Nautical stripes have been a popular interiors choice for many a year now and are frequently featured in bathrooms and bedrooms. However, stripes in the home are now stepping up a notch, and whether horizontal or vertical they’re making a splash in full rainbow glory.

Want to get involved? You could of course buy a comfortable armchair with bold stripes or invest in rugs, cushions and other soft furnishings in a spread of stripy shades. The brave among you might even plump for some stripy wallpaper, which you’ll need to hang really carefully – wonky stripes don’t look quite as wonderful! Of course, an easier and less committed way to get in on the trend is by creating your own custom striped canvas print, here are a few ideas to get your creative juices flowing…

Optical effects
Have you ever considered why Zebras are stripy? You’d think they’d want to blend in rather than stand out. According to scientists, their stripes do afford them some protection, albeit when they are on the move when they can make it harder for predators to focus on them. With a little Photoshop trickery you can create your own optical effects by layering images with stripes.

Celebrate the stripes around you
We’re not all lucky enough to visit the plains of Africa to take photographs of Zebras in the wild but there are plenty of stripes around us that make interesting photo fodder. From coloured flowers in a row to bright beach huts and the humble bumblebee, you can study manmade stripes or those of nature. If you’re a fan of foodie pics, why not try styling different foods in coloured stripes?

Triptych stripes
If you can’t find stripes around you to photograph, how about creating your own? You could create a triptych canvas using images in different colours, giving the suggestion of a stripe. By photographing subjects with different textures, your triptych canvas prints will provide plenty of interest beyond the stripes themselves. Learn more about split canvas prints on the blog.

Stripe embellishment
Fancy adding stripes to an existing canvas print or wall art? Use masking tape to create straight guides and fill in the gaps by covering with varnish, paint or glitter. Alternatively add an extra dimension with sewn embellishments such as beading or buttons for an utterly unique print.

Do you have any spring decorating plans? If so, will you be experimenting with rainbow stripes or keeping your colour scheme simple? Do you have plans to create some custom canvas prints to complete the look and feel of a particular room? We’d love to hear about your projects and to see the results too, so feel free to share your hints and tips below or head over to Facebook and share your snaps.