Faced with a room that's plain vanilla? Transform it by painting the walls with floor-to-ceiling rectangles of your favorite colors, set off with a crisp border of white between them. The contemporary look is clean and energizing. Bordered paint blocks work well in a variety of situations, but they are especially useful for spaces with few furnishings, or for kids' play rooms. Choose at least five colors that go well together for variety and to avoid color collisions. If you're doing a child's room or playroom, you might get the child involved by asking for help in choosing the colors.

Skill Level: Simple measuring and painting skills

Time Required: A few hours to plot and tape, then bits and pieces of time, allowing for some overnight drying time.

What You Need:

• Tape measure
• A level or two, ideally one large and one small (for tight spaces) imprinted with a ruler
• Ruler
• Colored pencils
• Low-tack painter's tape
• Clear glaze
• Paint, in at least five colors

1. Measure your wall and decide what size you'd like your rectangles and borders to be. The color blocks on the finished wall directional are 24 x 15 inches with a 3-inch border between them. Tip: Size your blocks so that you'll have an odd number of them on each wall, and plan no less than a 2-inch border between them.

2. Using a level/ruler combination or a level and ruler, mark your design on the wall. Use colored pencils to indicate the paint color to be used. Start at the top of the ceiling and move down the wall, letting the design run out at the floor if needed.

3. Use low-tack painter's tape to mark off each section for painting. Any paint that'll be beneath the tape should dry completely first -- at least overnight. Tape just inside the colored pencil lines so that the paint will cover them. To achieve the cleanest finished paint edge, press firmly on the tape edge as it's applied.

4. Before applying paint, use a small brush or roller to apply clear glaze on the edge of the tape -- that's inside the space you'll be painting. The glaze works like lip liner does with lipstick, preventing the paint from seeping beneath the tape. Allow the glaze to dry according to manufacturer instructions.

5. Now it's time for color! Use a small roller or brush to apply paint. While the paint's still wet, carefully remove the tape -- slowly -- so that no paint's pulled up with the tape.