I have been wanting to create a stenciled focal wall in my home for a really long time, so I was beyond thrilled when Royal Design Studio sent me one of their stencils to review. I had grand illusions of a beautiful geometric design gracing my stairwell, but soon realized that the graphics would compete with our ornate stair ballusters, and I was worried that it might be a bit too crazy on the eyes.
I shifted my focus towards my master bedroom instead, and I’m so glad that I did! We’re currently transforming our office into a craft room which means that I’m relocating of all the crafting areas and supplies that have taken over every corner of our bedroom. Adding some decorating pizzaz to the bedroom by stenciling the wall seemed like the perfect way to start taking back our space.
Look at what we started with:
This space was so sad and uninspiring. It pretty much looked just like it did when we initially unpacked our boxes after moving here four years ago. How embarassed am I to admit that I have a degree in interior design, and my own master bedroom looked like this? Time for a change, for sure!
We started by giving the wall a fresh base coat of flat paint (Behr Swiss Coffee). Next, we gathered up our featured paint (Martha Stewart Grey Squirrel) and stenciling supplies – pencil, small paint rollers, paper towels, a level, and low-tack green painters tape. The Eastern Lattice Moroccan Stencil that we used has an intricate and delicate pattern, so using repositionable spray adhesive to hold the stencil to the wall allowed us to have cleaner edges and sharper lines. A small paintbrush was also necessary to touch up the edges as needed.
I was eager to jump into stenciling right away, but learned that it is important that you practice on another surface first before diving right into stenciling your wall. Different paints and surfaces may work better with one kind of roller/brush or another, and you don’t want to waste time having to cover up a bad stenciling job and starting over again. Ahem, don’t ask me how I know that. We started by using the recommended dense white foam roller, but ended up needing to use a roller with slightly more nap (Purdy White Dove 3/8″).
We have really heavy texture on our walls, which proved to be the only real downfall in stenciling. It took several coats of paint every time we moved the stencil to a new location, so we grossly underestimated the amount of time that this project would take us. The textured walls also required more touch-up than a smoother surface would, again taking up a lot of time. The next time we stencil a wall (yes, we’d do it again with a few lessons learned from the first time!) my husband and I agreed that we’d want to add a light skim coat of smooth texture on our walls first to avoid some of the issues that came up with our heavy texture.
Begin by placing your stencil in the center of your wall so that you will end up with an even and equal amount of pattern repeat leftover when you reach the edges.
Find your rhythm and start stenciling by using very thin coats of paint and building it up layer by layer…
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…keep stenciling…
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| Day 1, Hour 1 |
…and stenciling…
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| Day 2, Hour 7 |
…and stenciling…
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| Day 2, Hour 15 |
…and then stencil some more!
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| Day 2, Hour 17 |
Yay, finally finished!!!
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| Day 3, Hour 23 |
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| See what I mean about the heavy texture on our walls – it was a killer! |
It was SO worth all that time and effort! I still have a good deal of touch up to go back and do, but it looks great already (especially when you’re not looking at it from 6″ away!). I love, love, LOVE it! I’m inspired to makeover our entire bedroom now! Next up, an upholstered leather headboard 🙂
Congratulations to Jessica W! She is the giveaway winner!
Just head on over to Royal Design Studio and come back here and let me know which stencil you’d choose. Giveaway will end at 9:00 PM PST on Wednesday, June 6th, and the winner will be announced the following day.
Heidi Kundin has captivated the hearts of millions with her colorful and inspiring approach to crafting, celebrations, and family fun. With over 15 years of experience, Heidi’s website has become a must-visit destination for those seeking quick and easy creative ideas and last-minute solutions. Her warm personality shines through her posts, inviting readers to join her on a creative journey that’s fun, rewarding, and achievable.
Leigh says
Your room turned out great. I would actually choose the stencil that you used – Eastern Lattice Moroccan Stencil. Love it!
Destiny says
I love the Casablanca Trellis Moroccan Stencil.
Susie says
I’m completely obsessed with trellis design – so I think I would pick the Large Moorish Trellis Stencil.
You did a great job with yours!!
MelissaJane says
That is awesome – love the pattern; it manages to be both strong and delicate. Great job! I can imagine how awful that texture was to work with.
I have a thing for the Lisboa Tile stencil – I would really to do it on a rug.
Michelle L. says
I love the Endless Circles Lattice Moroccan Stencil!! 🙂
Jenn - A Jennuine Life says
I love the Hollywood Squares stencil!
Anonymous says
Small Moorish Trellis Stencil 🙂 danica
etaemommy@gmail.com
Morena Hockley says
Looks great! I want a damask stencil!
Kirsten Dentroux says
I love the ribbon lattice stencil!
Jessica @ Stay at Home-ista says
Honestly, I’m dying over the zebra al over wall stencil. Not sure I have the patience, hand-eye coordination, or your devotion to pull off an entire wall, but I’m so happy you did it and shared it with us!Jessicastayathomeista.com
Four Marrs and One Venus says
I love the endless moorish! Pretty!
Meredith says
I like the Hip to Be Square and the Circling All Over Stencils! I can’t choose :o)
Melanie @ bear rabbit bear says
Interlacing Leaves Allover Stencil
Heather F. says
I am so in need of a master bedroom makeover myself. I was thinking wall paper…now I may be thinking stencil! Thanks for the giveaway!
Kelsey says
Ahh how do I pick!? The all-over ribbon lattice or sea scrolls I think, but I could buy 100000 of them! Your room looks great, though!
Kelsey
Miranda says
Love this! I have a project that is screaming for the Chez Sheik Furniture Stencil!!
Christine@decoratedlife says
Hi HeidiI love your stencils!! The room looks great!How are you dealing with the edges.. I think that is cut off in the photos.Great work!1
Heidi @ Moms Crafty Space says
Hi Christine! The edges are a little tricky, but we dealt with them in two ways – the first is that Royal Design Studio includes a free ceiling edge stencil with each stencil. The ceiling edge stencil contains just enough of the pattern to fill in the places where you had butted the original stencil up to the ceiling. This also worked well around the window edges. If the pattern doesn’t line up with the ceiling stencil(like it didn’t on one of my window edges since the pattern repeat was at a different section), just fold your original stencil (make a soft fold), use a stencil brush and go slowly. It works like a charm!
Jessica says
I would choose the beehive all over stencil
jessicarwarfield at gmail dot com
RD says
Wow. You have the patience of a saint. There is NO WAY I could pull this off. But, I do need to cut out my own stencil design – I’m trying to find something that cuts smoother than an exact-o. Any ideas?
Heidi @ Moms Crafty Space says
What material are you cutting? I usually steal, er, borrow my dad’s hot knife if I need something to cut super nice lines/edges. It looks like a woodburning tool, but it has an Xacto knife blade attachment. I use it to carve foam pumpkins, and it slices through like butter. It’s the only thing I’ve found that cuts that smoothly 🙂
Four Marrs and One Venus says
What a great wall now in your master room girl!!! It looks so pretty! So worth all the time you put in! I love it!!
Heidi @ Moms Crafty Space says
Thanks Jen! 🙂