Painting in a Faux Chair Rail

So we are in the process of fixing up an old historic home. It used to have chair rail in it, but now just has really rough walls from where it was ripped out previously. 

I mulled over trying to put actual chair rail on, but eventually decided I would paint it instead.  In the same theory that I have always used on clothes:  light reveals, dark conceals.  A deep brown paint was just the ticket.

Below the chair rail is painted in Behr paint+primer Oregano Spice.  Above the chair rail is Behr Mushroom Bisque, and the chair rail itself is Behr Ancient Root.

As you may be able to tell, I only use Behr.

Why, you ask?  I like Behr because it is thicker.  It almost always gets me out of doing a second coat, and when I am painting with a roller it doesn't splatter all around like other paint.  Behr has never let me down on a color, either, they are always very true to the paint chip.

Now, speaking of Behr paint chips, let's talk about that chair rail.  This chair rail is approximately the size of the large Behr single color paint chips at Home Depot.  How convenient ;).  I used the paint chip as a guide the whole way around my room because I happen to not own a laser level or anything like that.  AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, USE GREEN FROG TAPE NOT BLUE TAPE.  Frog tape is a heck of a lot better, and much more inclined to stick on satin finish paint which is all I use.

To anyone freaking out that they would get a really crooked chair rail, odds are you won't if you use something consistent like a paint chip all the way around.  Tape off in 1 foot or so sections so that you will have less of a tendency to put the tape up severely crooked.

Most importantly, don't worry about the little glitches that will inevitably occur.  In this picture, the paint job is good enough at a distance that you can barely tell that there is an electric conduit tube running down my wall near the corner.  However, if you got up really close to it you would notice a few errors.

My point is, you put a LOT of furniture and similar in a room that breaks up the chair rail and paint.  If it is not 100% perfect, most people are going to notice, and polite people won't say a word about it.

If you are wondering why I do not have baseboard right here just yet, I haven't been real overly concerned with this part of the room because my bed will be along this wall.  And yes, I really would be perfectly fine leaving a baseboard off or postponing putting it on simply because my bed will cover it.

I am never joking when I say I am a realist.

I wanted a lot of the brick left exposed in the room instead of it all being patched because I am going with a vintage type feel in the room.  I actually want the age and wear and tear to show in some places, and I have always loved exposed brick. 

AND the best part is I got that huge chandelier which no one any taller than me can walk under for $50 at a flea market :).  Don't worry, I will be putting a table under it so that no one feels inclined to walk under it of course.

Happy crafting! Pin It Now!