The Stencil Project

OK.  I've had a busy week, and finished the "trial" attempts using variations of color combinations a few days ago.  Travelin BRITS came home over the weekend.  I was able to explain to and show him my trail run for this project.  We were also able to place the board on the stairs at the house to get a feel of how it would look.  I was sent to another level of anticipation and excitement, he was a bit less enthusiastic, but was willing to give me the go ahead for the project!!!   WOO HOO!!!

Please keep in mind, this is not the design I plan to use.  I painstakingly chose 3 different patterns from the wide selection at Royal Design Studio, and placed my order TODAY!  I hope to finalize our color palette for the entire house sometime this week, so that when my order arrives from RDS, I'll be able to jump right in to giving our home a very unique look.  But I'm still thinking the risers will be painted the same color as whatever color the trim work will be (most likely a creamy off-white color) and for the stencil design, I'll go with a very subtle shade darker than the riser.

I was able to pick up a long piece of plywood that would allow me to try several different variations of background and pattern colors.

I measured it out and then sectioned off 1-foot areas for each of the variations of color and pattern.

Paint, brush, tape, pencil, and one photo-bombing dog wanting to play......

Still not definitive on our paint colors for the house, but here are 3 varying Valspar paint colors.  From left to right:  Courtyard Tan, Mediterranean Caramel, and Cafe Miel...

....all shown here on the plywood board.

Here I've got everything laid out and ready to go... stencil in place, paper towels, paper plate, brush and paint.

The neat thing about stenciling is you don't have to use a lot of paint to get the look you're going for.  Just a small amount applied to your brush, which is then rubbed off onto a paper towel.  Then, in circular strokes, you're going over the surface of the stencil, careful not to apply too much pressure for fear of resulting in bleeding under the stencil...

This is the result of the first section I worked on, with the background done in Valspar Courtyard Tan.  Unfortunately, the design on the left is not quite what I envisioned due to my not completely cleaning the brown paint from the brush.  However, I sorta like the light creamy color that resulted using Americana Light Buttermilk and a not-completely-clean brush! :)  The design on the right was done with a darker paint, Americana Toffee.

An action photo, showing the daubing on the paper towel, the paper plate palette, and the result using much darker paint, Americana Cocoa and Honey Brown on Valspar Courtyard Tan.

This section is shown with the Valspar Mediterranean Caramel background and the Cocoa and Honey Brown stencil paints.  As you can see, or maybe can't see, the Cocoa is virtually the same color as the Mediterranean Caramel.  I want to go subtle, but this is a little too subtle considering all the work this project entails! 

Lastly, the background using Valspar Cafe Miel and Americana Honey Brown on the left and Stencil Magic Paint Creme in Warm Brown on the right.

I still think my favorite result is the Valspar Courtyard Tan with the stencil design done in Light Buttermilk.

Keep in mind, I'm still perfecting the technique and hope that when I start the project for the stair risers, I'll be a lot more confident with my technique, knowing just how little paint it takes to achieve the look I'm going for.

All Valspar paints from Lowe's.  All Americana paints from Hobby Lobby.

So...what do you think?

To Stencil or Not to Stencil? That Is The Question!

Family, friends, lovers of design and all things unique!  I need your help!

As you know, we're in the process of building a home.  A home that's been a dream for many years, and we're finally seeing it come to life.  All those years of dreaming has produced a lot of "must haves" and "really want" design features and decorating ideas.  Some that Travelin BRITS and I agree on, and some that we don't.  But we usually work it out either through compromise or completely different ideas all together.

Like many of you, I've gotten sucked in to the idea social media sites like Pinterest and Houzz.com, where I oooh, ahhh, and drool over so many incredible photos of amazing ideas in hundreds of categories.

One of my idea books or boards is of staircases that feature stenciling on the stair risers.  This idea just sends me into orbit with color and pattern choices almost limitless.  I really want to do this on the stairs in our house!!!!!!

The art of stenciling has been around for centuries, so it's nothing new to the art world, or to the design world.  But of late, it has seen a resurgence in home decorating because of the unique "handmade" quality it presents.

I recently became enamored with stenciling while following a blog that features a magnificent boutique hotel in Marrakesh, Morocco.  My Marrakesh is written by Maryam Montague, who has lived in Marrakesh with her family for almost 10 years.  Together with her architect husband, they designed and built the amazing Peacock Pavilions in a grove of olive trees.  She is the queen of shopping the souks of Marrakesh, and has a keen eye for the unique and an impeccable flair for decorating and design.  She's even written a book, Marrakesh by Design, that you can purchase here, here, or here.

In her quest for unique decorating techniques for Peacock Pavilions, she commissioned Melanie Royal of Royal Design Studio to help her with the designs of the stencils and the actual project.  The Peacock Painters, as they came to be known, did some amazing work and the final results are a sight to behold!   You can visit My Marrakesh here to see for yourself!  I'll be listening for your ooohs and aaahs!

While I can't commission Melanie Royal, I can purchase designs from her studio to help me with my project. The help I need from you is the push to make it happen or bring it to a screeching halt.  Travelin BRITS still has to agree(!) and give his blessing on the project.  Hopefully I can come up with an undeniable reason we should complement all our Moroccan treasures with these unique designs on our staircase.  And if we both end up hating it in the end, it's only paint and can be easily painted over.... right?

So.....what do you think?  And do I have any volunteers to come help??????

These are a few pins from my Pinterest board:

I absolutely LOVE this first one, but would prefer fewer patterns.




Very traditional Moroccan tile designs, that I absolutely love!




This one actually looks like wood inlay, but is really stencil.  Amazing, right?



Here, a photo of my staircase.  These are still the temporary construction stairs, but the view gives you an idea on how the stenciling would look from the front door entrance.  The stair case will curve from about the halfway point.

I got a piece of scrap plywood from the site today.  It's big enough to practice several color combinations, but I've only invested in one stencil for now.  I'll practice with it, until I've perfected the technique and narrowed down the colors.  I'm thinking of sticking with one color for the background of the riser and a tone or two darker for the stencil design.  This way the designs are there but they're not screaming at you the minute you walk through the door.

This is what I did tonight on gold/yellow poster board with warm brown paint.  These are the last 2 designs I did in a series of 5.  I got progressively better with the technique on each one.

I'm really excited about this project and can't wait to go to Lowe's in the morning to buy paint!!!!  :)

I ask for your honest opinions, suggestions, ideas both for the project AND for convincing Traveling BRITS that we just have to do this for our home!  

THANKS, Y'ALL!!!!