Painting the wall halfway up: Tips for the correct height of the horizontal line and its effect

Dietwo-tone wall designis trendy again! Previously associated with hospital corridors and stairwells in apartment blocks, this type of wall design is now increasingly in demand in modern homes and can instantly give rooms a vintage flair. The horizontal division and skilful color selection can even influence the spatial effect and create visual width or height. We'll tell you below how you can paint a wall halfway up and what effect the different heights of the horizontal lines have!

Painting the wall halfway up has advantages:

  • It is an interesting and still not very popular solution (in living spaces).
  • It's an inexpensive and effective way to add creativity to a wall.
  • The decision to paint the lower part of the wall in a dark shade is very practical and perfect for the children's room and hallway. In this way, dirt stains on the wall, for example, are not so visible.
  • Such a wall design gives the room an artistic atmosphere, so it looks beautiful in all studios, studios and home offices for creative minds.
  • The two-tone wall design is a compromise between white and colored walls. So if you're worried that a dark accent wall would overwhelm the interior, paint the wall only halfway up.

Which colors are best?

The safest and most commonly used solution is a combination of white on the upper part and a different color on the lower part of the wall. You can go for a contrasting combination and use, for example, navy blue, pine green, turquoise or ocher yellow.

For bedrooms and children's rooms, light blue, sage green or powder pink go wonderfully with white because they create a feeling of calm and harmony. It depends on what effect you want to achieve in the room. Dark colors have a restrictive effect, but they can also convey a feeling of security and show off furniture and decorations better.

As already mentioned, using a dark color in the lower part of the wall is very practical against unsightly dirt stains on the wall. White in the upper part of the wall, on the other hand, gives the room brightness and lightness. If the walls and ceiling are painted the same color, the room will appear visually larger.

Paint the wall halfway up – what height?

In high rooms it is best to apply the paint up to about 1/3 of the room height. With a room height of 2.7 meters, this means a height of between 0.9 and 1.1 meters. In lower rooms (2.4 - 2.5 meters), a height of around 0.9 - 1 meter also looks good. In low rooms you can use the 1/4 division (room height: 4) and cleverly make the ceiling appear higher.

In most cases it makes sense to choose the bottom edge of the windows as the border for the next color. Using the darker shade higher on the wall will make the window appear visually lower. When divided below the window sill, the window looks as if it were placed higher.

Another option is to let the darker color move a little higher, so that the horizontal border between the two colors is placed 30 to 50 centimeters from the ceiling. In this case, the ceiling should be painted in the same shade as the wall above. This is an excellent idea for an accent wall in a bedroom with a low ceiling.

This type of wall design should also be coordinated in terms of color and style with the furniture in the room. Depending on the desired effect, these can appear visually in the foreground or almost disappear into the background. It looks best when the furniture is a few centimeters lower than the line, such as a sideboard, a couch or a table.

Another option would be to highlight the wall design by choosing furniture in the same color as the wall. In this way, decorations and art pieces are shown to their best advantage.

How to decorate a two-tone wall?

A two-tone wall is an eye-catcher in itself, but can also be embellished with other wall decorations. Wall picture arrangements and XXL posters, for example, look very nice. Also an interesting idea is to hang a shelf along the border between the two colors. It will further emphasize the horizontal division.

Painting the wall halfway up – instructions:

To onePaint the wall halfway up, you need:

  • Latex paint in two different shades
  • Painter's tape
  • Tape measure
  • Pencil
  • cord
  • Adhesive tape or two helpers
  • uncle role
  • paint tray
  • Flachpinsel
  • Rubbing

Tip: It's best to use blue painter's tape. It is more durable and sticks better than the yellow one.

1. First prepare the room: cover the floor with painter's tarpaulin, mask off skirting boards and doors, etc.

2. Start by painting the top half of the wall. To do this, you determine the height of the border between the two colors. Here the lower edge of the window sill serves as a guide; the height is about 1 meter from the floor. Then paint the walls white starting from the ceiling up to this height. (You don't have to work exactly towards the bottom as the colored area will cover this part later.)

2. Once the first color has dried well, mark the height of the later color demarcation in several places in the room with a pencil and a tape measure. Try to keep the tape measure perpendicular to the floor.

3. To make a straight line, use a string. Pull the string tight and glue the ends to the wall, taking into account the previously marked points. If you have a friend to help, they can hold the string while you stick the tape on.

4. Then stick painter's tape along the string. Constantly check the height, sticking to the markings drawn at the beginning.

If your painter's tape is not very wide, you can stick a second strip over the first. This way you reduce the chance of staining the white wall when applying the bottom paint.

On the longest wall, you will also want to tape the string down the middle of the wall so it doesn't hang down.

5. Once all walls are taped, press the tape down again with your fingernail to ensure it is firmly attached to the wall. This way you will keep the amount of paint that gets under the tape to a minimum.

6. Now the bottom color is applied. After opening the paint can, stir the paint well with a stirring stick until you get a uniform consistency. Start by painting in the corners and along the edges of the tape.

Then apply the paint with a paint roller. Work from one side to the other and always roll from top to bottom in the area.

Remove the tape immediately after painting while the paint is still slightly wet. This will give you a clean color edge. If you wait too long, the adhesive tape can tear off pieces of the paint.

After the paint dries after a few hours, reapply the tape and apply a second coat of paint.

The two-tone walls are finished! The dark blue color does not appear overwhelming and at the same time is a beautiful background for furniture and plants.