattern is sketched out you can begin to paint. Latex paint will work very well. I didn’t tape the edges but if you worry about not being able to paint straight lines I suggest using green painters tape to mark off the edges.

In the case of the argyle design there are two layers of paint (the diamond shape and the diagonal lines) so you’ll have to allow the diamond shapes to dry. For the diagonal lines I marked off the center of each white diamond and then connected them using a long level to draw the lines. I then cut out a stencil on cardboard with the desired circle center and rectangle connectors. The circle was actually traced from the end of a highlighter. The stencil was traced onto the shade and then painted.

Step 3:  Let the entire shade dry for a few days so the paint can cure. Then you just step back an marvel at your hard work and pretty roller shade.

                                               Here’s a close up. The colors match the nursery fabric- see here.

I’d love to know what you think!
Nancy

I’d love for your to visit our blog Dream it…Build it…Style it! for more information

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