22 Fun Summer Window Painting Ideas

Painting a window is a cheap, temporary way to decorate for summer. With washable window markers, washable tempera or window color made for glass, kids and adults can paint a design together and wash it off when the season ends.

Below are 22 summer window designs, each with what to paint and how. Read the basics first, because the right paint, a test spot and a safe window area matter more than the design. For more warm-weather projects, see these summer art projects for kids.

Before you paint a window

Choose paint made to come off glass

Washable window markers are the easiest choice for kids. Washable tempera also works on glass, and mixing in a small squirt of dish soap is a common trick to help it wash off. Window color such as Plaid’s Gallery Glass is meant for peel-off clings: Plaid’s instructions call for at least 8 hours of drying for the outlines and again for the color, and say window color isn’t for outdoor use. Liquid chalk markers are made for smooth, non-porous surfaces and can leave marks on porous ones such as bare wood.

Test a small area first

Paint a small corner, let it dry and wash it off before you do the whole window. Keep paint off window tint film, rubber seals and wooden frames. Window film makers warn against razor blades, scrapers and ammonia cleaners on film, and Crayola advises against using its window markers on mirrors with a fog-free coating or UV film.

Decide which side of the glass to paint

Paint the inside of the glass if the design needs to last through rain, because washable paint on the outside runs in wet weather. Anything painted on the inside reads backwards from the street, so reverse letters and numbers that are meant for passers-by.

Make the window area safe

Look for the ACMI AP seal on paints and markers for children; ACMI says products with its CL seal should never be given to children in grade 6 or younger. Keep windows closed while kids paint. The CPSC advises keeping window covering cords out of children’s reach and moving furniture away from windows, and warns never to rely on screens to stop a child from falling.

The 22 designs at a glance

Design	Skill level	Easiest tool	Key detail
Summer sunshine	Beginner	Markers or tempera	Second coat of yellow
Beach and ocean	Beginner	Tempera	Paint top to bottom
Watermelon slices	Beginner	Tempera	Seeds on dry red
Ice cream cones	Beginner	Tempera, marker	Waffle lines last
Palm trees	Intermediate	Tempera	Sky before trees
Rainbow	Beginner	Tempera	Red on the outside
Pineapples	Beginner	Tempera, marker	Crisscross on dry yellow
Sunflowers	Beginner	Tempera, cotton swab	Dotted seed center
Flamingos	Intermediate	Marker for legs	S-shaped neck
Hot air balloons	Beginner	Tempera, marker	Smaller balloons higher
Under the sea	Beginner	Tempera	One dark outline color
Lemonade and lemons	Beginner	Tempera	Clear strip for shine
Hello Summer lettering	Intermediate	Marker, tempera	Reverse letters inside
Flip flops	Beginner	Tempera	Sand strip first
Fireworks	Intermediate	Tempera	Dark patches, not full glass
Ladybugs	Beginner	Tempera, fingertip	Leaves first
BBQ grill	Beginner	Tempera, marker	Wispy dry-brush smoke
Coral reef	Intermediate	Tempera	Clear glass above
Strawberries	Beginner	Tempera	Loose seed pattern
Butterflies	Beginner	Tempera, marker	Matching wings
Camping tent	Intermediate	Tempera	Yellow, orange, red flames
Dragonflies	Intermediate	Marker, tempera	Wings held out flat

1. Bright Summer Sunshine

A big yellow sun with wavy rays is the easiest window design and a good first project for young kids. Paint a yellow circle, add rays all around it, then blend a little orange into the edge of the circle while it’s still wet. Older painters can add a second ring of shorter rays or a smiling face in a darker color once the yellow is dry.

Good to know: light colors such as yellow usually need a second coat on glass to look solid, so let the first coat dry before adding another.

2. Beach and Ocean Scene

Paint the scene in three bands: a pale sky at the top, blue waves in the middle and sand along the bottom. Work from the top down so drips don’t run into finished areas. When the bands are dry, add a beach umbrella, a ball or a few shells. Younger kids can dot shells and starfish, and older painters can mix a darker blue for the water near the horizon.

Good to know: for sandy texture, dab a lighter tan over the dry base color with a dry sponge.

3. Juicy Watermelon Slices

Paint a red triangle with a curved bottom edge, then a thin pale green line along the curve and a darker green rind outside it. Once the red is dry, add black teardrop-shaped seeds. Paint one big slice or a row of small ones along the bottom of the pane. A bite mark is just a few small scallops taken out of the top edge.

Good to know: add the seeds only after the red is dry; black painted into wet red smears and turns muddy.

4. Sweet Ice Cream Cones

Paint a tan triangle for the cone and two or three round scoops on top in different colors. When the cone is dry, add a crisscross waffle pattern in darker brown, then sprinkles and a red cherry. Older painters can add drips running down from the bottom scoop. A row of cones in different flavors fits along the bottom of a wide window.

Good to know: a thin outline in a darker color, painted last, makes shapes on glass easier to see from across the room.

5. Tropical Palm Trees

Paint a slightly curved brown trunk, then five to seven long green fronds fanning out from the top. Short strokes along each frond suggest the leaflets, and a few brown circles where the fronds meet make coconuts. For an evening scene, paint an orange and pink sunset band behind the trees first and let it dry.

Good to know: paint the background first and the trees on top; painting sky around finished trees is fiddly and leaves gaps.

6. Colorful Rainbow

Paint the arcs in order: red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple, each band touching the one before it. White cloud puffs at both ends hide uneven edges. Younger kids can paint wide separate stripes, and older painters can blend each band slightly into the next. Add a sun or a few small hearts in the corners; these heart pattern painting ideas have more designs to borrow.

Good to know: in a real rainbow, red is always the outer band and violet the inner one.

7. Fun Pineapples

Paint a yellow oval and let it dry, then draw crisscross lines in orange or brown to make the diamond pattern. Add a crown of spiky green leaves on top, with the longest leaves in the middle. Kids can give it sunglasses or a face, and older painters can shade one side darker orange so it looks rounded.

Good to know: add the crisscross lines with a marker or fine brush only when the yellow is completely dry, or they will bleed.

8. Cheerful Sunflowers

Paint a brown circle for the center, then long yellow petals around it, with a second row peeking out between the first. Add a green stem and two broad leaves. Once dry, dab darker brown dots into the center for seeds. One large sunflower suits a small pane, and a row of three fits a wide window.

Good to know: a cotton swab or the end of a brush handle makes even seed dots and is easy for small hands to use.

9. Pink Flamingos

Paint the body as a pink oval, then an S-shaped neck rising from it and a small head with a bent beak, pale at the base and black at the tip. Add two thin legs, one bent up at the knee, standing in a strip of blue water. Older painters can layer darker pink feathers on the wing.

Good to know: thin lines such as flamingo legs are easier with a window marker or a fine brush than with a thick tempera brush.

10. Floating Hot Air Balloons

Paint balloon shapes like upside-down teardrops in different sizes, each with a small brown basket underneath. Divide each balloon into curved vertical sections and fill them with alternating colors, stripes or dots. Placing smaller balloons higher up the window makes the sky look deeper. Add a few white clouds between them.

Good to know: draw the two thin lines from each balloon to its basket last, with a marker; that detail is what makes the shape read as a balloon.

11. Under the Sea Creatures

Paint wavy blue lines across the window for water, then add simple fish, an octopus, a sea turtle and strands of green seaweed rising from the bottom. This design works well for a group, since each child can paint a few creatures. Finish with small white circles for bubbles.

Good to know: outline every creature in the same dark color at the end so the separate pieces look like one scene.

12. Refreshing Lemonade and Lemons

Paint a tall glass as a pale yellow shape slightly wider at the top, then add white squares for ice and a striped straw. Scatter a few lemons around it: yellow ovals with a small point at each end and a green leaf. A lemon slice on the rim is a yellow circle with thin white lines like the spokes of a wheel.

Good to know: leave a thin unpainted strip down one side of the glass; the clear window shows through and reads as a shine.

13. Hello Summer Lettering

Write the words in big block or bubble letters and fill them with bright colors or a rainbow gradient. Surround them with small suns, waves or watermelon slices. Sketch the letters first with a window marker so you can space them evenly and wipe away mistakes before you paint.

Good to know: lettering painted on the inside reads backwards from outside; print the words in mirror image, tape the sheet to the outside of the glass facing in, and trace it from inside.

14. Sandy Flip Flops

Paint a strip of sand along the bottom of the pane first. When it’s dry, add two or three flip flops: long rounded soles in bright colors with a V-shaped strap on each. Add a few shells or a starfish beside them. It’s a small, quick design for a narrow window or the glass panel of a door.

Good to know: for a true-to-size outline, hold a real flip flop against the glass and trace around it with a window marker.

15. Fireworks Night Sky

Paint a dark blue background, or just dark patches behind each firework if you want to keep daylight coming in. When dry, paint each burst as lines radiating from a center point, with dots at the ends of the lines. White or yellow dots around the bursts make stars, and these star pattern painting ideas show more ways to paint them.

Good to know: a dark background blocks a lot of light, so use it on a small pane or a window you don’t rely on for daylight.

16. Cute Ladybugs

Paint a few green leaves first and let them dry. Add round red ladybug bodies on top, then a black head, a black line down the middle of each back and black spots on both sides. Thin legs and two antennae with dots on the ends finish them. Three or four ladybugs in a line look like they’re crawling across the glass.

Good to know: young kids can make the spots with a fingertip or a cotton swab dipped in black paint.

17. Backyard BBQ Grill

Paint a round kettle grill or a rectangular grill on legs, then burgers, hot dogs and corn on top. Gray smoke curls rising above make it read as a cookout. Once the paint is dry, add grill marks to the food with a dark brown marker. A sunny sky or a picnic table beside it fills out the scene.

Good to know: keep the smoke loose and light; a dry brush with a little gray paint gives soft, wispy curls.

18. Bright Coral Reef

Paint a light blue wash across the window, or leave the glass clear and paint just the reef along the bottom. Add branching coral in pink, orange and purple, round brain coral with wavy lines and fan coral as a mesh of thin lines. Small fish and bubbles go in last.

Good to know: leaving the upper glass clear keeps the room bright and makes the reef stand out against the real sky.

19. Juicy Strawberries

Paint red shapes like rounded hearts, then a green leafy cap and a short stem on top of each. Once the red is dry, add tiny yellow or white teardrops for seeds. Paint a few in a row, scatter them, or show them spilling out of a small basket. A white highlight on one side makes them look shiny.

Good to know: place the seeds in a loose diagonal pattern; dots in neat straight rows look less like real fruit.

20. Garden Butterflies

Paint a few flower stems along the bottom of the window first. Add butterflies above them, each with a thin dark body, two large upper wings and two smaller lower wings. Decorate the wings with dots or stripes, then add antennae with small dots on the ends.

Good to know: butterfly wings are symmetrical, so repeat the same pattern on both sides and finish one butterfly before starting the next.

21. Summer Camping Tent

Paint a dark blue sky across the upper window and dot in white stars. Add a triangle tent with a door flap, a small campfire in front and dark green tree silhouettes at the sides. Kids can paint the tent and the fire, and older painters can add a moon and a few logs.

Good to know: paint the flames yellow first, then orange around the yellow and a little red at the tips, so the fire looks hottest in the middle.

22. Shiny Dragonflies

Paint green reeds and a strip of blue water along the bottom of the window. Add dragonflies above: a long thin body, a round head with large eyes and four narrow wings, two on each side. Outline the wings with a fine marker and leave the inside nearly clear so they look see-through.

Good to know: dragonflies hold their wings out flat when they rest, so paint them straight out from the body, not folded upward like a butterfly’s.

Common mistakes to avoid

Painting over window tint film, rubber seals or wooden frames.
Skipping the test spot and finding out at the end of summer that the paint won’t come off.
Using acrylic craft paint or permanent markers on a window you want to wash clean.
Scraping paint off with a razor blade instead of washing it off with water.
Painting words on the inside of the glass without reversing them.
Leaving chairs or step stools by a window where kids can climb.

Window painting FAQs

What paint is best for painting windows?

Washable window markers, washable tempera with a little dish soap mixed in, or window color made for glass. Test a small area first.

How do you get window paint off glass?

Wet it with warm water and a little dish soap, wipe with a soft cloth or sponge, then dry the glass with a paper towel or squeegee. Avoid razor blades and scouring pads, which can scratch glass and cut window film.

Can you paint the outside of a window?

Washable paint on the outside runs in the rain, and Plaid says its window color isn’t for outdoor use. If you do paint outside, choose windows you can reach from the ground.

Is window paint safe for kids?

Choose products with the ACMI AP seal and supervise young children. Keep the window closed, cords out of reach and furniture away from the glass.