I don’t have much time for fun art DIY’s these days, so this was a literal treat. While finishing up Emma’s Room, I knew we would end up needing a big ole piece of art for one of the larger walls. After many hours of shopping for prints online and several trips to Homegoods, I couldn’t find anything that gave that modern cozy cottage vibe– so we decided to make our own art! If you know me and my obsession with anything checkerboard pattern, I’m sure you’re just absolutely stunned to see that we did a checkered painting. It turned out SO cute though and is the perfect addition! Sometimes when you can’t find what you’re looking for, you just have to make it yourself.
Getting Started
I had an extra IKEA Ribba frame in storage that was the perfect size for this large and empty wall. Inside of the frame is a large piece of thick cardboard that is the exact size of the mat opening.
Making the paint
I knew I wanted some neutral colors for the checkerboard pattern. I have an embarrassing amount of paint samples and found the perfect base color! I chose Studio Clay – Behr which is such a pretty cream color! I just poured it out onto the piece of cardboard and used a foam roller to spread it all out into two even coats.
Making the grid pattern
Next, I used a scrap piece of shiplap to draw out my lines, because why use a ruler? I didn’t want clean straight lines for my pattern so I just eyeballed the spacing and drew out the grid. It ended up being about 2.5″x2.5″ – 3″x3″ per square.
Using a little bit of the base Studio Clay color, I and mixed about a tablespoon of Hushed Auburn (Emma’s Trim Color) and a bit of brown to make the darker shade for the squares.
Painting the checkerboard pattern
The girls love to paint so I let them join in. I wanted an organic and light textural look, so I didn’t mind it looking messy (trust the process). I love that this was simple enough that we could all do it together and they had so much fun picking out each square they wanted to paint next!
I went back in with the studio to clean up the edges and the squares that accidentally got the darker paint in them.
Adding Dimension
To give it some dimension, I dry brushed a little brown and white to my boxes in random spots.
Pop it back into the frame! (Look how cute it looks!!)
I love the mat that comes with the Ribba frame. It really elevates the art as opposed to it looking like a poster with no mat. I am so happy with how it turned out and loved that it was an art project the girls and I could make together! It’s perfect on this wall!
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