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Saturday, March 26, 2016

Warming up the white.

Back in the days of big permed hair and stirrup pants, nearly every room
 in our previous house sported either a stenciled border, stripes, or a faux painted finish.

After spending 30 plus hours on a ladder stenciling faux wallpaper
in our former dining room (almost 30 years ago!), I swore I'd never stencil another wall.

Famous last words.

As you know, I haven't been happy with the sterile whitish walls in our kitchen,
so when I came across this Laura Ashley wallpaper.....

......I was inspired to find a stencil in a similar pattern.

With my indecisive nature, I was afraid to buy wallpaper online
for fear I wouldn't like it once it was up on the wall, so faux stenciled wallpaper
seemed like the way to go.  I've read a few tutorials on rolling the pattern on
with latex wall paint which seemed so much easier than the painstaking
method of applying the paint with a stencil brush. 


Well.



It was not quick and easy.  It was a big sticky mess.

Perhaps if I'd actually followed the tutorials I'd have been
more successful, but as usual, I jumped right in with 
the supplies I had on hand.

I started willy-nilly on this wall with no real plan in mind.
Had I not been delirious with a fever at the time, I would have started
in a more inconspicuous spot, but that's all water under the bridge now.

The latex paint bled through in multiple places and in some areas
the paint barely showed up at all.  The stencil is small (11 x 15) so there was
plenty of down time between each panel to nap with my head on the table
 while I waited for the latex paint to dry.  Zzzzzzzzzz.


Fortunately, the design matched up when I got to this side of the room.


Unfortunately....
The stencil did not bend into the corners, so I had to cut 3 different stencils
to fill the gaps and then hand paint the rest- into the corners, around the window,
 up against the ceiling, and on top of the baseboard heater.  Very time consuming!
(As you can see, I needed plenty of caffeine to get me through the process.) 




 I was convinced I'd be sanding down the wall and repainting it white again,
so I just grabbed a round artist brush and haphazardly slapped on the design.
I was getting weak and my care factor at this point was close to zero. 
I was on day 3 and I just wanted to be done!


When I finished, I took a deep breath, stepped into the dining room to critique my work,
 and the F word  came to mind.



Farmhouse!

Maybe it was the fever, but to me it looked like faded old farmhouse wallpaper.



It's hard to get a good photo against the big window, but I think you get the picture.
I had originally planned to stencil the wall to the right also, but there are way too many
corners and angles to contend with, so I'll be content with one accent wall.

If you're considering stenciling a wall, here are a few tips I learned along the way.

Number 1
Use spray adhesive on the back of your stencil.
I didn't and I'm pretty sure that contributed to the paint bleeding through.

Number 2
Use a foam roller.
I used a small fuzzy wall roller on the first half of the wall,
and the coverage was splotchy.  I switched to a foam roller for the second
half and the paint went on much more smoothly.

The stencil I used can be found here.


I could spend countless hours touching up all the boo boos on my stenciled wall,
but it's a very subtle design and the imperfections are hardly noticeable.........
unless you're looking at a photo of the wall.  :o)


Thanks for visiting and Happy Easter!
Vickie

*I'm joining the parties at:
Cozy Little House Tweak it Tuesday
Thoughts from Alice Sundays at Home
The Essence of Home Share Your Style

40 comments:

  1. WOW! You are amazing that sure must have taken tons of patience... which I just would not have had. I think it looks wonderful you should be proud of your Artist touch! Happy Easter!

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  2. I LOVE IT!!!!! The F word I think of is FABULOUS!!! Great job - awesome!

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  3. Bravo for continuing on! Yes, Faded Farmhouse wallpaper:)
    Happy Easter! Kathleen in Az

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  4. Wow! It's perfect. Love the faded look!

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  5. Oh, I LOVE IT as well. I've gone thru the wallpaper/border craze in
    every room some years ago. But I still like the subtle look. Very
    nice indeed!

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  6. Well I think it's quite beautiful!
    Brenda

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  7. You are a braver soul than I...all that work I did in my house in the 90's cured me of it forever. Your wall came out perfectly imperfect for a farmhouse look. I love it. Your house looks so cheerful- this just added to it. I am imagining you with your head down on the table waiting for the paint to dry. Were you drooling a little? I like to get my visuals as accurate as possible. hahaha Hope you have a great Easter, Vickie. xoxo, T.

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  8. Vicki - It looks AWESOME!! You did a great job. I love the subtleness of it.

    Happy Easter!

    Judy

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  9. I love it! Love the color and the faded look to it. I don't think I could ever tackle a project like that. But-I may reconsider-it looks lovely. You should be proud of yourself, Vickie! Happy Easter to you too.

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  10. Don't you dare touch up those boo boos! It will all add to the rustic charm and hand painted vibe. It looks really stunning Vickie and really adds something to the space without overpowering it. Job well done! Have a lovely Easter break. xx

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  11. I LOVE it! Looks like old fashion faded farmhouse paper! Great job!

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  12. I agree with Debbie...FABULOUS! Vickie, it was worth all of your time and hard work...I love the look and it is gorgeous (I guess that's a G word) in your kitchen! I think you are going to have all of us looking at our walls...

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  13. Oh my you did all of this wonderful, beautiful and hard work and my mind stuck to STIRRUP PANTS! OMG I'd forgotten all about them until this post, lol!! :) Now forevermore I'll never forget your gorgeous wall because of that :)

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  14. I love this! So beautiful that in spite of how hard it must have been, I want to try it myself :)

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  15. It turned out very well! I love it! Good job!
    Blessings

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  16. I think it looks WONDERFUL!! That is a project that I wouldn't ever try!
    Easter Blessings.
    warmly,
    deb

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  17. Vickie, this is absolutely beautiful! It looks subtly vintage and just perfect in your kitchen. You are a woman of many talents and very patient. I would be yelling and cursing and then giving up if I ran into the problems you did. I guess that's why I'm not a handy/crafty person! Happy Easter to you and your family.

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  18. This may have been a bigger job than you anticipated, but your wall looks fantastic, Vickie! Everything you do in your home turns out great.
    Mary Alice

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  19. Well, my F word for this project is FREAKIN FABULOUS! Oh, that's two F words. Too bad ;).

    I give you lots of credit for tackling this project, because like you, I stenciled my way through the 80's and 90's and pretty much had my fill. And the curing of the stencil? Well, that would have put me over the edge (pun intended).

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  20. Well I think it looks absolutely fabulous! I have have done quite a bit of stenciling and no how long this takes. Happy Easter to you!
    hugs,
    Jann

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  21. Vickie, one more F word - Fabulous. Really. You remind me of one of my sisters - so talented, so patient, so resourceful. It's really beautiful.
    Rita

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  22. Vickie it's so beautiful!! I absolutely love it!! I stenciled my sons nursery when I was expecting. It took me the entire 9 months! Lol That was 17 years ago, hard to believe. Have a lovely Easter. xo

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  23. Vicki, your kitchen looks beautiful ! At one time I stenciled around the very top to all my walls, like a border, wow, that was enough for me, so to do a whole room is amazing ! Love your touches of vintage, bits of red, really sweet !

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  24. Vicki--it's GORGEOUS!! I used to stencil in the 80s...and sponge paint! I have a friend who has used a huge stencil in her enormous kitchen and it is beautiful and it tempts me every time, but I think I'll wait until I retire to try it. It just enhances the whole character of your kitchen. Well done!

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  25. No way, girl! I love that and yes the F word did pop into my mind! It reminds me of the old wallpaper in my grandma's house (not that you are old or anything) and how it wasn't completely perfect and pristine. I think it looks FABULOUS!

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  26. Oh wow. It looks fabulous, but what a lot of work! I did a few stenciled borders back in the '90s, too. (I also did some sponge painted rooms -- subtle colors, though.) A whole wall to stencil would be overwhelming in terms of the time and work involved. Good job; I love it!

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  27. I agree with you! It really does look like faded old wallpaper you would find in a farmhouse. That's a good "F" word! Ha Ha. I can only imagine how much work that was. However, it might've been easier than hanging wallpaper. I can't hang wallpaper to save my life. Good thing, I gave up on using it years ago. Hope you're feeling better now. You were brave to take that project on while being under the weather.

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  28. Absolutely gorgeous! So happy to have found your great blog :) Have a wonderful week!

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  29. Messy or not, it definitely paid off. It looks so good! I am loving the pattern.

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  30. From what I read it was tiring and time consuming, but it was so worth it, it looks fabulous!

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  31. Vickie you are a rock star!!! I love it! I wish you would've posted a tutorial because i'm thinking of stenciling my laundry room. Would I die trying to do it I'm wondering? I love the subtle color and pattern it makes such a difference in your kitchen. You're so darn inspiring.

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  32. Well worth the trouble, Vickie, the kitchen looks so lovely (and it wasn't bad before :-)
    Amalia
    xo

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  33. Vickie, this turned out so great! I love it! Definitely FARMHOUSE. It reminds me so much of the faded wallpaper in my parents' farmhouse where I grew up. Just when I think your home is picture perfect you spring something else on me and I'm amazed all over again. I know it was a lot of work, but I actually like it so much better than the wallpaper that inspired you. Fabulous! xo

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  34. The neat thing about being gone from the blogging world for a year is that everybody's stuff is all new to me! You kitchen is ADORABLE!!! I love everything about it! The touches of green and that little green farm table...perfect. Pinning!

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  35. This is just too cute. You have handled your kitchen decor fabulously.
    I love it. I'm not planning to stencil a whole wall just yet but I'll keep this in mind. It's darling.

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  36. Love!!!!! I didn't know you were doing this!!!

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  37. Vicki, it looks great with a Capitol F.

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Your comments make it all worthwhile. Thanks for visiting today!

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