My little stenciling project above the chair rail in the office has officially concluded. Woooo to the hooooo! It only took three 4.5 hour installments spread out over four days (so my hand-claws could turn back into hands between sessions). You can read all about my stenciling process here), but in short: it was well worth all that work and a bag of chips. Behold:
Of course since it’s a subtle tone-on-tone effect, the further away that you get the more – well, subtle – it gets. In person when you stand at the doorway to the office you see pretty feathery texture, but of course in photos it’s somehow MUCH harder to capture. Here’s a shot I snapped during the day (ignore the too-dark chairs, non-permanent lamps, bad leaning frames, too short rug, giant placeholder ottoman, random toy basket, lack of window treatments, etc):
And here’s one at night (again, avoid all the weird we’ll-change-that-later stuff going on). I wish the stencil were more obvious in photos, but in real life, yeah, it’s our favorite thing we’ve done so far. Maybe someday we’ll master the Nikon enough to truly do it justice on film.
Here’s the much requested shot from the dining room, where in person you can still see a soft & pretty tone-on-tone texture (you’d swear it was wallpaper from this distance). But again, in photos it’s nearly impossible to capture. It’s a nice amount of subtle interest beyond the bold teal built-ins and colorful textiles in the dining room. And hopefully when we hang some art and add window treatments in the office it’ll be a good balance between those two rooms.
But let’s get closer again. It’s more fun.
Even closer…
Oh yeah, that’s the stuff.
The writing on the mirrors is our weird to-do list madness. Ignore that too.
But don’t ignore this sweet faced chihuahua who just turned five (five days ago, actually). Burger is always my favorite accessory (tied with the bean of course).
But let’s go back to ignoring stuff. Like the just-for-now chair and too-big ottoman (borrowed from the living room) along with the too small rug. Just figured you guys might appreciate seeing the room from a few different angles (even though the only “finished” things in here are really the light, the desk, and the stencil):
As for the wall color under the chair rail (Moonshine by Benjamin Moore color matched to Olympic no-VOC paint in satin), we’re toying with the idea of going a smidge darker to ground the stenciled upper part and add a tiny tiny bit of dimension (don’t want too much contrast since that might look crazy from the dining room beyond the built-ins). Of course we’ll keep ya posted if we make any changes! The nice thing about stenciling is that any other regular painting project feels like a cake walk by comparison. Haha. I actually wish you guys could all come over and see it in person – it’s so much better than these photos! Who’s down for a quick visit?
Oh but before I go back to staring at the walls with the same expression that I reserve for Eric from True Blood, let’s get into the paint color details, how we did it, and the budget breakdown. As for those paint details, here you go:
- Gray paint for stencil: half tint of Moonshine by Benjamin Moore color matched to Olympic no-VOC paint in a satin finish
- Grellow paint for stencil: Sesame by Benjamin Moore color matched to Olympic no-VOC paint in a semi-gloss finish
Oh and how about a time breakdown? It took 13.5 hours over three evening sessions. Definitely not a quick project, but one that makes you especially proud/excited/relieved/amazed when it’s actually done. As for all of our stenciling tips and techniques, click here for a nice long post all about applying the stencil. Now here’s that budget breakdown for ya:
- Stencil (from here): $54
- Martha Stewart Stencil Adhesive (from Michael’s): $2.99 (with 50% off coupon)
- Foam brushes (from Michael’s): $2.50 (with 50% off coupon)
- Quart of gray paint* for stencil (half tint of Moonshine from Lowe’s): $11
- Grellow paint* for stencil: $0 (leftover from kitchen, but would be $3 for a test pot)
- TOTAL: $70.49
I’ll admit it, it’s definitely not a super cheap-o paint project (which normally run us about $15-30. But to wallpaper the entire room above the chair rail could easily have been five hundred beans or more. And the effect is so amazing that – dare I admit it? – I probably would have paid $150 to get ‘er done. But not a penny more. Haha.
And true to form, we we still have about ten million things on the ol’ to-do list in here (one project at a time = sanity, glorious sanity). So we’ll definitely be tackling these things over time:
- adding window treatments
- painting and reupholstering our desk chairs
- hanging art on the walls (no, the oddly small leaning frames aren’t for keeps)
- finding a more permanent armchair, ottoman, rug, etc (there are lots of placeholders goin’ on)
- replacing the lamps (or reupholstering the shades, not sure yet – but we’ll keep you posted)
Anyone else do any stenciling lately? Or make any home office updates in general? Do you have a special expression that you reserve for Eric (or some other celebrity)? Oh yeah, let’s talk about that. Who’s your famous man (or lady) crush? Any Jake Gyllenhaal ladies here? Matt Damon? Team Edward? Team Angie? When I met John he totally had a Britney Spears calendar… and she was wearing leather bodysuits with sneakers. Le yikes.
Psst – You can read all about my stenciling process & the paint colors that I used here (there’s even an application video).
Update – Wanna know where we got something in our house or what paint color we used? Just click on this button:
Erin @ One Project at a Time says
Awesome! I’m feeling your pain this Monday morning, as I just posted this about the rug I stenciled and painted. http://oneprojectatatime.blogspot.com/2011/10/177-cutting-rug.html
Like you, it was a ton of time and effort, but totally worth it for the bold, modern result (on a very low budget.) I’d give you a virtual Hi-5, if not for the hand cramps! :)
Susan says
The walls look fabulous. Great job! I keep thinking you might paint the office chairs yellow like the ones on the cover of the Jonathan Adler Happy Chic book that you’re digging.
Carly says
Love it! You did great!
Kim says
This is INCREDIBLE! Well done.
I have a huge crush on Jim Halpert. Not John Kransinski, Jim Halpert. He’s very manly in a not macho way.
MJB says
Someday when your hands unclench and you have a spare 12 hours, you should make a custom stencil of your web site background and paint a room. Love those subtle hearts. (Although maybe you have run out of rooms to paint?)
Having looked at other stencil projects online, I’d say the difference between a nice look and a polished one is doing what you did – getting the spaces all the way to the ceiling and into the corners. Makes a huge difference! (and worth the temporary claw hands)
OMG Ponies! says
Your stencil skills are crazy. The points that particularly impress me are the stenciling on the corners and wall interruptions, like the light switch. I understand why you centered the stencil above the window. But I don’t quite follow how you decided which vertical part of the stencil to start with. Obviously you did it correctly it looks so fantastic.
In your book will you talk about your method for selecting different finishes of paint satin vs. semi gloss etc?
YoungHouseLove says
We just figured starting in the middle of the room above the window would be forgiving if it took me a while to get my stencil mojo! Haha. So I just positioned the center of the stencil over the center of the wall. As for the vertical part, I just taped it to the molding randomly (to hold it in place), so that set the “height for the rest of the room to randomly follow- but since it was such a large organic pattern it seemed to work out really well!
xo,
s
Willow says
What are you planning for window treatments? I have a couple windows where floor length curtains wont really work and I’m not really sure what to do to make them look good.
PS Try FastStone Image Viewer for quick and easy photo editing (its free!).
Willow says
Ack! I totally forgot to say I LOVE the stencil! You’ve motivated me to stencil our bathroom.
YoungHouseLove says
Roman shades- just not sure what fabric we’ll go with! Still just starting to hunt!
xo,
s
Liz says
It looks awesome! When you mentioned Eric from True Blood, my palms started sweating. No joke.
Heather says
Love it!!! The pattern and colors are so perfect- well done! I am thinking about doing some stenciling in our house too. And I would NEVER wallpaper anything after having to remove 3 layers of wallpaper from our guest bedroom after we moved into our house- the worst “home project” I have ever undertaken. :) Can’t wait to see how the office continues to progress.
Maureen @This (Kinda) Old House says
First off, this looks fantastic! Love, love, love. So nice to see that your hard work paid off! Second, the fact that you mentioned Eric from True Blood makes this my fave post ever. That boy is perfection. Just saying’.
Emily says
The stenciling looks fantastic! The colors and everything are just scrumptious. Now you’ll want to be in there to do work! I know pictures don’t do it justice, but just out of curiosity, do you wish you had gone just a hair more saturated or more subtle?
I’m a Robert Downy Jr. kind a girl, and my boyfriend, well his taste ranges from Zoey Deschanel to Rhianna!
YoungHouseLove says
I’m so happy with the saturation/subtlety. I think if I went more high contrast it would show more in pics but probably be too busy/overwhelming in person. Since it’s a room where we work we didn’t want it to be too crazy, ya know?
xo,
s
Angeline says
Wow…that turned out so beautifully! I could definitely work in that office. I recently moved across the country and captured my home office makeover on my blog (although we’re renting so I don’t have a whole separate room and we didn’t make any major changes like paint or anything): http://www.thenewprofessionalblog.com/2011/09/home-office-revealed.html
Celeb crushes: Jennifer Aniston (always), Bradley Cooper (sometimes), Blake Lively and Taylor Swift (recently).
YoungHouseLove says
Such a charming place to work! I love the bookcase and the cork above the desk!
xo,
s
Lauren says
Love!
Scott Speedman.
S @ Ess and Jae V2.0 says
Wow, that looks amazing. It changes the whole look and feel of the room. I agree with you on the wallpaper – I’m a bit shy too, but this is gorg and easy to un-do if you ever wanted to. Hmmmm……..now I’m processing. Nice nice job.
Sharlie says
I absolutely love the way your stenciling project turned out! My celeb crush is Adam Rodriguez (Yum!) and my hubby’s celeb crush is Gabrielle Union.
Caitlin Wallace says
LOVE it! I definitely think that a darker shade under the chair rail would look great. I can see how right now it looks a little top heavy with the stenciling on top. Can’t wait to see what else you guys decide to do in there! :)
Chantall says
I came across your blog last week and you inspired me to repaint my bathroom. I, like you, used paint that I had left over from other paint projects. I painted vertical stripes in my kitchen powder room and now it is my favorite room in the house. LOL! Thank you so much for being so inspiring!!!
I truly love all your DIY projects and the love that is shared between your family.
Lisa P. says
OMGolly, I love this! Too bad I don’t have near as much patience as you guys do. It looks amazing!
Emily F says
Love the stencil! (Along with everything else you two do)
As for crushes, I have so many, haha. Robert Downey, Jr., Brad Pitt, Jimmy Fallon, Jon Stewart…the usuals. ;)
Kate S. says
I’m glad to hear you’re considering a darker color on the bottom half of the walls. Ever since you revealed photos of the half-finished stenciling job last week I’ve been hoping you’d darken up the color under the chair rail . . . I love how that stencil turned out, but the effect is kind of lost because it looks like you’ve yet to finish painting under the chair rail; going a shade darker at the bottom will help with that.
Joy says
Sherry, it looks awesome!!!! I would say it is totally worth the 13 hours…I am mentally walking around my house right now trying to think of something to stencil!
As for my celebrity crush…Colby, the host from History channel’s Top Shot. He’s got this rugged manly-man-man thing, but gives off a hint of metro, too. I’m allowed, though, because my husband totally has a man-crush on him, too!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, that’s the best- when you agree.
xo,
s
Alli H says
It looks sooo good!! I love that paint color, and right now I’m a huge fan of grey and yellow together. Just Perfect!!!
I dont know if I would call them “crushes” but I do enjoy watching Matt Bomer in White Collar and Jeffery Donovan in Burn Notice… Just sayin’
Sarah @ Redhead in Ruffled Flats says
Super gorgeous! I’m in love. This is definitely my favorite thing in your new house to date! I think it looks awesome from the dining room – so many nice layers of color going on from that view.
I can’t wait to see the office transform even more over time!
How do you get any work done with that beautiful backdrop?
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, lately I have been doing way too much stencil gazing! I should probably tape up a note above my desk that says “stop staring- get back to work!”
xo,
s
aara says
Def my fav room in this new house so far! None of the other stuff you’ve done (Altough beautiful) is my style, but I love this!!! I love how it looks and glad Im getting a post that may inspire me to do something in my on home. Good work!
Marla says
You did an awesome job. I keep gazing at it on my monitor. You must be camped out staring at it all day! I like the idea of going a little darker under the chair rail. Just love this project!
Haley @ thedistractedblogger says
I Love the stencil and I think going a tad bit darker on the bottom would be lovely! I have been toying with the idea of doing stenciled panels but I should probably finish a few other projects I started first. :)
My celebrity crush would be Curtis Stone as mentioned in a blog post about who’s house I would like to organize on my blog. Cute and adventurous! My boyfriends mind always seems to change more than mine regarding this topic though.
Jeanne says
It looks amazing. I love the contrast of colors. You should definitely add more yellow/gold in the room. Maybe those awesome bamboo chairs could be yellow (I happen to be a huge yellow lover). Well, I have recently finished a stenciling project at my sisters place. I have yet to really blog about it. Here’s a mid stenciling post so you can see you aren’t alone in your emotions about stenciling.
http://jandjhome.blogspot.com/2011/08/stenciling-away.html
YoungHouseLove says
Wow- so pretty and shiny!! Love it. As for the yellow chair suggestion, we definitely have a ton of colors that we’re considering (grellow, yellow, emerald, plum, and turquoise being a few of them).
xo,
s
marissa says
It looks great! The end result was totally worth all the effort and a bag of chips haha
celebrity crush… Paul Walker is my #1 boyfriend and I’m so team Edward! [just bought my Breaking Dawn midnight showing tickets yesterday – exciting!!!]
Crystal says
That stencil looks amazing! I’m pretty sure my husband would say it’s too girly for our office (frowny face) so just be glad John is down for subtle tone on tone leafy adorable stencils!! I’ll be looking for something we can agree on that gets the same amazing effect as yours does!
As for my celebrity look, that’d be Chace Crawford from Gossip Girl! Somehow when he walks into a scene I just can’t stop staring!! Haha (Of course Ian Somerhalder, Paul Wesley, and Taylor Lautner are right there with him) ;)
Angela B says
Finally someone has mentioned Chace Crawford! Those eyes…that smile…
YoungHouseLove says
Haha- you guys are cracking me up. I love this conversation.
xo,
s
Margaret says
Love it!
As for me, I think I get a positively embarassing idiot grin whenever I see Paul Rudd. We’re equal opportunity though – my husband does the same to Zoe Deschanel (even the cotton commercials, le barf). Whoever shows up on screen, the other person is entitled to say “Alllright, get over it!” I just don’t know what we’ll do when we finally get around to watching Our Idiot Brother.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, you’re both going to just be drooling and staring through the whole movie. Haha.
xo,
s
Aubree says
Love the time breakdown. It seems like we can eek out the $$ if we plan really well and bargain hunt, but it’s the time budget that we suffer on. Are there any other projects you’ve done with the Time bottom line?
I also think it’s a great idea to do a tone darker underneath the chair rail… how do you come up with this stuff???
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Aubree! As for coming up with stuff, we just do the whole trial and error thing. Finishing the stencil led to the idea to darken the wall below it- who knows where we’ll end up! We just like to take things one day/project at a time. As for other projects that took a long time, our first house’s bathroom gut job was one of them, along with laying the paver patio at this house. They saved us thousands of dollars by doing them ourselves (probably around 10K each actually) but it was a lot of work! Good thing that stuff is our idea of a good time. Haha.
xo,
s
Azure says
Gorgeous! I was wondering if you’re ever tempted to do something that you know will be more attractive in photos than in person. We’re picking bathroom paint colors, and notice that some looked great in the snapshots, but too dark or bright in the person. I would think that things with more contrast would show up better in photos.
YoungHouseLove says
Nah, we’re both here all day everyday (thanks to the whole work at home thing) so we knew something more high contrast might show up better in pics but be too busy/chaotic in person- so we definitely err on the side of doing-what-we-actually-want-to-live-with as opposed to making concessions if something might photograph better. I guess in the end we’d rather have friends and family come over and say “gosh- this looks even better in person!” than “this was better in the pictures.” Hahaha.
xo,
s
Krystle @ ColorTransformedFamily says
Great job! It looks amazing and like a real wallpaper. I love the fact that it doesn’t come with the commitment of a wallpaper though. Unless you just don’t want to experience hand claws again… but it could easily by painted over if you ever tire of it.
James says
Gotta say Jared Leto is looking real good lately!
YoungHouseLove says
Agree!
xo,
s
Bonnie Morscher says
I think this looks SO nice! I have to give kudos to your vision, because just from that stencil I wouldn’t have thought it could look so great. A real sophisticated, yet hip vibe you got going on there. I agree with you, it is probably one of my favorite things you have done.
Brooke says
Ah, Eric. I also glaze over when staring at his mouthwatering vampiric gorgeousness. Is it a sign of my obsession that I was glad I had my induction scheduled for a Monday morning because then I could watch True Blood the night before without interruption.
Loving the subtle stencil, it was well worth all that effort!
Tyleet says
LOVE the stencil! You have made me stencil envious. Though, the room I would do is our living room, which has 15 foot ceilings. Needless to say, I am not about to jump right into that project, but I can’t help but feel inspired :o) On a side note, I am gently and respectfully wondering if you meant to mention three times in the same post that the things on the desk and in the room aren’t permanent. It’s also about the 7th time you’ve mentioned the desk items since you’ve built the desk. I only mention this because you’ve recently talked in your goals about wanting to be a more concise, and perhaps this one of the ways the word count gets out of hand without your realizing it. Or perhaps, it’s self preservation from a billion comments suggesting you should hang the pictures instead of leaving them on the desk. I thoroughly enjoy your blog, and I hope this comment comes across with the friendliness I intend. (On a side-side note, today will be week 10 for the Photo Project with my little girl. You have amazing ideas!).
YoungHouseLove says
Yup, just cuts down on comment questions that we later answer a million times! Haha. Sometimes it’s hard for folks to remember that nearly all of our rooms are in progress (which adds up to tons of questions/suggestions/convos about stuff that isn’t even staying) so it’s beneficial to remind folks that lots of things change as we go so nearly nothing but the desk, light, and stencil are permanent!
xo,
s
Tyleet says
Oh, and Daniel Craig! *drools into her keyboard*
Anne G. says
So beautiful! Now I am searching my house for a wall I can stencil! See what you’ve done?
But, seriously. I can’t wait to see this room finished. Right now, your dining room is my favorite room. But, the office is now showing promise as a serious competitor.
If I were a designer (which I’m definitely not) I would keep lots of greys and whites in the room, except for a few more pops of grellow — like a grellow pillow on the chair in the corner, and grellow shades on the table lamps. What do you think? Too matchy-matchy? Well, I guess I’ll soon find out!
Wrenaria says
LOVELY! The walls look well worth the effort. Man. I wish I could do some stenciling. Dying to get out of this rental and get onto owning so I can customize the crap out of my house.
Celebrity Crushes? Neil Patrick Harris (we’ll just pretend he’s straight) is probably my #1. But my crush list also includes Jon Stewart (we’ll just pretend he’s not way too old for me), Zachary Levi (love me a cute nerd) and Ryan Gosling (preferably the with-facial-hair variety).
karen says
so so nice!! you must be so relieved it’s done.
definitely do something under the rail…i like the idea of a touch darker or even white bead board.
anne says
Happy Birthday, Burger! Have you guys read any Skippyjon Jones books?
The stenciling looks fantastic!
YoungHouseLove says
Yes, those books are hilarious!
xo,
s
Jess@atasteofconfidence says
Looks great!!!
Anna says
Love the stencil! Great job.
Oh yes, let’s talk celeb crushes. I like unconventional guys. Joseph Gordon-Levitt FOR DAYS. And Cillian Murphy (his eyes are mesmerizing). My husband gets the “you look like Jake Gyllenhaal” a lot, which is fine with me, except that I don’t see it. And oddly, my husband’s crush remains Mandy Moore. Whatever happened to her?
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yeah she’s one of John’s favorites too! Forgot about her.
xo,
s
Veronika says
I think really this is one of those projects that doesn’t look that good in photos. But I can sense it’s great in person! So I think I’m on my way to VA from MA! LOL
YoungHouseLove says
Haha- come on over!
xo,
s
Carla says
This is my favorite project of yours to date. It looks fabulous. As much as I love chair rails, it doesn’t look quite right in your office, but the stenciling is really beautiful.
Stephanie says
Holy Moley – loving it! You trying to sell that stencil to recoup some of that dough?? Although I’m not sure I’m feeling that brave or productive in my current preggolita state.
Also, I’m the one asking about sliding up or down the color swatch for Moonshine – want me to check out the next color down for you? :)
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, I think I’m going to hold onto it for memories (and potential future projects). Haha. Oh and yes, I’d love to hear the next color down on that swatch you have! The next two would be awesome actually!
xo,
s
Lauren says
Ohmygoodness it turned out sooo amazing! You must love working in there that much more now. It really is gorgeous! love.
Oh and Jon Hamm can do no wrong in my book. THAT MAN. Be still my heart.
Rachel says
Looks great! I can’t wait to see more of the room come together!
Kristi W. says
The stencil looks fantastic, but this room seems to be lacking in the ceramic animal department. Hmmmm, Sherry? Better get on that. ;)
Actually I have been meaning to send you this link, but keep forgetting. We did an epic search for a bison head (I explain why on the blog) for our living room. My husband recently spray painted it white, so I should update the post. But anyway it should make you feel better about the ram head in your bedroom. You are not alone! Haha.
http://www.chateauwhitman.com/2010/10/search-for-white-buffalo.html
YoungHouseLove says
THAT’S SO EXCITING! What a score!
xo,
s
Bonnie says
Hi Sherry –
This looks amazing!! I absolutely “Lurve” it :)
I have a question for you though – in one of the pictures it looked as it your walls are textured? Are they? I have wanted to stencil a wall for a year now, however I get scared, since I think that the texture on the wall will ruin the cleanliness of the stencil. Do you have any advice for stenciling on textured walls?
Thanks!
-Bonnie.
YoungHouseLove says
Nope, our walls are flat. So funny it looks textured in one of the pics! I’m not sure how this would work on textured walls. Anyone know?
xo,
s