How to Paint a Scalloped Door Frame

Welp, I’m over here still working on my bathroom. And I have a fun update today! I shared last week about how I want to add scallops to the space, and yesterday it happened! Want to see how to paint a scalloped door frame?!

how to paint a scalloped door frame

Ok, so the last time I shared the bathroom on here, I painted the claw foot tub with rainbow stripes!

What I didn’t show, is that the rest of the room wasn’t painted.

So I gave the rest of the space a few quotes of white paint. Finally! A blank slate!

Since everything was white, it was finally time to add in some fun with paint! I was inspired by this project to create my own scalloped door trim-

 

 

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by aileen grodzinsky (@homemadehappinest) on Jun 20, 2020 at 5:24am PDT

SUPPLIES

• Pink Paint in sain finish
• A round bowl or lid. Mine was 5 1/2″ round
• Artist paint brush
• Sash paint brush 

step 1

First of all, I have to say that I messed up A LOT when doing this project. Hours worth of mistakes! BUT I figured it out and want to give you tips so that you don’t have to make a ton of mistakes too.

That being said, start by tracing the circle (a round bowl or lid or cup) with a pencil at the top corner! DO NOT start anywhere else. Start at the corner of the door so you can have a full circle around the corner. Then work your way down one side of the door frame.

To draw the scallops on, I placed the lid on the wall, pushed the circle flush with the edge of the trim, and then traced it with a pencil. Easy peasy!

step 2

Next, trace a circle around the other corner of the door frame. Then, work your way into the middle of the door frame by tracing scallops onto the top of the frame. If you’re lucky, it’ll work out perfectly. 

However, if you’re like me, the middle circle is too small. So I erased the scallops on top, and made a few a little bit smaller so that I could have an even amount of circles across the top.

step 3

And now, I have the left side scallops on, the top, so I went for the side. BUT even though I traced the circle like before, they didn’t line up with the other side. p.s. can you see that I painted the oversized letter board shelves in the background?! Now they relate nicely to the tub.

Because the left side and right scallops weren’t lining up, I did what I should have done from the beginning and used a level to mark where the scallops met up. Then I was able to go back with my lid and line it up on the pencil marks I made with the level and get the scallops to perfectly mirror each other on both sides of the door frame!

step 4

Finally, I had both sides of the scallops drawn on and looking good!

At that point, I took an artist paint brush and dipped it in paint and used it to outride the scallops.

Then, I quickly took a normal paint brush and used it to paint the scallop and the trim. Note, painting the trim is optional. I really am happy I decided to and LOVE the look. But if you want to leave the trim, here’s a look at a scalloped border without the trim painted- 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Amilia James (she/her) (@rosedoorhome) on Jun 30, 2020 at 2:32pm PDT

I think both ways look good! Anyway, I kept painting the scallops. It was exciting to see the project come together!

Side note, when I’m doing a tedious DIY and I have no clue how long it’ll take to finish, I use the stop watch on my phone to time how long it takes to do one part of it. So for this project I timed myself doing one scallop- painting the edge and then filling it in. It took me 2 and a half minutes for one scallop. So it took a little over 1 hour for the painting portion. 

Usually, I underestimate how long projects take and this gives me a realistic time line. 

After painting all the scallops, I ended up painting a second coat of paint. That took me 15 minutes. Hopefully that helps give you a good time estimate if you do this project too. Drawing on the outline of the scallops took a few hours. But if you follow the tutorial, it should help preventing the mistakes I made (which cost a lot of time. I probably spent 4-5 hours on this). Ready to see how the scalloped door frame turned out?!

after

Eep! Here is the scallop border trim in all of her beauty! Isn’t it so cute how it frames out the view of the letter board on the other side of the room?!

What I love about this project is that you just need a round lid or bowl, paint, and a few brushes. I had everything on hand and I was able to make a big statement!

The scallop border is so fun and girly- it’d be perfect in a nursery or little girl’s room! Or wherever if you are like me and think you can decorate your house however you want. I think scallops will be a huge trend this year. I thought I’d share some cute scalloped home decor items in case you want to try out this trend too!

1 wicker frame / 2 resin frame / 3 accent table / 4 armchair / 5 plates / 6 umbrella / 7 tray / 8 cake stand / 9 rug / 10 light fixture / 11 lamb basket / 12 quilt / 13 hand towels / 14 storage mirror / 15 throw pillow / 16 shelves / 17 sconce / 18 tea towel / 19 headboard / 20 wooden mirror / 21 sheet set 

 

So! There’s my scalloped door frame. I love it! I kept going back in there last night to see it. It’s so cute. I’ll probably do more scallops on the other side of the door frame to frame out the tub too. What do you think? Also, aren’t the colorful shelves fun?! They look adorable with the tub!

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