A Stenciled Bathroom {How to Stencil}

 

K, so we have this little powder bathroom downstairs by the family room, and it’s functional and serves its purpose, but it’s a little on the blah side. Nothing to write home about, really.

 

Back when I was in the One Crafty Contest, one of the rounds incorporated the use of stencils as the challenge. I knew that if I made it to that round, the powder room would get a little makeover, stencil style. I didn’t make it to the stencil round, but once the idea was in my head, there was no stopping this transformation.

 

I recently met Regina with Royal Design Studio Stencils, and she taught me the correct way to stencil. (I’m so glad she did, too, because it took me some practice. I would’ve made a big fat mess on the walls!)

 

After I told her about my super boring bathroom, Royal Design Studios sent me a stencil, paint, and a stencil brush to try. Because I wanted big impact in the room, but the space is small, I chose the Large Marrakesh Trellis Moroccan stencil and Pearl Oyster paint. The large stencil gives the me the change and style I’m after while the subtle silver sheen keeps the look from being overwhelming.

Here’s the bathroom before:

 

 

 

Pretty boring, huh? Nothing a little stencil action can’t fix!

 

Now the only hard part about stenciling the bathroom was that I had to do a little math (not my fave). But it worked out in the long run because I knew I would be super annoyed if the design was off. I just picked the part of the room that I knew would annoy me if it wasn’t right, and started there. Measuring the length of the wall, I marked a spot right in the middle, and that’s were I started.

 

Here are a few tips and tricks to insure a great stencil outcome:

 

1. After pouring a bit of the paint into the lid of the paint container, dip your stencil brush into the paint.

 

2. Swirl the brush onto a paper toel to remove the excess.

 

3. Starting on the outer edge of the stencil, swirl in toward the stencil. Any excess paint comes off on the stencil and not the wall.

 

4. Use your hand to hold down the section of stencil you are using. Hold down each small section of the stencil as you go around.

 

5. Paint from the outer edges in. Once you’ve painted all of the edges, fill in the middle.

 

The trickiest part, for me, was the corners. I followed the instructions included with the stencil, and that definitely helped. The stencil is made of really sturdy plastic, which tells me it’ll last forever, but sometimes I wished it would fold like paper to make the corners a little easier. Make sure you have taped off one side securely, but leave the other side loose so you can adjust things easily.

 

I snapped this crazy shot after a few hours of stenciling on day one. I had to work late at night when my cute kidlets were sleeping, so I started to get pretty loopy.

 

I’m pretty pleased with the Royal Design Studio paint. It had very little odor, and, like the chalk paint on my dining room chairs, it didn’t make our house smell like paint at all. The paint cleaned up easily, too, with just soap and water.

 

It took a couple of days, working in sections, to complete. And I got pretty intimate with the toilet and sink when I was trying to stencil around those. (Luckily I cleaned the heck out of the whole place before this party got started!)

 

But I am SO happy with the results!!

 

 

 

I love the subtle silver sheen. LOVE it!

 

 

The stencil makes a great impact without hittin’ ya over the head with it, right?

 

This new pretty potty is a big deal in our house right now. I’m happy to have guests use this “guest bathroom” when they come because it looks so cool!! Even though we rent, I took the leap and painted this room because I felt like it only adds to the value of the home. (And we gotta paint if we move out eventually, right? So why not make this space our own for awhile?)

 

Overall I am really happy with the Royal Design Studio stencil products. They are great quality, and I will use the stencil and brush again on other projects.
 

And guess what?! They want YOU to have a stencil, too!!

Giveaway next week, peeps!

Keep your eyes peeled for that!

 

Have you ever stenciled a room before? Did you hate the corners, too? Got any stencil tricks you’ve learned? Please share!

 

 

Disclaimer: The Royal Design Studio sent me the stencil, paint, and brush I used in this post, but all opinions are my own.

 

I’m linking up!

My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia , A Bowl Full of Lemons, The Thrifty Home, Someday Crafts, Seven Thirty Three, Beyond the Picket Fence, House of Hepworths, Tales From Bloggeritaville, Made in a Day, Sassy Sites, Chic on a Shoestring Decorating, The Shabby Nest, Remodelaholic, Beneath My Heart, Lolly Jane Boutique, Be Different Act Normal, C.R.A.F.T., Thrifty Decor Chick, Funky Junk Interiors, Under the Table and Dreaming, House of Grace, Primitive and Proper, Sugar Bee Crafts, Home Stories A 2 Z, Domestically Speaking, Southern Lovely, Somewhat Simple, One Artsy Mama, It’s Overflowing, Six Sister’s Stuff

 

Pin It