My sister came over to help me paint stripes in my bedroom. (In our family, we call Kapri when we want something to actually get done.) This is the room I’m not finished decorating as it requires major furniture purchasing, but the stripes helped. And so did some pink tulips on the nightstand.

The stripes are tone-on-tone: a warmer white in a flat finish and bright white in a glossy finish. At certain times during the day, the walls look metallic, which I love.

I have walls that are completely flat and free of texture, so bleed-free stripes are easy to accomplish with green frog tape. But if you want to try this, and your walls are textured, this is the trick my sisters and I have used in the past. It’s fussy, but you’ll have perfect stripes.

Next up: drapes, a new upholstered bed (still saving), and art on the walls. But I found the chrome-trimmed nightstand for $50 on Craigslist. That was lucky.