You know how they say that fashion comes around again in cycles? It seems if you wait 25-30 years, you will see a resurgence of some sort of “trend” that was once popular. I guess the saying is true: “If you live long enough, you’ll see everything.” (And if you get to an age where you can’t remember seeing it, that’s ok! It will come back around again and be “new” for you!)
I have been seeing a trend that I have been wanting to try for quite a while now, and I’m semi-bold enough to admit it…stencils.
Decor Trends Gone Wrong
Now, I know that we all might have some “decor scars” from our youth….
For my parents’ generation their “decor scars” are probably the colors brown, orange, and all things ball-fringed and shag.
Well, for my generation it would probably be pastel colors (along with a healthy dose of teal), melamine cabinets (trimmed in a lovely oak), wallpaper borders, and stencils.
So, I kind of have to laugh at myself when I think about wanting to stencil something. For the majority of my adult life I have been avoiding stencils like the plague, but life is nothing if not funny and full of irony….
(If you can’t laugh at yourself, you miss out on a lot of cheap entertainment! At least I would. I’m constantly making mistakes, falling over myself (I’m 5’10 and it seems my limbs are still getting used to their length?!).
In fact, I might even go so far as to say that laughing at myself is BY FAR my favorite ab workout. (wink)
Selecting a Wall Stencil
Now, I would like to stop and do a disclaimer right here. I did NOT buy a stencil with a goose, a duck, or an ivy vine on it. Does that count for something? Or is it inevitable that we just start reverting to the “time of our youth” eventually? Hearken back to the “days or yore” or something like that? (She shudders….remembering those “decor scars”….)
The stencil I picked out at Michael’s has a large, repeating, geometric print; I think some might call the repeated pattern “Moroccan” (considering I have never been to Morocco and probably couldn’t even find it on a map in 10 seconds, I will take their word for it….)
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If you look on Pinterest, you’ve probably seen pictures of stenciled walls and floors. And while I have loved the look of the floors, I wanted to try it out first on a “smaller” project.
This is one of those projects that I was both excited and terrified to start all at the same time. I had decided I would try this stenciling “trend” on the wall next to my staircase (NOT the one that goes all the way up the stairs- I am fully aware of my parameters).
Remember how I was saying one of the “decor scars” of my generation was wallpaper border? Well, I think most of our grandmas and mothers that have ever had the task of trying to remove wallpaper border (or wallpaper in general) would warn us to STAY AWAY from these decor options. They might even add something about wallpaper being “closely akin to the ‘spawn of Satan'” (and you might scoff and think they are being overly dramatic, but HEED the wisdom of those that have gone before us, sisters! I think the whole reason there is a market these days for removable wallpaper is because of them!)
Removeable wallpaper is pure genius. I can be a semi-fickle person when it comes to decor. I don’t want to change my wall color weekly, but I don’t really want to commit to it for 10 years, so having something that can easily be changed is like gold. BUT, have you seen the price of this stuff? It was going to cost me at least $50 to do a pretty small-ish wall. My stencil cost $8.50 with my 50% off coupon. (Always, always, always use a coupon, my friend!)
Yes, the wallpaper would probably have gone a lot faster, but I’m sort of a glutton for punishment (and did I also mention, cheap?).
How To Use a Wall Stencil

- The first thing you need to do is to wipe down your surface and baseboards. Then tape off everything you don’t want to stencil. I’d give yourself a healthy border with the tape. Things can get a little wild and crazy when paint and late night hours collide, my friend! For part of this project I used blue “painter’s tape” (which is my fav), but I also used some masking tape too (remember cheap?). Both worked well. Just make sure you really press your edges firmly.
- Find the center of your wall and mark a straight line (using a level). My stencil had some lines that I could use as guide-marks. This was extremely helpful for keeping things straight and lining the pattern up.
- Tape your stencil up with painter’s tape or masking tape.
- Get your paint ready. (I just used some chalk paint I had and a small roller and tray.)
- Make SURE you roll paint onto your roller and then roll some of it OFF onto a paper towel. You don’t want it to be gloppy or full of paint when you roll it onto your stencil. You can always get a tad more and take another pass over your stencil, but you can’t easily remove paint!
**The first roll is the scariest. I literally make some anxiety-induced noises when I started. Roll with it. (Literally. Ha!)**
- Because you rolled a good bit of paint OFF the roller and onto the paper towel, you only need to wait a minute or two before moving the stencil to the next spot. (It dries quick!)
- You will know it’s time to clean off the stencil when it starts losing it’s crisp edges. (I had to stop and wash my stencil 4 times. But you might need to do less or more. Just keep an eye on it.)
- If you have a little “oopsie” spot, I found that by using a wet q-tip, I could erase tiny smudges. (Again- this is best for a LITTLE “oopsie” spot.)
- When you get to an edge (or angle in my case) you will need to bend the stencil. When I got to the stairs, I ended up cutting my stencil. Sometimes you just have to do what you gotta do….
- Continue going as long as your endurance prevails. (In the picture you can see that I’m soooo close to being done. I am of the stubborn persuasion, so I kept going until I finished. Whether this was a “smart” idea is up for debate.
- Take off painter’s tape and enjoy your hard work!
My Take-Aways From Stenciling a Wall
- I used a small foam roller that is also used for painting cabinets. (Like this one here.) It worked just fine and was a lot cheaper than the roller that Michael’s was selling for “stenciling”. I also used a foam brush. I was trying to keep this project to only $8.50, but if you have a couple more dollars, go wild and spring for a small stencil brush or dense artist’s brush. (It was a little tedious getting into the corners and edges with my foam brush.)
- Be ready for some imperfections. Yes, they will probably irk you, but you are probably one of the only people that will notice. Unless of course you have a father-in-law like Clark Griswold (“The little lights are not twinkling, Clark.”) and if that’s the case, many prayers for you!
- This wasn’t super super hard, but it wasn’t an easy peasy project either. Put on some good music and take deep breaths.
I am really liking how it turned out! For $8.50, I’m pretty pleased with the change it created. And since it’s right next to our front door, it’s a fun “pop” of color we get to enjoy each time we come in the house!
Have you been interested in stenciling your walls or floor? Let me know in the comments!
Now, I’m off to find Morocco on a map….[wink]
Beautiful job, Morgan! I love the color you chose. You must have the patience of a saint!! So much better than wallpaper! I was a wallpaper junkie until I ruined the drywall when removing it years later. Kudos for
“making your own”! Love your Blog! Until next time!
I don’t know about “saint” – I think I’m just stubborn! (And cheap!) Ha!
I love the look that wallpaper gives, but not all the craziness that happens when you want to change it! Yikes! So sorry your drywall got messed up! What a headache! Right now I don’t have anything up on the wall because after all that stenciling work, I can’t think of putting holes in it! 😉