While Grace, Mamrie, and Hannah called this project a "trust exercise," — since they only got to paint the shapes and had to wait to see what the final purpose was — I call it the only way you'll every enjoy using geometry after 10th grade.
It's a common dilemma to have a large piece of wall art, a mirror, or a whiteboard on the wall and not know what to do with the negative space around it. You can't really build a gallery wall, but all that empty white isn't aesthetically fantastic. I devised these DIY painted polygons as the perfect solution to this problem, and they're not just something the girl bosses get to partake in — this project is versatile enough to work in any color or space.
Prep It:
Measuring tape Laser level Painters tape Original wall paint color New wall paint color (or colors) Paintbrush Roller Glass whiteboards Stand-off mounts
Do It!:
- Measure your whiteboards to make sure that your wall shapes will be larger on all sides. Plot out and mark with a pencil how large you want your painted areas.
- Use a laser level to project the bottom line of your polygons onto the wall and tape along the bottom line. We chose to keep the bottom line level and the side lines 90 degrees on the sides where the shapes met. Tape along these level lines.
- On the outer sides you can get creative, and no need for a level, to tape off various angles creating irregular geometric shapes. There is no right or wrong way to do this step!
- When painting, start by painting along the tape with the color that is already on the walls (in our case it was the white wall color). This way, when/ if bleeds happen (because no painters tape is perfect), the bottom color that bleeds through is what is already on the wall and seals any future bleeds from the second color. This creates perfectly straight lines when you finally do remove the tape!
- Once your white (or whichever base color) paint is dry, paint in the polygons with the new colors.
- Let these colors dry, remove the tape, hang your whiteboards (or art) and enjoy the perfect, abstract frame for your wall hanging!
