Does anyone else have fond memories of watching Debbie Travis’ The Painted House? That was back in the day, when overalls were cool. Well, overalls are not cool again (yet!), but stenciling is making a comeback.
Decorative painter, Deirdre Newman, emailed me recently with pictures from her portfolio. She does beautiful work in the NYC metropolitan area. She designs most of her stencils and has them custom made using a company online. Here are some of my favorites from her portfolio:
If you live in the NYC area and have the funds, you should definitely consider hiring Deirdre. If you’re a little more adventurous, consider trying a little stenciling yourself. It’s a great way to get the look of wallpaper without breaking the bank and without making a semi-permanent change to your walls.
Did you see Lauren’s AMAZING living room? Yup – a stencil.
Whitewall & Co. is a great resource for easy to use stencils.
images via Southern Living
image via Tracery Interiors
Stencil Library is another amazing vendor that I’ve mentioned before. If you have some serious artistic ability, you might want to try their chinoiserie stencil line.
Have you used stencils in the past couple years? Tips for fellow readers?
That's so funny. I 'm finidhing two peices for my girl's room today & they are stenciled! The stencils are cheap & fun, And better yet they are EASY. I would tell anyone to go for it. Stencil fabric, walls, furniture, whatever. Such a custome look at a cheap price:o)
Oh and if your adventurous layer a couple of colors! I wish I would've done pink with a little turquoise but I didn't. Great post. I love the armoire peice. Looks like inlay.
Just getting ready to try my hand at stenciling using a template from Ed Roth's Stencil 101 Decor on my mudroom closet walls. I found this video link yesterday- http://vimeo.com/6534482 and plan to follow it to a T. Hoping it turns out well!
I created my own faux wallpaper by stenciling flat paint over semi-gloss in my bathroom: http://www.thriftylittleblog.com/2009/10/creating-faux-wallpaper-in-bathroom.html
It's a little time consuming, but I love that I can just paint over it when I'm ready for a new look.
Those are all wonderful! Another source for easy stenciling are from Sunny Goode paints. http://www.sunnys-paint.com/home.html . One day I'd love to try this!
I think you will LOVE the stenciling done at Maryam's guest house in Morocco (her blog is My Marrakesh):
http://moroccanmaryam.typepad.com/my_marrakesh/2009/01/do-you-remember-this—that-became-this—and-this.html
Beautiful!
Cat
I remember that show! My Mom loved stenciling! These are some really great photos showing some updated stenciling.
I love it! I haven't been able to find the perfect wallpaper and didn't even consider stenciling until I saw Lauren's living room a few weeks ago. Thanks for the resource & all the inspiring images.
They are all beautiful. I just don't have that much time and patience! :)
Those are so lovely– and require SO much time! The results are totally worth it, though!
I have stenciled, though not recently, but I did just recreate a Albert Hadley wallpaper using a stamp. It took awhile; I loved every minute.
I LOVED The Painted House…….Debbie can rock a stencil like no other!!!
I'm also thinking of using one in my bedroom, as my wallpaper hanging skills are pathetic.
Looking forward to seeing how you use yours.
Such an interesting idea, and yes, YES, I loved painted house, I used to watch it all the time, she was super cute.
Hi LGN
a nice traditional design blog you have here. you blog some practical solutions like a curtain around the bath sink. I LOVE that plan for my beach cottage house!
But I laughed out loud when you said stencils are hip but "not overalls" did you inform Ralph Lauren of this? RL says overalls are back ~ Did you see the 2010 collection? Yay! I just love them.
I love all things Ralph Lauren too :)now if i could just afford RL !
cheers
michele
I did just stencil a wall in my bedroom (behind my bed). I'm loving it and once you got a method down, it was pretty easy. Took 6 hours for the one wall though.
wow, love these. anon's link was incredible too, the morrocan one. that yellow checkered floor is beautiful, and totally doable. but what kind of paint would you use for a high traffic floor like that?
I wish I had the talent and patience to do these new stencils (or the $ to hire someone who does). They look amazing. I've been tempted to do some stenciling but we're afraid it will turn out an expensive mess.
So which one did you choose (now that you've won)?
I just did a damask pattern in my daughter's bedroom – a bit of black at the edges and a deep berry pink – blended they made a sort of slight purple and incredible depth. I am so glad to hear that stenciling is back. I have always loved the weathered out look of it.
PERFECT timing on this post! We move in a couple of weeks :::squeal!::: into our first "very own home," and I had this great idea of doing fabric on a small section of the walls in our bedroom, but it was going to be too pricey. So I thought about painting it, but oh, the taping! So I've totally been contemplating doing a stencil, but needed a good source. Off to check out Whitewall. Thanks!
Haven't tried stenciling but I love how you get the look of wallpaper, but without the commitment (though if I did it myself, I think I'd be loathe to repaint since I suspect it would take me HOURS to stencil even a small powder room).
GORGEOUS! and yes, i used to love debbie travis ;-)
what a unique touch you can add to the walls! I'm filing this idea, and these resources, away for when I have a new room to decorate ~ thanks for sharing!
xox
i wasn't sold up until that trellis pattern… sign me up! yet again you've altered my design sensibilities with a very convincing argument :)
I just bought a stencil at Hobby Lobby to do a small section but I haven't done it yet. All the pictures you posted were really pretty.
Thanks for the info on Whitewall and Co… I think I am going to get one!
Michelle
There is something comforting about a stencil, the repetition and the order. Thanks for introducing us to Deidre.
pve
LOL!! I love Debbie Travis! She is awesome.
I have stenciled before, and want to stencil in our kitchen on the soffit above our cabinets, but for the life of me can NOT make up my mind what I want to do! Not sure if I want geometric or damask or floral/vine-y… I'm just a ball of indecision on that. But once I do it, I'll post the pics.
Stenciling is super easy – I had a client do it herself in her kitchen. The trick is to get the right brush, and to not get it too loaded with paint. You want it almost dry, really. Other than that, it's just time consuming!
i want to stencil out bathroom and this inspires me to just do it.
thanks!
I am so excited about this! My husband thinks wallpaper is ridiculous and we really don't have the extra money for it right now. Great idea!
I can't believe so much of that is stencils! I looks like wall paper- how fab!
For Liz Stanley and any other readers interested in stencilling floors. The paint is not as important as the protective top coat. Almost all the floors in my home are stencilled. I just use acrylic or latex paint then finish with several coats of fast drying water based varnish applied with a foam paint roller. Thank you for mentioning The Stencil Library. This was a lovely post.
Hi. What a great post. Thank you! I've been searching the web for inspiration to do our entryway. I really like __ pattern but haven't been able to find a stencil yet. Whitehall & Co has some great stuff.
I also found production size stencils at http://www.royaldesignstudio.com. If anyone knows additional vendors that sells patters, please share. Thanks!
What a great post! Stenciling is making a big comeback, due in good part the tool's flexibility as well as wonderful new interpretations of the art from companies like Whitewall and Stencil Library.
J and A, if you're still looking for additional stencil vendors, try the listings and search engine stencilsearch.com
Very cool. I so want to do a stencil but I'm kind of… scared. I am not a detail person and I don't want it to look cheesy. We'll see, maybe I'll start with a small wall.