stencils! i love 'em. i blame my parents. when i was a baby, my parents stenciled a border of ducks around the perimeter of my nursery. and since 94.2% of all information obtained throughout one's lifetime occurs within the first year of life (false), i'm guessing that's when i developed my love of stenciling. part of the appeal of stencils is the fact that they allow even the worst artists to create crisp, clean lines. do your hands shake like michael j. fox operating a jackhammer (nothing but love for marty mcfly)? no problem! use a stencil! yes, even YOU can create polished looking designs such as these:
repeat the pattern throughout the room if you want the look of expensive wallpaper for a fraction of the price. if you hate the look, it's always easier to paint over the pattern than strip wallpaper. just ask my dining room.
if repetition ain't your thang, bold shapes can be stencilled to add some fun visual interest. (dear owners of this room, 1993 called. it wants its boom box back).
if you aren't sure if stencils are your cup of tea, i think a bathroom is a good place to test the water (punny!). unless your are rolling in dough, your bathroom is probably a relatively small area that will allow your stencils to pack a powerful punch.
if a subtle look is what you're going for, try slightly varying the color of your paint, or even the finish. try going one shade lighter or darker for an effect that doesn't scream "look at me! i'm a stencilled wall!"
they would look pretty snazzy stencilled around a door frame in a slightly lighter shade than the original paint color. or, if you've got more cajones than me, go bold and use bright colors a la frank lloyd wright. after all, the man did know a thing or two about good design.
repeat the pattern throughout the room if you want the look of expensive wallpaper for a fraction of the price. if you hate the look, it's always easier to paint over the pattern than strip wallpaper. just ask my dining room.if repetition ain't your thang, bold shapes can be stencilled to add some fun visual interest. (dear owners of this room, 1993 called. it wants its boom box back).if you aren't sure if stencils are your cup of tea, i think a bathroom is a good place to test the water (punny!). unless your are rolling in dough, your bathroom is probably a relatively small area that will allow your stencils to pack a powerful punch.if a subtle look is what you're going for, try slightly varying the color of your paint, or even the finish. try going one shade lighter or darker for an effect that doesn't scream "look at me! i'm a stencilled wall!" some of my favorite stencils include these little beauties from the frank lloyd wright collection at the chicago architecture foundation shop (side note, if you've never taken a chicago architecture tour, you're missing out.):
they would look pretty snazzy stencilled around a door frame in a slightly lighter shade than the original paint color. or, if you've got more cajones than me, go bold and use bright colors a la frank lloyd wright. after all, the man did know a thing or two about good design.
if you are considering doing some stenciling of your own, this site offers some really cool designs at some pretty reasonable prices. you can tell them i sent you. but don't expect them to know what that means.
RAY! I have a confession to make...I love HGTV, but their website is definitely lacking. Where do you find all your fun design photos for your blog? I am in need of some more sites to waste time looking through and being jealous that I don't have a beautiful house. And by the by, we should probably chat one of these days :) Happy May little lady!!!
ReplyDeleteshelbs, get out of my head! i just submitted today's post about my go-to blogs and then i read your comment. weird. those blogs are my go-to inspirations. hopefully this is helpful! and, yes, let's chat asap.
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