Tuesday, August 2, 2016

Let's Chat! Stencils and Removable Wallpaper

A few years ago I fell in love with the idea of stenciling for two reasons; it was inexpensive and there was little commitment.  A gal who loves to change things and keep things fresh around our home, I knew that a stencil was a great way to bring in life and pattern without the hassle of wallpaper.  So I stenciled a wall


And then I stenciled another.  I still am asked frequently about the source for our “wallpaper”, which I love.


I have been working in an office with a birch tree wall stencil for over six months now.  The stencil was absolutely amazing for a kid’s space, but it is not something that inspires me or excites me personally in my new workspace.  But I have been living with it because it was not only a lot of work to paint initially, but I also knew it was going to be a lot of work to paint over it.  That is the downside of stenciling; it creates a raised texture of the pattern on the wall.  So before I could just paint over the stencil with a new color, I had some prep work to do.

To create a smooth wall again, I knew I had a lot of sanding to do.  To prevent the entire house from becoming one big dusty disaster, I taped poly along the ceiling to create a barrier between the stenciled wall and the rest of the home.


I then used a drywall sanding pole paired with some medium grit sandpaper to smooth the entire wall.


Shortly after I began, I realized I needed to add a dust mask to the mix.  After I used a medium grit paper, I went back over the wall one more time with a fine grit, using a lot of muscle to get the wall as smooth as possible.

Once the wall was to a smoothness I was happy with, I took a damp rag to wipe it down and remove any additional dust that was left on the surface.

Finally, I rolled and brushed on a coat of white primer to prep the walls for a fresh coat of paint!


I think we know that some sort of pattern will be inevitable again in this space, but I am not sure a stencil will be my first choice this time.  I never say never, but I am now thinking about wallpapers again.

Wallpapers bring an instant statement to a room, and are a fun way to add visual interest with color and pattern.  Applying wallpaper isn’t the easiest method either, and removing it may even be more challenging than covering a stencil.  But what about removable wallpaper?  Now that is what I am talking about.  This stuff is becoming prettier and prettier all of the time, not to mention, there is a major appeal in that it can be applied easily with very little work to remove it.  Removable wallpaper is a perfect solution for those who rent, for lining cabinets, bookcases and drawers, and for creating dramatic transformations in a non-committal way.

Just to show how beautiful many of these removable wallpapers are, I have rounded up a few of my favorites.


I am not 100% sure what will land on the walls or ceiling of my office (although I think some sort of pattern or paper will find its way there), but I do know that some removable wallpaper is making its way into our home for another project I am really excited about, which I will be sharing very soon.

Quick Tip: A few keywords that help me track down great removable wallpaper sources is searching the web for temporary wallpaper, removable wallpaper, peel and stick wallpaper.  

I would love to hear about how you have used stencils and removable wallpaper around your home.  Do you have a preference of one over the other? 

* affiliate links used

from IHeart Organizing http://www.iheartorganizing.com/2016/08/lets-chat-stencils-and-removable.html

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