DIY Metallic Ombre Wall Art

When dreaming up my bedroom for college, I had some key concepts in mind. I knew there had to be string lights, big white curtains for my big white windows, and metallic art everywhere. To my chagrin however, this lovely little project is the only thing so far that I’ve made in that metallic mindset (because of course I have to make everything and I have this little thing called actual school going on). I definitely want to do more from here, but I really love how just these canvases turned out! They’re feminine and metallic and pretty simplistic, which is definitely a good thing considering the amount of nonsense in my room. So here’s how you can make your own if you feel so inclined!

You will need:

2 large canvasses

White acrylic paint

Gold and silver metallic acrylic paint

Small, flat paintbrush

A couple pieces of wide lace trim

Spray-able white fabric paint (optional, found near the tie-dye supplies in your craft store)

Fabric scissors

Hot glue

Step 1

Completely coat each canvas in 1-2 coats of white acrylic paint. Even if they are already primed, you’ll want to use your own white paint so you can cover up any mistakes later. I also found that the metallic paint didn’t soak into the canvas quite as much after priming it, making it easier to get that fading, ombre effect.

Step 2

Paint the top 1/8 or so of the canvas in a solid coat of the metallic paint. Just below that, paint another strip in a similar manner, with just a little less paint on the brush.

Step 3

To slowly fade out to ombre, load your brush with paint, and paint a short, horizontal line at the edge you painted before. Then, pull the paint directly down in long vertical strokes until the brush is out of pigment. Go back and fill in a little by moving the mostly dry brush back and forth in the middle section of the paint you just laid down.

Step 4

While this dries a little bit, go back and paint another solid coat at the top 1/8 of the canvas. Do this in small sections, pulling the paint downwards throughout the top 1/4 of the canvas to blend and create a smooth transition.

Step 5

Using a mostly dry brush (brush off most of the paint on a scratch piece of paper), go back and blend between shades, especially at the end where the color fades to white. You will want the brush to have basically no pigment during this final stage.

(Note: I also tried to achieve some of this ombre by combining white and metallic paint. I would NOT suggest this, as all it did in my experience was dull out the paint, and ruin the metallic effects.)

 Step 6

Glue one edge of your lace trim to the back of the canvas with its flat edge flush to the top of the canvas. Stretch the lace across the front of the canvas, and secure the other end to the back as well, then cut off any excess lace. Please be extremely careful while gluing down the lace—don’t burn your fingers! It may help to put glue mostly in the middle so that you can hold the edges of the lace down while the glue cool.

After I that, these guys got a temporary home above the mantel in the living room until I accumulate enough art to make a gallery wall for my bedroom! (They are just too big and awkward for my naked wall right now…) I love how they look going in different directions, and I know I could take them down for a different space and they would still go beautifully!

Now I must admit, I was going back and forth on whether to add the lace, but ended up loving it with the design of my particular room because it ties really well with everything else that’s already there. (So all the vintage, girly nonsense!) If you aren’t into lace though, pom-pom trim or fringe would be super cute. Or even just the ombre by itself! Although, I could also see the same ombre design with wide stripes or flowers overlaid on top… Sorry, I get a bit carried away with my crafting ideas!

Anyway, please share your ideas for incorporating more metallic decor! I’d absolutely love to see what any of y’all have created and get inspired to add some more shine into my own space!

Stay lovely,