Stenciled Wall Tutorial

Over Labor Day weekend, I finally stenciled the headboard wall in our bedroom!  I've wanted to do it for months, but just didn't have the time until now.  Our bedroom has a built in headboard with a blank wall, so I wanted to do something to make it stand out a little.  Here is what it looked like before:

Boring, right?

I had checked out some stencils and decided I like the Moroccan style, but didn't want to spend $40 for a stencil I was probably only going to use once.  Then in June, GroopDealz had the stencil I had been wanting for only $18!  I snatched it up, and it sat around for a couple months until I was finally ready to use it.

I went to Lowe's and got the paint color I wanted to use.  Our walls were already painted "Brandied Pear" by Olympic One in a satin finish, so I picked up "Chalkware" by Olympic One in a semi-gloss finish.  I wanted it to stand out a little, so I picked a paint color that was just a little bit darker than the walls, and chose the semi-gloss finish to give it a little shine.

When I was reading different tutorials about stenciling a wall, they all said to use a stencil brush (didn't know there was such a thing) or a small roller.  I didn't have either one at home and didn't feel like going back to the store to get one.  So I used a small foam brush that I had, and it ended up working perfectly!

Here's what you'll need:

Stencil

Paint

Foam Brush

Paper Plate

Painter's Tape

Level

Start by making sure your wall is clean (you don't want any dust getting in your paint).  Then find the middle of your wall and hang your stencil using some painter's tape.  Use the level to make sure your stencil is level-you don't want your entire stencil to be crooked.

Lightly dip your foam brush in your paint and then paint your brush back and forth on the paper paint.  This gets any excess paint off the brush.  You don't want very much paint on the brush so that it doesn't bleed behind the stencil.  It's easier to do a second coat rather than try to clean up too much paint.

Make sure you hold down the part of the stencil you are using, to help prevent any paint from getting outside of your desired area.  I did one shape at a time, starting with the edges and then filling in the middle.

After you have filled in each shape on your stencil, carefully take it down and move on to the next spot!  I let my first full stencil dry for a little bit before I moved on so that I wouldn't smudge it.  Since you are using very little paint, it dries quickly.

Then line up your stencil with one row that is already painted to make sure your spacing is even and continue the process all over again until your wall is done!

This took me a lot longer than I thought it would, because I had to deal with the trim all the way around, and some awkward angles, but I LOVE the way it turned out!

Have you ever stenciled a wall?  Did you like the way it turned out?  Would you ever consider stenciling a wall in your house?

-Ericka