How to Stencil a Beautiful Accent Wall with Moldings
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Many of you have been following along as I refinish my Living Room. Lately, I’ve been focused on design ideas for above my Fireplace Built-Ins. My final decision was to stencil a beautiful accent wall with moldings.
This tutorial will focus on the stenciling, but next week I will post a tutorial on the picture frame molding.
When I was first planning this space, I thought about putting in open shelving. Although that would have been pretty, I didn’t want to dust them or buy knick-knacks to finish the look. I also thought about stenciling the whole wall, but that seemed like it would be too much. So, after a few months of thinking, designing, and sketching, I’m finally almost finished with them. Here is a sneak peak at what they look like now.
MATERIALS
- Cutting Edge Wall Stencil (Victoria Scroll)
- Dense Foam Roller
- Stencil Brush
- Paint Tray
- Shop Towels
- Painter’s Tape
- 4 Foot Level
- Tape Measure
- Wall Paint (Base Coat is Behr Planetary Silver)
- Stencil Paint (Behr Snowy Pine)
- Soft Scrub Brush (For Cleaning Stencil)
WHAT’S INCLUDED WITH YOUR STENCIL
I was impressed at the quality of these stencils. Here is a picture of the stencils after the job was complete and I had cleaned them. They had gone through bending, moving, painting, and scrubbing. They didn’t tear or damage in any way.
The thin stencil to the left is for along the ceiling and base molding.
As a bonus, they sent me a couple small extra stencils in the bag.
START BY MEASURING
Since I knew I would be adding picture frame molding, I decided to stencil the wall first. I started by finding the center of each wall, both vertical and horizontal.
Then I decided how tall and wide I wanted my picture frame molding to be. I chose for it to be 4 foot by 4 foot. So, I marked a line 2 feet from center on both the left and right side. Then I held a 4 foot level to the marks and drew a light pencil line. I repeated this process for the top and bottom. Finally, I ran blue painter’s tape along the inside of the line. See the image below.
I repeated this process on both sides of the fireplace.
STENCILING
If you are stenciling a whole wall, start by marking a center line on the wall, and begin stenciling on the center line at the ceiling. Because I was stenciling a smaller area, I started in the upper right of the square. The square was already level, so I used it as my guide for the stencil.
One tip here, when I did the right side of the fireplace, I started in the upper left corner. Then I placed the stencil out over the tape so I didn’t have to go back and fill in the edges. This will only work if you’re stenciling the middle of a wall.
Once you tape your stencil to the wall, you need to load your roller. Put your stencil paint color in a paint tray, then load your roller with paint and off load the roller onto a couple of folded paper towels. This will help prevent your paint from bleeding under the stencil.
I chose to work with less paint on the roller, which minimized bleeding. I would load the roller, off load it, then paint about 1/4 of the stencil. Working in all directions to be sure to have full coverage. Then I would do the next section. When the whole stencil was covered, I went back and evenly rolled the whole stencil one last time.
Here is a picture of the first and second stencil.
I used latex paint and it did take a few moments to dry, before I could place the stencil back over the registration marks. So after the second stencil, I followed the pattern in the image below. This way the stencil had a few minutes to dry. On the left side, I had to go back and fill in the edges.
The image below is the right side of the fireplace. You can see below, that I stenciled over the edge of the tape so I wouldn’t have to go back and fill in the edges.
If you are stenciling a whole wall, you will need to go back and fill in the edges with the smaller stencil. Using a stencil brush for the tight spaces.
CLEANING YOUR STENCILS
It is much easier to clean your stencils, if you do it frequently throughout the project. I cleaned mine after about 11 uses. This will be O.K. if you work quickly. But if a lot of time passes, the paint will dry on your stencil and this makes it more difficult to remove.
I took my stencil to the bathtub, so I could lay it flat. Then I took a soft scrub brush and worked over it in circular motions. I noticed that 1/2″ of hot water helped the process along. Be sure to put a paper towel around the drain so paint doesn’t go down the drain. Then rinse out your bathtub.
An alternative option is to use a large garbage bag taped flat to your kitchen counter. Place the stencil on the bag and start to scrub it with a soft wet scrub brush in circular motions. Then wipe with paper towels and rinse it in a sink. I found this to be more difficult.
After your stencil is clean, lay it out on paper towels and dry the top by blotting.
STORING YOUR STENCILS
Stencils should be stored flat, not rolled up in a tube. Place them flat between two pieces of cardboard. Tape the cardboard together and slide it under a bed or other out of the way area.
Here is the tutorial for how to install picture frame molding.
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Thanks for checking out my beautiful accent wall with moldings!
