Ah stenciling the bedroom…sounds like a marvelous idea because after all it will look so elegant.  I forget that stenciling can be a pain in the butt.  I admit it, I sometimes hate stenciling.  Even when I use those little reference points on the corners and level the pattern each and every time, some how I get off somewhere and my pattern starts twisting.  Not to mention having to wait until each little section dries a little before moving the stencil or using such small amounts of paint that you have to go over it again.  I can remember the first time I attempted stenciling a large wall in my townhouse about 5 years ago.  It was a graceful fleur de lis pattern that quickly turned evil.  I think I cried during that project.  Yep. I cried over stenciling.  It was an evil stencil that was made more evil by these ridiculous knock-down textured walls builders like to put into new homes. See photo below.

I’m fine now really, just a little post-traumatic stenciling stress.  I have decided that stenciling is just a pain and anyone who tells you it’s “easy” is lying or has seriously smooth walls. Yeah it’s not rocket science so the idea of stenciling is easy, but really it takes patience, time, and a type-A personality.  I find I only have the latter.

So why attempt it again?  Well, cause it just looks so darn good when it’s done.  I must apologize to my fiance though who has come home to bear the brunt of my stenciling frustration. I’m better than I was 5 years ago, but seriously I can’t wait to be done with these projects.

Enough complaining, back to the project at hand. 🙂  Before I painted this room it just looked very plain and quite boring.

Our Master Bedroom needed some style…
So I ordered this
Fès Wall Painting Stencil – 10 mil medium duty
from Amazon.

I liked it’s simplicity and that it has a bit of a modern feel without being too sterile. Before it arrived I painted my based coat on the wall.  It’s oops paint, but the shade is very close to Martha Stewart’s Falcon.

After the base coat of brown dried I took my level and drew a level line as a starting point.  As are most people’s walls, mine are not perfectly square, so avoid starting in a corner or your design will seem crooked near your ceiling and baseboards.

After your level line is marked, be sure to mark the 4 registration points on the stencil with a pencil.

Then tape the stencil in place so it doesn’t shift while you are working. I used Frog Tape for Delicate Surfaces.

Some people prefer rollers when painting stencils, but for my highly textured walls I used these generic foam spouncers.  I bought them for around $4.00 at Walmart and you get several in a pack.

When you paint, you don’t want to over saturate your brush.  Just keep going over each area until all the nooks and crannies are covered.  After you do your design pattern let the stencil dry for about 5 minutes before you move it over.  This way if paint accidentally bled underneath you don’t drag paint to your next spot. You should also have some paper towels handy in case you need to wipe anything off the backside of the stencil.

Finally, patience is key.  I have to take several breaks when I work on a project like this.  Stenciling this wall which is 10 feet high took me almost three days. I find that when I rush I get sloppy and that just means more touch-ups.

I can’t wait to show you the entire master bedroom transformation once I am finished. Stay Tuned!