Glitter walls? Yeah, so maybe the husband thought that was a little over the top, but what girl doesn’t want walls that sparkle, because, sparkles! So, of course, I thought, “somebody has to sell that,” and by “that,” I meant glitter wall paint, and somebody does, but holy walls that sparkle is it expensive, I mean $50–$150 a gallon depending on the base color or maker, and here in Alaska, shipping was extra. I wanted baby girl to have a glitter wall, but, well, I’m cheap.
Next thought? Glitter paint additive. That would be cheaper right? Sure, a pack of glitter paint additive will run you about $12 on amazon with free Prime shipping– except it takes two packs per gallon for a “subtle shimmer” and 3+ for any real sparkle— after buying even cheap generic wall paint you’d still be looking at about $50 a gallon.
Finally, I had that eureka moment, a flashback to 8th-grade ceramics class, “glitter glaze! That’s the ticket!” I thought. Sadly, glitter glaze was $14 per 16 oz or $22 for 32 oz. I guess that makes sense being this glaze is actually intended for small craft projects.
Defeated, I settled for the 16 oz. I figured I could add some glittery swirls like a little fairy had gone fluttering across our daughter’s walls. When I went to do that though, I found a little covered a lot and was way more sparkly than I really wanted. I didn’t want like a bling wall encrusted in glitter—that would be over the top and into tacky.
I washed that small patch off, and then I watered the remaining glitter glaze down. I threw that entire 16 oz. bottle in a container I never wanted to use again (because not every girl wants sparkly poop) then added about a cup of water. Shockingly, that 16 oz + 8 oz water covered an 8 x 10 room! The effect was this awesome almost iridescent look. The glitter does not flake off when the wall is touched either. It didn’t even add a texture. I did have to do the whole room with a paintbrush, but with a 4 in. brush that still only took me about 45 minutes.
Total cost?
-1 gallon paint: $18
–16 oz. glitter glaze $14
$32!
Alright, assuming you didn’t get bored with my narrative there and click back to Pinterest, I should probably throw some less chatty directions for this glitter wall project in here.
How to Make DIY Glitter walls (or a glitter wall)
1. Paint the room or wall as you normally would and allow it to dry.
The paint color in our daughter’s room in the pictures is “lavender dream.” The color glitter in the glaze used in this case is silver and sort of a lime green, so keep that in mind when choosing a color— pinks, purples, lighter greens, white, or silver would all look great for the base.
2. Lay out drop cloths.
This is a messy project. I mean, you’re painting watered-down glitter glaze on a wall, unless you want glitter floors too, drop cloths are a must to minimize the mess. I used a sheet the kids had destroyed.
3. Mix your glitter glaze
I did 1 cup (8 oz) water to 16 oz of glaze, but if you want a stronger glitter effect, reduce the water. If you want even less shine, go a little more. You can do a test patch if you like. While the glaze is wet, it will come off with warm water. Coverage-wise, it looks much like it does wet once dry except you can’t tell where the brush strokes are and such.
As noted up there, a 16 oz. bottle mixed this way covered an 8 x 10 room with one small window and a door.
4. Paint it on the wall
I was not brave enough to try a paint roller on this project. I feared it would absorb all my glaze and I’d be stuck buying more. If you try it, drop us a comment and let the rest of the DIY glitter wall makers know there’s an easier way, but I used a 4-in. edging brush. Again, if you didn’t read the beginning of this thing, an 8 x 10 room took me about 45 minutes this way, ceiling to floor, full coverage.
5. Let it dry
That’s it. Now you just sit back and enjoy the sparkle, which is way easier than trying to photograph these glitter walls was. Seriously, I could not capture how cool the final result ended up looking. These walls are purple at one angle, step two feet, the lighting makes them look a shiny silver-green like fairy wings. When the sunlight comes in it looks like her walls are covered in diamond flecks. I’d do this to my whole house if my husband wouldn’t kill me, because sparkle!
