Our quarterly Before and After customer stencil contest winners lead the way when it comes to inspiring stencil transformations that you can try at home. Rather than spend a lot of money on expensive wallpaper, customer flooring or costly tile renovations these savvy stencilers took matters (and brushes) into their own hands to create lovely custom look in their own home. And the bonus? They get to live with the beautiful results and the satisfaction of doing it by themselves, for themselves!
Moroccan Scallops Furniture Stencil-Susan Hale @sdm23669
Susan couldn’t decide on a tile backsplash she liked and ended up stenciling her own custom tile backsplash during her home remodel.
She read up on stenciling on our website and ordered our Stencil Cremes and Stencil Brushes and began experimenting with colors. As she lives near the beach she started with Pearl Oyster and Teal Blue paints and went from there with Peacock Green and Patina Green-applying the stenciling over a sea foam green color.
When finished she sealed it with a high heat clear coating spray used for car engines.
Her stencil tips:
-The hardest parts to stencil are the edges and corners, so save them for last and cut the stencils as needed.
-Have some of your background color handy for touchups!
-When applying multiple layers of paint through the stencil, allow it to dry completely before moving on to the next stencil repeat.
Thicket Leaves Wall Stencil-Lynne Foster
Lynne transformed her soulless basement bedroom in the look of a Parisian boudoir with the help of our Thicket Leaves stencil and our metallic Stencil Creme Paints.
Her paint and stencil technique:
“I used a dark gray-blue background paint, covering the walls in a rather sloppy, swirly pattern that gave it the feel of plaster, especially under the stencil. Then I used mostly Smoked Oyster and Metallic Teal for some accents. Even though the space is dark, the luminescence of the paint gives it a glow.”
Large Endless Vine Stencil-Allison Lewis
Allison was looking for a lower cost alternative to wallpaper for her bathroom renovation. Fortunately she found our Royal Design Studio Stencil videos on YouTube. After watching a few she decided to try wall stenciling herself using our Pearl Oyster Stencil Creme paint over a base color of Sherwin Williams Delft!
Her stencil insights after trying DIY wall stenciling? “Take your time and accept that to do this well, it will take patience and attention to detail. But so worth it in the end! It was much easier to keep the stencil alighted than I expected, and even easier in corners. It turned out perfectly! I didn’t have any stencil bleeding because I used the Stencil Brush and YouTube stenciling tips”
Spanish Tile Stencils Set-Clare Mester
Clare was looking to “cozy up” her front porch and found our Spanish Tile Stencils Set to do the job. For her stenciling technique she cut up an old construction sponge and used it with a rolling motion through the stencils to apply the paint colors.
She said, “I am obsessed! I loved the stencil variety in the set and how much creativity was involved in deciding to build the overall pattern.”
She used Sherwin Williams Spiced Cider and Deer Valley paints. She stenciled some tiles in just one color and in other sponged the colors over each other, blending them to make a rustic look.
Her porch stenciling tips:
Wear knee pads to make the stencil process more comfortable. Consider the stenciling like an “area rug” to help create a strong sense of place-and also it’s less work than stenciling the whole porch!
Floral Fireworks Stencil-Summer Lewis
Summer wanted to find a fun way to breathe new life into her cozy art and coffee shop-a 1932 gem of a former home.
She said, “When customers walk in the ohhhh and ahhhh, and comment much they love the “wallpaper”. They are amazed when they find out the magic comes from using a wall stencil.”
When visitors walk in they are greeted with a charming stenciled focal wall painted in Sherwin Williams Inky Blue.
Her encouraging stencil tip: “Although there are flaws due to the learning curve involved, even after reading comments and watching stencil tutorials to prepare, it is incredibly enjoyable when the work comes together!”
Harlequin Furniture Stencil Medium-Wendy Fincher-Hughes @wfincherhughes
After owning her “new construction” home for 7 years, Wendy was waiting to discover her creative vision to bring the neutral paint color to life in her entry. The simple idea of using flat and satin sheened paint in the same color because a great start to get her creativity flowing.
She said, “I’m so inspired now and LOVE how this little area turned out. I love how the subtlety of the satin and flat paint contrast makes this wall shine. It’s my first stencil project but not my last!”
Be sure to check out all our Before and After Stencil Blog Posts for more stencil project inspiration from our talented customers!
