Wednesday, July 18, 2012

F.O.S. {Fear Of Stenciling}

My apologies for my long absence from the blog world.  My life has been quite hectic lately, so the blog had to take a backseat for a while.  :(  But I am so happy to be back, and even happier to share a project that I wrapped up a couple weeks ago.  It is by far one of my favorites, and definitely one that I was terrified to take on.  {For those of you who follow me on Instagram, retroranchreno, you've probably already guessed which project this is. :) }

For quite some time it was very apparent to me that I needed to spice up our hallway.  It was a whole lot of wall space, with not a thing going on...and since part of it can be viewed from pretty much every room in our house, I knew I needed to add some interest.

My first thought was to create a ginormous version of the very popular gallery wall.  Ultimately, I decided against it because of the small gallery wall I already hung above our buffet {which reminds me that I have not shared it with you guys...ohhh boy, am I behind in my sharing!!!}, and I didn't want to put something together that would make our open hallway feel heavy or crowded.

So on to my second thought...using paint to put a fun pattern onto the walls.  Thick, straightforward stripes?!?  Nah, I already did that in the main bathroom.  A cool Moroccan tile pattern?!?  Definitely.  But wait...that meant I'd have to tackle stenciling, and for whatever reason...stenciling intimidated the heck out of me!

Fear aside, I couldn't get the thought of fixing the hallway up out of my head.  I kept browsing Royal Design Studio's website for the perfect pattern and I always found myself checking out the Moroccan Stencils section.  I have quite a few favorites in there, and I was able to narrow it down to the Moorish Trellis.  My choice was perfect since I wanted to avoid anything too small and intricate.  A crazy, busy hallway is not the look we were going for.

And even though I am CLEARLY not a professional stencil artist, I took a risk and ordered a "pro" sized stencil.  I was willing to pay the extra cash {$98 vs. $44 for a standard size} for a larger stencil so I could minimize the amount of times I'd have to put the stencil up on the wall.

My stencil arrived quickly, and then just sat in the corner of our bedroom for a month or so.  I finally found the motivation {and mainly, courage} to start this project after my parent's came for their visit earlier this month.

Here is the best "before" picture I could come across.  Of course, I forgot to take a proper one...so this oldie, but goodie will make do.



I started out by spraying the back of my stencil with some Easy-Tack spray adhesive I purchased from Michaels.  I started the spraying process on our back porch and eventually moved it to our great room floor.  I just used a drop cloth underneath the stencil when I needed to reapply.



I was a little nervous about how well the spray adhesive would hold, but it worked well.  I didn't even need painters tape for the first half of the project.



I coated everything in paint.



Ta-da!  One section done....a million to go.




I decided to do the top half of all the walls first, and then go to the lower half.



The paint did bleed a bit under the stencil since I wasn't "truly" stenciling with a proper stencil brush...but I don't mind.  I used a small roller and it went much more quickly that way and still gave me the effect I desired.




 Onto the lower half....



And after 9 hours of work...I was done, and obsessed with the finished product!  It was just what me and the hubby wanted.  {Please forgive my blurry, awful iPhone pictures.  I could not find my camera for the life of me...not like that would have made a difference in the quality of my photography hehe.}



Love this view from the kitchen now...



It's a little hard to capture the pattern throughout the entire hallway in photos since it's a subtle color difference, but the appearance in real-life is perfect!



And I love how our mirror at the end of the hallway reflects the design beautifully.





What do you think?  Worth the full day of work?  I definitely think so! :)

51 comments:

  1. That looks great!!! I'd love to do something like that but we don't have a long hallway. Maybe my stairwells?!?! Hmmm... but I, too, have a fear of stenciling.

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  2. Gorgeous! Someday I'll ask you for a detailed step-by-step tutorial. :)

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  3. Awesome! Looks great. At first I thought you were going to do the wall to the left of the barn door (shows how well I absorb reading after only about 3 hours of sleep!)

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    1. Thank you!! Nope, I wanted to do our boring, blank hallway. I think the barn door is enough of an focal point on the other wall. :)

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  4. Oh my gosh yes! So worth it! It looks amazing!

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  5. That stenciling looks amazing! I absolutely love it. So worth it!

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  6. It's gorgeous!! It ties in so well with the kitchen and I love the reflection in the mirror!

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    1. Thanks Whitney!! I love seeing the design from the porch and kitchen...it definitely blends nicely.

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  7. Love it!! Definitely worth it. I have been in love with a Moroccan stencil print as well, but haven't been able to make the commitment. Great job!

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    1. Go for it! I was so scared to do it for quite some time, but I couldn't be happier now!

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  8. Wow! I remember seeing this on instagram. Looks amazing. I like the spray adhesive tip. Good idea.

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  9. It looks great, I don't think I have the guts to undertake stencilling on that scale but would definately consider having a go at something smaller.

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    1. Definitely give it a shot with a smaller project...I bet you'll love it! Thanks for stopping by! :)

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  10. Absolutely beautiful!! Seriously love it. Good job!

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  11. I have F.O.S. too...but since your project turned out so beautifully, maybe I'll have a change of heart.

    Looks Great!!

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    1. Thank you, Angela! I'm glad I could possibly give you a change of heart on it. I'm telling you...if I can do it, so can you! ;)

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  12. OMG, i love this! I have been afraid to try it too, thinking i would mess everything up, but this looks amazing...!! You may have encouraged me to try this in a hallway :)

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    1. Go for it, Lyndsay! I have total faith that you can do it without screwing it up. I was so scared to do it, but we couldn't be happier with the results!!

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  13. I LOVE THIS! It turned out soooo good! Congrats on conquering your fear! Maybe I will even conquer that fear and try this sometime...

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  14. Looks amazing Gabbi! Reminds me of Whitney's (drab to fab) stencil hallway which I also love :)

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    1. Thank you! Yes, her spray paint stenciling was gorgeous! :)

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  15. It looks sooooo good! Well done! I know how time consuming stenciling is, but it was worth it!

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    1. Thanks Kelly! It was definitely time consuming, but like you said...totally worth it! :)

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  16. It looks awesome! I love the layered effect from the kitchen looking into the hall, such pretty color choices!

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  17. I just found your blog, and, through my scroll-crazy attempts to catch up on your house project, caught a glimpse of this beautiful wall. At first, I thought you'd put up wallpaper, though I don't know when I've ever seen such classy wallpaper... Then, I realized you'd stenciled it. Wow! I'd love to stencil a wall or room, and I've spent hours window shopping online for the perfect pattern... but hey, want to come stencil for me? Please, please, pretty please?

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    1. Haha, sure! I'll be right over! ;) And thank you so much for stopping by...I hope you like what you see! :)

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  18. Love this! Now I'm thinking about stenciling our hallway, just like yours ;)

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  19. Amazing! Love, love, love it! Your house is absolutely stunning!What color/brand is your base color? I have been on the search for the perfect gray but so far everything appears "blue" on my walls! I purchased a stencil just last week and may try my hallway this weekend! Rhonda @ ladybug2495@yahoo.com

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    1. Thank you so very much, Rhonda! I'll email you now! :)

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  20. Looks wonderful! What paint color do you have on the wall?

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    1. Thanks Elissa! Our walls are Behr's Gentle Rain. Hope that helps! :)

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  21. I am currently struggling from F.O.S. I have been wanting to stencil a wall in my master bedroom for a while, but have still not been brave enough to try it. Your stenciling job turned out great, maybe this post will give me a little more motivation.

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    1. Thank you, Melanie! I'm telling you...if I can do it, so can you! I hope you get the motivation to do it because it's totally worth it! Good luck! :)

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  22. I just found your site and I love the ranch redo. Love everything in it!!! Stencils.....LOVE! Have you broken your fear on them now!! Am your newest follower! Glad you are back from your blog break!
    Kelly

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    1. Thanks so much, Kelly!! I definitely broke my fear of them now, and even stenciled another wall in our master bathroom!

      http://retroranchrenovation.blogspot.com/2013/03/adding-some-interest.html

      So glad you are following!! :)

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  23. Beautiful home and great blog!! I'm wondering if you remember the names of the paint colors in your master bedroom! I would love to re-create this amazing room! Thanks!

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    1. Thank you so very much! :) Our master bedroom colors are Behr's Balmy Seas and Glidden's Pebble Grey. I hope that helps!!

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  24. What are the colors of your living room/halls and turquoise buffet/ inside of cabinets. I also have striped curtains and a hounds tooth rug in my living room with similar colors. LOVE IT! thanks ;)

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    1. Our walls are Behr's Gentle Rain and the buffet is Behr's Aqua Spray. The inside of our cabinets is Cool Jazz. Hope that helps! :)

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    2. What is the stencil color used with the base of Behr's Gentle Rain in the hallway? Great job!

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