Friday, March 23, 2018

Dining Room Accent Wall/Stenciling

Good Morning, Friends. 
I'm knee deep in Arrays, Groups, Repeated Addition and Multiplication.  
My brain is exhausted. 
I haven't taught multiplication in 35 years. 
Don't even get me started on phonics. 


Prior to my baptism into the world of all things Second Grade, we had been working on the dining room. 


The DIY Home Planner by KariAnne Wood encouraged me to move outside of my comfort zone with this space. The book reminded me that paint is inexpensive but it has high impact. 
You can get your copy of this book at Kirkland's. 
It is one of the best design books ever! 
I might have been a wee bit inspired by the cover of the book. 


I'm pretty crafty - right? 
I'm a DIY kind of gal - right?


Many times during this project, I thought I was in over my head. 


You can read about our faux paneled wall - here
I've wanted a white dining room for a while. This room needed something to give it interest but I felt like shiplap was on its way out so we put up a board and batten accent wall instead.
Something was still missing. 


The last time I taught multiplication was roughly around the last time I'd stenciled.
I haven't done much of either since the 1980s.


How cute is this baby girl?  

 

Hobby Lobby had a wall stencil. It was only $3.00. 
My plan was stencil - let dry - stencil - let dry. 
 I thought that if the stencil had an opportunity to dry in between applications, the risk of getting wet paint from the back side would be diminished. This was an effort on my part to eliminate that frustration.
There would be other frustrations.
In between drying time, I painted eggs.


I felt like I was in some sort of space/time/stenciling continuum.
A third of it was finished. I almost painted over the whole thing.


I knew that the whole wall needed to be stenciled in order to get the full effect.


Each little bit gave me a glimpse of the finished result.


Piecing in the last little bits of the stenciling was a thrill.
"I before e except after c or as in ei as in neighbor and weigh."
It's all coming back to me.


I could see a light at the end of the tunnel and it wasn't a train.




I am so in love with it. It literally makes the house feel so cozy.


This is the first room that is seen upon entering the house.
It has a European feel.


Here are some DIY tips:
This would have been much easier if I had had more than one stencil. Three would have been ideal.
Starting in the center and working up and out in each direction would have cut the drying time considerably.
As it was, this took the better part of three days.


It reminds me a little of Monet's kitchen at Giverny.



I am so glad I didn't give up.
Three times the love =  LOVE, LOVE, LOVE! 
Come back and we will talk about the chairs.
Have a wonderful Friday!
Katie
I was gifted a copy of The DIY Home Planner but all opinions are my own.



13 comments :

  1. That's a serious stenciling job, Katie. Enormous! And you aced it! I am so impressed with both your vision and your skill at doing this (along with your courage in taking up such a big project!). It looks terrific and I hope when you have your next dinner party and people are ooohing and ahhing, that you tell them it was just a little project you worked up! Who knows -- you may get hired to do their walls.

    I think I am too dumb to be in elementary school anymore.

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  2. Katie, I think it turned out magnificently! I would never have tackled that and am sooooo jealous! You have quite the amount of patience. It was exactly what that wall needed and the other blue and white decor is perfect too. I'm sure you are super happy. Love it!

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  3. Absolutely beautiful! Looks like wall paper! And, if you ever want to change it, how easy would that be? No removing wall paper... just prime and paint again!

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  4. So pretty! Love the whole effect -everything looks so nice!

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  5. Katie you rock. That was quite the stencil project. Looks great. Have a fabulous weekend.
    Hugs
    Kris

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  6. Wow, that is a lot of work! I stenciled in the 80's too but not that detailed. It looks fabulous!

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  7. Katie,
    The wall looks fantastic! Standing on the ladder and keeping your balance while stenciling up high must have been a real challenge. Way to go! Blue and white... couldn't love it more.

    Jduith

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  8. you are very very brave and very talented! I used to stencil for a living and I know how hard, messy, and frustrating it can be. That wall is a gorgeous addition to the DR. Are you sure you don't want to do the other 3 walls? ha ha just kidding!

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  9. Katie, You should be very proud. You have to be on your toes for that type of pattern and it turned out beautifully. I think you should do your whole house!!! Just kidding..Happy Week..Judy

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  10. Well, I think it's just fabulous! It brightens the room up wonderfully. I have always loved stenciling, but have never taken on an entire wall. Thanks for sharing with SYC.
    hugs,
    Jann

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