How To: Stenciled Wall Treatment

Stenciling is an inexpensive and easy (although not necessarily quick) way to add a fun design element to your new home. With stencils you can create a custom "wallpaper" look using any colors of your choice and for a fraction of the cost of real designer wallpaper. Here are some easy tips I learned while trying out this project over Memorial Day Weekend.

• Choose a matte or eggshell finish for your base coat. These finishes absorb the second layer of paint better, reducing smears and making the project move along faster. My base coast is Piper by KWAL Paint in an eggshell finish.
•  You can be more creative with your top coat (the one you use when stenciling). I chose a Metallic Masters paint called Smoke. I love that the sheen looks different when viewed from different angles and in different light. It looks especially AMAZING in the evening and morning. It also dried surprisingly quickly.
  
• If you want a "wallpaper" look, make sure you choose a stencil that is designed for that type of use. They come with registration marks: little triangle holes in the corners so that you can make marks and line up each subsequent stencil. I picked mine up at the local craft store but you can find hundreds of options online too. I chose a damask-look for my stencil. I tried to find one that wasn't too girly since this room is for my husband too. (I think the dark grey colors also made it appear a little more masculine.)

• The instructions say to start in the top left corner of your room. However, this was my very first time stenciling so I started somewhere less visible (the area of the room that is covered up by my bed and future headboard). 
• Make sure that your first stencil is perfectly level. All your other stencils will be based on this, so go for perfectly level. When I was starting I checked the level on each subsequent stencil, but realized that as long as I line up my registration marks, this was really unnecessary. 
• In order to avoid smudging the design, I worked in a random pattern, not a straight line. I didn't want to tape right over the area that I had just painted, but I also didn't want to wait several minutes between each stencil. This worked fine as long as I remember to mark the registration points and line them up with each new stencil.

And my two biggest tips for stenciling a wall...

1. Accept that your stenciling will NOT BE PERFECT but that it will still look AMAZING. There were plenty of times when my stencils didn't line up exactly or I had to fudge around the edges. However, the overall wall still looks perfectly amazing. With all that's going on, you really can't tell where the mistakes are, so don't sweat it!
2. Expect to spend A LOT OF TIME on this project. I did a fairly large, vaulted wall and I planned on spending several hours on this project. Unfortunately I was way off base. My small pattern and large wall added up to a total of about 8 hours just doing the stencil (not counting the base coat, clean up etc). About 3/4 of the way through I really did just want to quit and leave it half done. Luckily I stuck with it and now LOVE the results (and you will too if you try it for yourself!)

Here's my completed wall. My total cost was under $40! The overall design of the room is still only about half way done. My next big project is a large upholstered headboard. If that goes well I'll post it here in a few weeks! Then I'll be searching for new nightstands and wall sconces.

So happy stenciling. And to any of you stenciling pros out there... I'd love to hear your tips and tricks or see your work! Email me at kristi@mcarthurhomes.com