KABRIC Ombré Wall
Story and photos by Ryan Powell
Preparation
This part is straightforward for this kind of paint as the paint is thick and can almost be applied like plaster so there is no need to fuss too much over small blemishes on the walls. After stripping the room, filling, sanding and miss-coating the walls I finished the woodwork in white satin and the ceiling in white. The room was then ready to be taped and the skirting was covered with protective plastic.
Tools
Paint Tray
Paint Roller
10-inch Taping
Filling knife
4-inch Scraper
Large Tiling Sponge
4-inch Roller (handy around sockets)
120 Grit Sandpaper
Colours
I was under strict instruction that the room was to be pink, I personally loved the ‘Big Apple’ but with that colour planned for our summerhouse, that was ruled out almost immediately. After seeing a previous user of KABRIC mixing Mellow, Light Lavender, Sakura and Mulberry together, we knew this would work for us. The beauty of it is no matter how many people choose the same colour they will never completely look the same thus giving endless possibilities!
All four colours would have been beautiful alone but we felt combining them and merging them in a cloud-like manner would give us a great finish.
First layer
The aim was to ensure that I had covered the room with a base coat of each colour concentrating on merging it all together on the second coat. When I first started, I used four rollers and four trays keeping each colour separate, I would now say this could be done with one of each, the trick is to blend the colours at the end of the day! (Of course, scrape the extra back into the pot each time!)
I layered a thick amount of Mulberry first starting at the bottom and working my way up, I then used the taping filling knife to smooth out the paint stretching it up the wall and adding in the three other colours, dark to light. A tiling sponge came in handy for merging the colours but at this point that was not a priority as it was all about that base coat!!
Tips for the first layer: Roll right up to the tape, it’s much easier than trying to cut in the second time around. Concentrate on one wall at a time if you are doing a whole room.
Second layer
Three hours later…
The scary bit first, sanding down any lumps and bumps – this felt so wrong sanding a freshly painted wall but that is the magic of KABRIC, you can be as harsh or gentle as you wish – it all depends on what finish you desire! I only sanded down the thick lines I had left with the filling knife. My main top tip with this coat is to concentrate on one section of the wall at a time. Imagine splitting the wall into four/five sections and working on each one separately, this helps blend a lot better and prevents the paint from being too dry to easily merge. Each roll I took I extended encroaching into the next colour, blending with the filling knife in random directions to avoid any straight lines. Moving on to the other colours stretching them down into the next. I worked my way around the room switching the direction of colour as I went, it really doesn’t matter which way you work. I started again at the bottom and worked my way up, alternating on each wall.
When moving on to the next colour although scraped down after each use, the roller had remnants of the last, which transferred onto the wall, this worked well for the finish we were after and I just used the tiling sponge now and again to blend it in. I then kept going, one section at a time and there I had it… My wife smiling! She loved the final result!
Tips for the second layer: I only added extra paint for blending; you do not need to roll the paint on thick as the base colours are already achieved. Ensure you wet the sponge with water helping you glide across the paint. Try not to make it look ‘perfect’ the whole point in blending is to create a unique pattern. Remove protective tape when walls are still wet.
Final result
We love the paint, you cannot go wrong with mixing colours, the effect you end up with is totally bespoke and personal to you – you created that!
