College Boy’s Room Makeover (DIY – Denim Wall Tutorial)

Have you ever intended to do a home improvement project, bought all the supplies and then let them sit there for years on end. (If you answered “yes” then I don’t feel so bad.). Well, that’s how this room makeover for my teenage son started out.

Several years ago I decided my teenage son’s room needed a makeover and I loved the look of a textured blue denim wall. Shopping at Home Depot one day, I noticed they sold the Ralph Lauren Denim Paint and supplies so I picked up what I needed for the project. Fast forward a couple years to 2020 and my son, now in college, unexpectedly arrives home during the covid pandemic. One day he announces, “I want to paint my room.” “Well” I reply, “I’ve already bought the paint, but you might need some help.”

Thankfully I have a good natured son and we were able to have some fun tackling the painting together.

Here is a look at the room before the makeover with remnants of a childhood nautical theme – beige walls, red curtains with a striped valance, a nautical Pottery Barn Quilt, sleigh bed and a collection of posters and pictures my son had taped to the wall.

And here is how it looks now with a more Ivy League Collegiate feel – Denim painted walls, antique spool bed, linen curtains, crisp white sheets and a wool throw, grainsack and blue ticking pillows, new wall sconces, some antique pieces and framed vintage crew photograph.

To achieve this look, the first step is to paint the walls in a base color, we chose Ralph Lauren’s Plaster White. After the base paint drys you can begin taping the wall in sections, painting every other section with the top glaze paint, we used Ralph Lauren’s Aged Navy.

You roll on the glaze and we found you have to work quickly. Also it’s a good idea to have two people on this project. The first can roll a section of glaze and

immediately after rolling a section, the second person can use a paint weaving brush to add the texture. I dragged the brush from right to left across the entire section before going immediately back over it, this time lightly dragging it vertically from the ceiling to floor across the section.

We waited a day for the sections to dry before removing the tape, retapping with a 1/4″ overlap over the previous section and then applying the glaze to the remaining sections.

There are detailed instructions if you are interested over on the Ralph Lauren Home website.

Let me know what you think and if you want to add a denim painted wall to a room in your home I’d be happy to answer any questions you have. Just leave me a comment below.