Dude, stencils are no joke. But I did it! I bit the bullet and ordered the stencil that John and I have been pining after for the past month (mentioned here a few weeks back). We loved the idea of adding some subtle tone on tone detailing above the chair rail in our office (we didn’t want anything with too much contrast since it’ll compete with the dark teal built-ins and the fun curtains in the nearby dining room). So we settled on a softer gray tone with a tiny pop of color (leftover grellow paint from the adjoining kitchen). At 54 honking dollars it was hardly a drop in the bucket, but let me tell you, this stencil is hardcore. First of all, it’s made of super durable plastic, so I don’t have to worry that it will rip or crease while I’m taping it, untaping it, and bending it manhandling it to get into the corner crevices (I’m pretty sure I would have trashed a thinner stencil after one wall, just because it’s kind of a more rigorous application process than I expected). And let’s just talk about how big it is. It’s over two feet tall and almost two feet wide, so it helps to make things go faster since you don’t have to reposition it every three seconds like you would with something smaller.
And yes, this is quite an evil face I’m making. No idea why. I remember saying something like “make sure I don’t look naked” when John snapped this, but had no idea I was giving off such an I’m-the-female-Hannibal-Lecter vibe.
Another way that I’m rationalizing my purchase is that we only spent $6.30 on cabinets for the built-ins and $27 to build a 13 foot counter, so maybe it’s time we splurged in the office. Haha. I also figure any type of wallpaper (even the cheap stuff at Lowe’s and Home Depot) would be way more than $54 for the entire room above the chair rail, so there ya go.
I’ve actually never done a giant repeating stencil like this on a wall (we did stencil the floor of our first house’s sunroom) so here’s where I’ll get to the keeping it real part: stenciling is haaard. I’m not gonna lie, my arms were cramping after about an hour and it took four and a half solid hours (from 8pm to twelve thirty in the morning) just to almost finish one wall (out of the four that I want to do). But in the spirit of sharing things real-time as we go, I couldn’t wait to share the in-progress madness. Here’s a close up:
And here’s one side of the wall that I almost completed (I still have to do those last 6″ above the chair rail). Oh but ignore the weird dark and light vertical shadows on the wall (couldn’t wait for the lighting to be better – too impatient and excited to share, haha).
As for my method, here’s a little breakdown of what seemed to work for me:
1. I prepped the room by clearing it and tossing a drop cloth over the desk so we wouldn’t get paint splatters on it.
2. I used Martha Stewart Craft Stencil Adhesive Spray from Michael’s (purchased with a 40% coupon of course) to spray the back of the stencil before taping it up on the wall with painters tape. This helped the middle parts of the stencil stay close to the wall and not bend out for a nice crisp line. I probably repositioned the stencil two or three times before re-spraying it (when I noticed it holding less firmly to the wall I just took it down and sprayed it and taped it back up for the next application). Oh and you’ll want to use a large piece of cardboard or drop cloth to spray the back of your stencil so you don’t get stick stuff all over the floor).
3. As for where to start, John held the stencil up in the top middle of the wall so we could center the pattern and work out from there in all directions.
4. I also used delicate surface frog tape for holding the stencil up at the top, bottom, and sides (we already had it on hand and I didn’t want to tear off fresh paint as I moved it around the room so it seemed to do the trick).
5. I used small foam craft brushes (also from Michael’s). They were basically dowels with flat foam tips.
6. As for how I loaded my little foam brushes, I just dipped them in the paint (more details on the paint colors later) and dabbed the brush around the lip of the plate to remove excess before tapping it against the wall to apply the stencil.
7. I always tapped the wall at a right angle with a not-to-gloppy foam brush for a nice clean edge (so the paint wouldn’t slip or drip behind the stencil and smear around).
8. If I feared that a little bit of paint somehow got behind the stencil, before repositioning it on the wall for the next application I would lay it on my drop cloth on the floor (face down) and wipe the back with a dry folded paper towel to remove the excess paint. Then I would respray my stencil adhesive and stick it back on the wall for the next application.
9. The way that the stencil is applied means that there are repeats. So you position it right over the last 3″ that you previously stenciled and work your way across the wall that way. I didn’t wait for the paint to dry before moving the stencil (that would have probably taken five million hours), so I just took my time applying the paint so nothing got behind the stencil and then matched up the stencil carefully for the repeat and continued on. Since there was no wet paint on the back of the stencil, it was fine to be pressed against the 3″ of wall that was already done, and it didn’t look any different than the non-overlapped part. I wonder if the application of paint was so thin that it was drying really quickly so it didn’t make a difference…
10. The corners were the hardest part. To get the stencil to lay flat against the wall in the corner so you can cram your brush into the small little stencil openings was sort of impossible to get perfect. But I did learn that this stencil is extreeeeemely forgiving (probably because it’s a more organic pattern than a regularly spaced geometric one, which would probably make any inconsistencies a lot more obvious). So when I didn’t quite get deep into all the corners, once it dried it was somehow not obvious at all (a stenciling miracle?). Of course I’m not exactly a corner expert because I’ve only attempted one of them, so as I go around the rest of the room maybe I’ll have more tips.
After about three hours I was here on the first wall:
And after 4.5 hours I had one wall almost all done (sorry for the terrible picture, I was sort of losing it at this point).
So although I wasn’t completely done with that wall, I decided that 12:31 am meant it was time to put the foam brush down and throw in the towel for the night. And do some finger stretching (I seriously had cramped up hand-claws).
Oh and as for the colors, here you go:
- Walls: Moonshine by Benjamin Moore (color matched to Olympic No-VOC paint in a satin finish)
- Main stencil color: I just asked the paint guys to give me a half-tint of the wall color (also color matched to Olympic no-VOC paint in a satin finish). This means they just add half as much tint to the white base as the original formula calls for, so you end up with a half-as-intense tone-on-tone effect.
- Grellow stencil flower accent color: Leftover wall paint from the kitchen, which is Sesame by Benjamin Moore (color matched to Olympic no-VOC paint in semi-gloss). You actually can’t tell the difference in finish unless the light hits it just right from the side and the grellow sort of looks iridescent, which is actually awesome. Yay for happy accidents.
I also made a video to hopefully help demonstrate the foam brush prepping and actual stenciling part of the process (including a quick demo on corner stenciling):
So that’s where I am with the stencil. One wall-above-the-chair-rail almost done, three more to go. I’m planning to tackle another 4+ hours tonight and hopefully can fit in one more session this week (my goal is to be done by Thursday or Friday, soreness permitting). It’s definitely one of those projects that you just need to force yourself to complete as fast as possible – because as soon as you start all you want is to get to the point where you can let out a huge sigh and say “so glad that’s over!”
But so far I have to admit that it’s totally worth the trouble. We’re loving the effect (it’s sort of like subtle modern wallpaper, not too in your face but not too tame and unnoticeable either). It’s sort of the perfect amount of “ooh, look at that” without being too competey and chaotic with the adjoined dining room. And John and I both have said the following sentence about ten times so far: “the pop of color totally makes the entire thing.” So might I recommend a splash of grellow (or any color you love actually) to take something that’s gray on gray to the next (still-kinda-subtle) level?
Ok, now I have to hear from you guys. Have you ever stenciled something, be it an accent wall, piece of furniture, or entire room? Do you have any secrets you’d like to share? How long did it take? Is four and a half hours for the top half of one 13 foot wall (with a big ol’ window in the middle) about right? I might just be moving at a turtle-like pace. Haha. Just too nervous about getting paint all down the back of my stencil if I go any faster. Anyway, hopefully I’ll be back with finished pictures (and maybe a bulging right bicept from dabbing away) by Thursday or Friday. Until then, picture me standing on a chair at 11pm wearing my inside out painting clothes and listening to shows on Hulu (I tried radio, but somehow hearing Community and Parks & Rec play in the background kept my spirits up a little more).
Psst- I’m over on BabyCenter chatting about my favorite kids clothing store and how I save money when it comes to shopping for Clara’s clothes & shoes. Did I mention that I snagged 47 cent shoes on my latest mission? Excited doesn’t even begin to describe it. Check it out here.
Karen Zimbelman says
After ripping wall paper off of almost every wall in my house (just my bedroom to go) I vowed NEVER to wall paper… but I was sad to have plain boring walls so I also discovered stenciling. I also used the huge stencils BUT I used a small foam roller and it was SO FAST!!!
My husband’s bike room..http://karenz-korner.blogspot.com/2010/10/bike-room.html – little over an hour for 9ft by 8 ft. all the same color goes fast.
Downstairs bathroom http://karenz-korner.blogspot.com/2011/09/my-summer-vacation-contthe-bathroom.html. Worked around the pops of color and filled those in later.
And just for fun, I stenciled my daughters dresser. This one took a bit more time and I didn’t realize till it was painted that the drawers are not interchangeable but you can’t really tell. http://karenz-korner.blogspot.com/2010/12/what-ive-been-up-to.html
Also did one wall in her room but haven’t posted pictures yet.
Try the foam roller… still have to roll some paint off but it’s so much faster!
Be careful though, you might get addicted. If you were closer I’d let you borrow some of mine…
YoungHouseLove says
Wow- I love both of those projects!
xo,
s
Amanda says
oh wow!!! That is INCREDIBLE! I don’t think I would ever attempt something like that!
Holly says
beautiful! i love how this turned out, so inspiring. i just may have to stencil in my own home. :)
Alliey Roche says
That looks AMAZING. Y’all are always doing something that inspires me to go jump off the deep end. Love it. :)
jessica dycus says
LOVE!!!! The little POP of grellow is perfect too!!
I have wanted to stencil our hallway in a tone on tone stencil for awhile too. This may be the motivation I need!!
Go Sherry, go!
Jenna says
This is looking great! I can’t wait to see it finished! I’m contemplating stenciling my dining room. But…I’m a little nervous because the walls have knock down giving it a texturey, bumpy surface and I wondering if I’ll be able to get crisp edges. So….my question would be – what kind of wall texture do you have going on in your office? And any thoughts on stenciling a bumpy wall?
YoungHouseLove says
They’re smooth. Not sure about stenciling a textured wall. Anyone have advice/experience?
xo,
s
Ali says
I can’t say I’m usually all about stencils, but I think this looks great!! Good work. :)
Barbara says
That looks totally incredible. Do you have to wash off the spray adhesive from the wall when you are done, or does it dry and not remain sticky? Awesome job!
YoungHouseLove says
Somehow it only sticks to the stencil (it’s sort of like sticking a sticker on the wall and removing it – the sticky stays on the sticker part and doesn’t end up on the wall).
xo,
s
Heidi P. says
Thank you 1) for the tutorial video – something I’ve been wishing for since I first saw stenciled-wall blog pictures. And thank you 2) for the tips at BabyCenter – I’ve never thought about Old Navy for kids clothes, and due to recent events, have been putting off buying some needed bigger pj’s for my little guy ’cause of the $$ issue.
Thank you muchly! (as my high school lunch lady used to say ;)
threadbndr says
What a lovely look. I am planning on doing a few period appropriate stencils around the woodwork detail of my living room window seat. But that will be a couple more years down the pike. I’m going to have to take down many layers of wall paper and do a couple of plaster repairs before I get to paint, so it’s pretty far down the list.
gabby says
this is beyond gorgeous! xo.
Sarah says
This looks amazing! The grellow detail especially makes it look really modern. Love it!
My experience with stenciling has been difficult…basically there doesn’t seem to be a fast way to do it if you want a good line. And god forbid you want to stencil something that requires multiple layers of paint!
In March I stenciled the top of my desk using a stencil that I made myself and traced onto the desk. I haven’t quite featured the process on my blog because…well…it’s still not finished. But I did write a post about hardware for it that shows a pic: http://younghipandhandy.blogspot.com/2011/08/desk-jewelry.html
I also used a homemade stencil to paint a an Indiana University symbol on a chair for my bf’s bday: http://younghipandhandy.blogspot.com/2011/08/super-sweet-birthday-present-for-boy.html
Thanks for this great post! You’ve inspired me to finish my desk (finally)!
YoungHouseLove says
So lovely! And I adore that hardware in the first link too!
xo,
s
Sam F says
Love this!! and two of my favorite colors gray & yellow (well, your grellow seems almost yellow).
Sarah says
This is by far my favorite project y’all have ever posted – it looks amazing, LOVE it! (Also so impressed with your endurance in the application process, that looks like no joke.)
Kelly-Anne says
I am in LOVE with stencils but definitely not in love with the laborious process! I just recently moved into my very own new home and spent about 9 hours stenciling ONE WALL in my master bedroom…much longer than I had anticipated. The results, however, were worth it! Take a peek: http://craftyteacherlady.blogspot.com/2011/07/stenciling-with-martha.html
Love you guys and love your blog!
YoungHouseLove says
So pretty!
xo,
s
Krissy says
Guys, that looks SO awesome so far! I think this is my new favourite thing you’ve done in this house. Can’t wait to see the finished result! Hang in there, Sherry’s claw. ;)
Tracey says
So Brave. So Beautful.
Katie says
Gray (grey?) walls are my absolute fave and the subtle accent of color looks great! My gray bedroom walls are plain but at least once a week I look at them and re-fall in love. Your hard work will pay off.
Sarah says
I just found y’all last week and I am already addicted to your blog! I love the stenciling idea and I am “pinning” all these great ideas for when I’m ready to be brave and tackle my home updating! Thanks!
Jenn says
Wow! This is AMAZING!!! I’ve been trying to find a tonal wallpaper for our master bedroom but I am now inspired to try a stencil. I’m so excited! Thanks for the great idea!
Katrina says
Love it!! I bought a stencil a while ago, I have yet to use. This inspires me to use mine!
Can’t wait to see the whole after
Leah E-H says
It looks fantastic! Nice work!!!! I’ve never stenciled anything, but if I could get results like yours, I would! Wow!!!
heather @ like a cup of tea says
Got to say that I’m not a huge fan of it. I would have much preferred to see the Hostile Amish Picnic right above the chair rail.
http://www.likeacupoftea.com/livingroom-update/
Ok Ok, I totally kid. If I saw that thing on your blog I would have immediately clicked away vowing to never come back. *Shudder*. Four years with a hostile amish picnic is far too long.
I actually *LOVE* what you did. It’s really beautiful.
YoungHouseLove says
Bwahahahahahahhahaha. Best joke of the day.
xo,
s
Charlotte | Living Well on the Cheap says
OMG it looks AMAZING! That said, I don’t envy you one bit. It looks like a big job! Stay strong!
Michele says
This is my absolute favorite of all of your projects. I love the touch of grellow. Really amazing! Totally makes me regret the large amount of money and time I spent wallpapering a very small wall :(
Nicole says
That looks great, can’t wait to see the finished product! I never thought to stencil like that, but I love the look!
Jessica says
Hi Sherry! This is by-far, hands-down, bar-none my favorite thing you guys have ever done! Well..besides Clara. :) Hope your fan love gives you miraculously un-crampy hands. :)
Mellissa says
I totally listen to funny t.v. shows while I’m working, too! I Futurama and reruns of Bernie Mac got me through some summer paint projects for sure.
I was inspired by a stencil project you featured a while back that was the same color paint but in a high sheen finish on a flat wall. I gave that a shot and it was perfect for me because I’m not very detailed oriented. The subtlety of the design was great for hiding flaws, but still looks beautiful. Someday I’ll post it on my blog and share it with you guys since you inspired it.
YoungHouseLove says
We’d love to see pics!
xo,
s
Samantha says
love where this is heading. any chance you can arrange a yhl discount for stencil orders? ;) i’m in love with the “large moorish circles”.
now to work up the energy to tackle such a time-consuming project. maybe after we finish framing the basement walls…
YoungHouseLove says
They have one! No kidding. Check out the sidebar. Just enter YHL10 at checkout for 10% off!
xo,
s
Pamela says
Will you be doing a cost breakdown? I only ask because I was looking in Michaels for some repositioning spray adhesive and they had stopped carrying stencils. The only stuff they had was $16.99! HD and Lowes didn’t carry the stuff either. I ended up on a road trip to Hobby Lobby and got a spray can for $4.00.
YoungHouseLove says
Woah! Yup, I’ll definitely be dong a cost breakdown. And ours wasn’t $16.99. Yikes!
xo,
s
Laurie H says
Ok that is BEAUTIFUL! Oh my word, I’m obsessed. I’m so into yellow and gray right now! I seriously want to do this in our new house in the dining room (once we actually close on it next month!) This makes me want to add molding halfway up the wall, just so I can do this idea of the top part being stenciled. Seriously, bravo! And you sound EXACTLY like Natalie Portman! Has anyone ever pointed that out before?
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, yes I hear that a lot. And that I sound like Mila Kunis, which is funny because they were both in Black Swan.
xo,
s
Keri says
I am so in love with that stencil (it reminds me of peacock feathers), then you added the pop of grellow and now I don’t know how to handle myself. I’m sitting here trying to picture how amazing that back wall will look when framed with your gorgeous blue built-ins. I can now add your wall treatment to my crazy list of inanimate objects that I have wanted to marry. (Other items on that list may or not include dessert foods and shoes.)
YoungHouseLove says
Hahahahhhahaha, I also want to marry dessert foods and shoes.
xo,
s
Katie Truelove says
It looks great! I know stenciling is hard work! Beautiful:) Somehow I feel like stenciling is a slightly lower commitment than actually painting a wall…perhaps I’ll try it in our next apartment…
marissa says
The end result is totally worth the look… it’s amazing!!! I’m sure deep down you loved every hour that you’re putting into this project :)
KatieV says
Love love love love love love love this!
kelsey says
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!!! Big fan of the subtle greys with pops of yellow. Can’t wait to try something similar in my dining room :)
Sheena says
Holy cow this turned out amazing!!! I’m so in love with the whole gray with a splash of color trend & I think you guys just sparked an idea for what to do with the boring white sliding closet doors in my spare bedrooms! :)
mKm says
I LOVE the stencil!! I really like that the yellow is color that echoes throughout the house in a subtle way. I can’t wait to see the finished product!
Sierra says
Seriously YHLover’s?! My mouth dropped at the gorgeousness of this!!!! Can’t wait to see the finish!
Eliza says
wowie-zowie!
it might be a lot of work, but it looks flippin’ amazing! go, sherry, go! i can’t wait to see it all finished up!
Kathryn Griffin says
Love the stencil! Sherry, you have some major patience. I don’t know if I would be able to keep with it. Can’t wait to see the daylight pics. Gonna be Fabulous! Toodles, Kathryn @TheDedicatedHouse
Laura says
ZOMG!! I love it love it love it!! I wish I had a place worth doing that to. Can’t wait for my own house so I can do that and re-create your laundry room lamp!! <3
Alice says
I love the stenciling!! Not so sure I’d have the patience to do that myself.
Oh, and Happy 5th Birthday, Burger! You’re a Libra just like my older sister Anne whose birthday is also today!
Robin @ Our Semi Organic Life says
you know what I just noticed? Your windows open from the top! I wish ours did that! It would prevent the kitty from escaping. Actually I wish we just had screens in our rental house… actually I wish our windows opened at all. They’re all painted or nailed (yep!) shut. Love the stencil!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, isn’t that weird? Old houses definitely have their quirks. We can actually open them from the top or bottom but since the bottom has storm glass and the top has a screen we open them from the top to get a breeze (otherwise there’s just another thin pane of glass).
xo,
s
Laura says
Love this! It’s one of those things that I couldn’t even begin to visualize when you were describing it before making the decision, but now that it’s there it’s perfect!
Tabitha says
Looks great! I noticed Clara holding Snuggle Puppy!!! We love Snuggle Puppy!!!!
YoungHouseLove says
It’s a favorite around here!
xo,
s
kalibrooke says
Wow… I am officially in love with that stencil and its application. There’s something about your icy stare that’s diabolical in that photo, though, $herdog… maybe it’s because you were about to own that thing?
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, I was putting on my game face. Showing that stencil I mean business.
xo,
s
Laura says
Question: If I stencil a wall, and get sick of it, do I need to sand all the stenciling down before repainting it?
YoungHouseLove says
So far the paint has been going on so thinly I think I could easily repaint without any sanding and there wouldn’t be any raised parts. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Debbie says
Man, mad props to Sherry. I would have thrown the towel in after an hour! Maybe that’s why I’ve never stenciled anything before…
It looks AMAZING, though!!
Matthea says
Nice! Can’t wait to see a pic through the dining room, to see the flow. Good job!