How To Make A Gold Dot Wall (With A DIY Stencil)

I wanted a statement wall that felt fun and glamorous without the commitment or cost of wallpaper, so I grabbed some paint and made my own gold dot stencil. This simple DIY technique lets you create a custom metallic accent wall that adds personality and shine, and it’s easier to pull off than you might think.

During my recent media room makeover, I wanted to recreate the look of the gold dot wallpaper I saw on the cover of a magazine.

Since the wallpaper was really expensive, I decided to see if I could paint it instead.

The pattern had double horizontal rows of square dots evenly spaced all around the room.

So I had a couple of dilemmas. The first was how to create the dots so that they were all the same size.

The second was how to make sure they were evenly spaced and straight. The rows would look awful if they weren’t straight!

Originally I thought I would be able to tape off the individual squares and paint them. But the thought of trying to get them all lined up seemed impossible!

Some people might buy gold adhesive vinyl and cut it to size for the squares, but I gave up putting stickers on the wall when my kids grew up. And you still have the problem of making sure they’re straight.

We finally came up with the idea of creating a stencil that has the rows of dots cut into it. That would make sure they were all the same size and that the dots on the stencil were straight.

Fortunately, this is a really easy pattern to create with a Cricut!

1 | Download the stencil pattern

The first thing you’ll need is the stencil pattern.

You can download it for free from our subscriber’s only resource library by signing up for our newsletter.

Then look for the link under the DIY Home Decor Projects section.

There are 2 files there:

• one has a .png extension to use if you’re cutting the stencil with a Cricut.
• The other is a .pdf file to use if you’re cutting the stencil by hand.

2 | Cut the stencil

With a Cricut

The easiest way to cut the stencil is with a Cricut machine*.

To do this:

1. Save the .png file from above to your computer.
2. open Cricut Design Space*.
3. Create a New project.
4. Then upload the .png file as a single layer.
5. Resize the image so that it is about 6 inches wide and 9.5 inches long.
6. Make sure Operation drop down at the top of the page is set to “Basic Cut”. Then click “Make”.
7. Create a custom material in Design Space for the stencil material with the following settings:

Cut Pressure:  335
Multi-cut: 2X
Blade-type: Fine Point Blade

8. Use the Cricut to cut out the squares.
9. Use scissors to cut the stencil in half so you end up with 2 strips that each have 2 rows of square dots on them.

By hand

To cut the stencil by hand:

1. Print out the .pdf version of the stencil file on a plain piece of paper.
2. Tape the paper to a piece of stencil plastic making sure it is well secured.
3. Cut out each of the squares using a utility knife and a ruler (if you want to make sure the lines are straight). Make sure the knife is sharp and go slowly because it’s really easy for it to slip.
4. Use scissors to cut the stencil down the center line so you have 2 stencils that each have 2 rows of dots.
5. Then remove the paper, and you’re ready to start stenciling

3 | Mark the first row line

To be visually accurate, the row of dots closest to the ceiling had to appear straight around the room. So this was the most important line.

This is one case where you don’t actually want to use a level to make sure they are straight. If you do that and your ceiling isn’t level, the dots will look crooked even if they aren’t.

I wanted the first row of dots to be 6″ from the ceiling and the rows to be 10″ apart. 

The top of the stencil was 1″ from the top of the pattern, so I measured down 5″ from the ceiling at each end of the wall and used the painter’s tape to mark the spot. 

Then I taped a string between these two spots, making sure to pull it tight.

I now had straight line from one wall to the next wall 5″ from the ceiling.  To insure it did not sag in the middle, I taped this line at 2 foot intervals along the wall.

4 | Stencil the first row

It was then easy to line up the top of the stencils along the string and tape them into place.

Using a dab of gold paint, and a natural bristle round stencil brush, I pounced the dots onto the wall.

5 | Mark and stencil the second row

Once I had finished stenciling the top row of double dots, I measured for the next row 17″ down from the ceiling.  (The pattern of double dots is 2″ wide and the distance between the rows of dots is 10″ plus the original 5″).

Then repeated the same process of taping the string across the wall, placing the stencils and painting the dots as described above.

6 | Continue down the wall

Each subsequent row was measured in 12″ intervals always measuring from the ceiling, e.g. at 17″, 29″, 41″, 53″, 65″, 77″. 

I wrote these numbers down on a piece of paper that I kept handy so that I wouldn’t miscalculate as I worked.

Note: Unless your house is very well built (mine is not), the bottom row of dots will not be equidistant from the floor due to variations in the house construction. But with all of the furniture in the room, you don’t really notice that.

7 | Repeat for the other walls

When you have finished the first wall, repeat all of the steps on each of the other walls until you are done!

This process is easy and simple but not fast!

It took me about 2 days to finish stenciling all four walls of my small living room.

However, in my opinion, it was totally worth the effort and time!

Have comments or questions about how to stencil a gold dot wall? Tell us in the section below.