How to paint an ombre gradient

I’m finally finished with the project that I originally wanted to finish over the weekend.

In October I wrote a post about how to build a room divider and how I have been searching for some fabric for its reversed side. Well, last week I had an epiphany…OMBRE! I really set my mind to an ombre side to the room divider. Since that isn’t really a type of fabric that you can buy anywhere around here, let alone in the greys that I want, I thought about painting fabric again.

Update: a lot has changed since this post check out what our living room looks like now:

How to paint an ombre gradient

Materials needed:

• duck cloth
• latex paint
• brushes
• plastic containers for mixing
• mixing sticks
• small paint rollers
• glass with water
• measuring tape
• large ruler

details for painting the ombre gradient

I went to Joann’s fabric and picked up enough duck cloth to cover the other side of the room divider. I like duck cloth for painting because it is cotton and pretty thick. I grabbed all the grey leftover latex paint that I had from my living room, dining room, bedroom, and basement. The paint is all from the same gradient.
Then I went on the hunt for fabric medium. I used fabric medium in combination with acrylic paint to paint my gray horizontal striped curtains. I haven’t yet used fabric medium in combination with latex paint, since the instructions on the label read acrylic paint.
When I checked at the craft stores, they either had nothing left or just one or two bottles of fabric medium. I think $7.99 is a lot per bottle, don’t you think so? And on top of it, A.C. Moore really bugged me when they told me I could only use one coupon per person. Really? That’s ridiculous! Then I did research online to see if somebody came up with a recipe for fabric medium. I’m sure that there is something you could make at home to add to the paint as fabric medium. I’d really love to find out. I also search on Pinterest and found nothing. Have any of you come across a fabric medium recipe?

In the end, I was so frustrated that I just skipped the fabric medium and painted straight onto the duct cloth with latex paint. I figured that I didn’t need it soft and washable like the curtains. On my room divider, it would not get washed or moved.

So here is what I did:

I stapled the fabric to the side of each panel.  Then I attached them back together with the hinges so I could stand them up next to each other and started to paint.

I started with stripes, the lightest color from the top to the darkest color on the bottom.

(I used the same technique on my ombre striped cornice without blending)

Then I used each stripe paint, a spray bottle, and a brush to blend the stripes together. I wanted it light and subtle, because like I have said before, it is a dark corner by the step.

The blending wasn’t easy to do. I went over it several times which took me several hours.

When the panels dried I went to Joann’s fabric and bought dark grey ribbon, which I attached to the sides with hot glue to hide the staples. (You could also use a bright-colored ribbon)

Here it is. Of course, the weather was horrible yesterday (no natural light) and I had a hard time taking bright pictures in the dark corner. But I think the photos didn’t turn out too bad, right?

When I put the room divider back into the corner my hubby asked me if it is staying this way?
Me: “Well, ah, yes, it is dear! That’s what you call ombre!”
Him: “Ombre?”
Me: “Yes, ombre, when one lighter color fades into another darker color. A gradient!”
Him: “Oh, but it just looks unfinished.”

Whatever hubby, I like it. I think it looks nice! Don’t you?

And now that I see this picture, I have to say that a wall is bugging me.

Can you spy which one I’m talking about? I can see another painting project coming up.
(update HERE )

(UPDATE: Do you want to see what the room divider area looks like right now? It involves the photo below)

You can use a similar technique to fabric paint black and white curtains or painted horizontal striped curtains.

So what do you think about the ombre?
Are you with the hubby or me?