GOLD POLKA DOT STRIPED NICHE

Thankfully this house has lots of storage, and the hall leading back to the master bedroom has an angled corner cabinet with a niche cut out.  The storage cabinet is very useful, but the niche has always a pain in the neck to decorate.  One, it's an odd shape, two, it's asymmetrical, and three, it's height.  One side is wide and one is narrow, so it's difficult to choose where the focal point should be.  Most accessories leave lots of blank space between the tops of them and the rest of the wall to the ceiling, leaving a lot of empty feeling space.

After many different attempts over 6 years of living here, I think I finally figured it out!

For a while I've had the itch to repaint our living spaces, which would be A LOT of painting so it's not on the docket any time soon.  I'm really thinking about going lighter on the walls, maybe a warm white or super light tan.  So, I thought the niche would be a perfect spot to experiment with a color.  I chose "Shoji White" by Sherwin Williams.  I'm loving it so far and wish the rest of the house would be that easy to paint!

If you've been around here for a while, you might have noticed I have a think for stripes and polka dots, whether it's part of a room design or a cake!

The stripes helped to fill the wall space, and the polka dot ceiling was an afterthought just to add some fun.  I adore all of the star and polka dot ceilings that I've seen around the web, and thought this would be the perfect place to make this weird space into something special.

Now, several of you figured out from my sneak peek last week that I used duck tape!  (Yes, ducK tape, I know it's officially called ducT tape, but the brand on the roll is ducK tape so we'll go with that!)

Normally I probably would have just eye-balled the stripes, but I knew I wanted to be hanging some artwork there that would have to be space just right, so I measured.  I started with a clean edge on the top of the piece, tore a strip slightly longer than needed, applied the tape to the wall, and then used an x-acto knife along the bottom to cut a clean edge.

I'm sure some will wonder, so I'll address this question.  Will the tape damage the wall?  Maybe.  I used fresh paint on this wall, and then several days later put the stripes up.  A few weeks later, I decided that they needed to be re-positioned, and as I pulled the tape off it tore a few spots of paint off.  I'm not sure if the recent paint job had anything to do with it, or if the tape would normally tear the wall regardless.  Mine was not really a big deal, I just painted over those spots again.  Just so you know what to possibly expect.

I thought about getting some vinyl when I thought of adding the dots, but just decided to use what I had and use the duck tape for the dots as well.  I found a glass that was just the right size to fit the width of the tape, and traced some circles out.  

To ease the cutting out process, I cut some strips of wax paper and stuck them underneath the tape, leaving an edge without the wax paper, so it would peel off easily like a sticker.  I learned that you need to stick the tape to the wax paper, trace, cut, and peel and stick right away.  I made a bunch of dots and waited a few days before trying to peel off the backing, and it wouldn't come off.  Don't leave it on too long!

Because I wanted to get a good idea of where the dots were going before I started sticking them up, I used pieces of painter's tape to determine their placement.

My walls are lightly textured, so I tried not to press anything down too hard.  It looked smoother if I applied with a light touch.  If you have smooth walls would be even better!

I knew almost as soon as I brought them home that I wanted my thrifted prints to go in this spot.  I cut new mats using this method and put them in new frames, and I can't tell you how much I love these pictures!  

I'm keeping an eye out for a bust to go here, it just seems like that's naturally what needs to be in this spot!  In the meantime though, I just used some greenery from the yard, and moved the thrifted horse head from the living room. 

For a minute I got a wild hair...

It didn't stay.  Maybe at Christmas, but I really want the perfect little pendant light that I can replace that can light with.  

Now I don't cringe anymore every time I see this spot as I walk to my room!

Have you used duct tape as decor in your home?

I won't be posting tomorrow, but I'll see you on Monday, even though it's a holiday.  I have a VERY special week planned, and you'll want to check in every day...promise!  

Linking up with:
Thrifty Decor Chick Before & After Party
Calling It Home
Home Stories A to Z
Evolution of Style