Ombré trend for the living room with Eva Brenner

Colour gradients to rejuvenate any room

Sad, tired living room? Especially in spring, when nature reawakens and everything blossoms with a riot of colour, we too feel the desire for change. Pale, white walls somehow no longer fit with the way we feel. So why not use the change of seasons to bring the popular ombré effect, which we've been using for years to add style to our hair, to your own living room wall?

It is almost impossible to achieve a fluid colour gradient with no harsh edges or stripes using classic painting tools such as a brush and roller. With a paint sprayer, however, stunning colour gradients can be applied onto the wall with soft transitions. Top interior designer Eva Brenner uses the W 590 FLEXiO paint spray system from WAGNER to demonstrate how to give your living room a makeover with the trendy ombré look.

A colour gradient can significantly enhance the appearance of a room's depth. If one particular wall is designed with several transitioning shades from the same colour family, even small rooms can be made to appear bigger. A colour gradient that gets lighter as it goes upwards can also increase the impression of space.

Spray, don't paint: Create the “sea” with paint

Spring is the ideal time for bringing the trendy colour gradient, also known as the ombré effect, to your living room. It creates the perfect stage for the season of change!

For the ombré effect on the living room wall, Eva has chosen the on-trend colour blue, graduated in three different shades. Think of the colours of the sea or the sky in summer and the lightness of the warmer days, and you'll be spot on. The idea behind it is simple: we want to bring the fun and colours of the summer holidays to our homes! With the characteristic colours of white and blue, combined with sand and cream shades, we're creating a modern, maritime style that makes everyone happy.

Creative wall design is something that all DIY fans should try. All you need, apart from masking tape, is a white wall, at least three shades from one colour family and a paint sprayer for wall paints.

Let's get started!

Colour gradient – quick and easy

First, the darker shade is applied at the base of the masked and clean white wall. To do this, Eva applies the colour with high coverage from left to right. The paint sprayer should be held parallel to the wall and at a consistent distance to ensure that the paint is applied uniformly.

A real bonus: the spray jet, the paint volume and the air volume can be individually adjusted. This means that the results are fantastic, regardless of what material or method you use. “This technique ensures the paint is applied really evenly”, explains Eva. “And the colour gradient has no edges.”

But as everyone, not just professional interior designers know: preparation is key. Before starting the spraying process, all of the shades should be mixed and be ready to use. The paint does not take long to apply and dry. The next shade will be blended for the gradient into the still wet paint from the previous “stripe”. So don't waste any time and switch to an additional spray attachment for wall paints quickly or briefly clean it, add the new shade and carry on spraying!

Five minutes are enough, and the middle shade can be sprayed over the first one. Important: to create the blending effect in the transition areas, always increase the distance from the wall. This reduces the coverage and creates a flowing gradient between the two shades of blue. When continuing to spray after the transition, the distance can be reduced and the coverage increased again. Pro tip: approx. 20 cm between the paint sprayer and the wall are ideal for a high-coverage application.

Do not wait too long after applying the second shade. Allow it to dry briefly, and then apply the lightest and final shade of the gradient. First create the transition area at a greater distance again, then reduce the distance and carry on spraying to create more coverage. By the way: if the gradient doesn't look  quite right between two shades, it's no problem with the paint sprayer. A quick respray is all it takes. The effect? “A perfect colour gradient with flowing transitions”, says Eva Brenner. This would be almost impossible to achieve with a roller and brush.

Eva then allows the lightest shade to fade into the white of the wall. Here too, the trick is more distance again. The distance between the wall and the paint sprayer, of course, needs to increase as you go along. This is the only way to achieve the blending effect into the white base colour. Eva is happy with her creative work: “The colour gradient gives the room a completely new feel and creates an effect of depth.” Without having to change the existing furniture, the living room has been transformed into a completely new space and a real highlight.

The result

This amazing effect is achieved with just three steps: a colour gradient that otherwise only nature could create with light and shade has been projected onto the wall, giving the entire room a maritime, spring feel.

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Why spraying is better

With HVLP paint sprayers you have a clear time advantage compared to brushes and rollers.

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