By zedcoalam If you like designing your own home like many homeowners of today but lack the artistic capacity to do it, then it might give you joy to know that there are now a lot of DIY kits for interior designer wannabes. One such kit is available for people who are thinking of stenciling feature walls.
The materials that you will need as you use this project are the stenciling kit, a poster board or cardboard, acrylic or latex paint, base coat paint, nap roller, sash brush, dense foam roller, low tack painter’s tape, paint tray, big Styrofoam plates, stencil level, rag or paper towels, liquid soap and other cleaning tools, lastly, a step ladder.
Work Out That Technique
It is crucial to begin your project with the use of a sample that will let you take a look of your planned color combinations. A great area to test is that wall in the garage. Use a piece of cardboard (an old pizza box would also do) for your sample surface.
Be sure to use a color combination that you really like. Also, make sure that you are a bit familiar with a stenciling technique before you try it on a real wall.
Be sure to clean the walls by keeping them dust free and dry prior to stenciling. Chips or cracks should be immediately filled, repaired, primed then painted over. Use a basecoat flat color that you want. Use no less than two coats of this for better coverage. Dry the area for at least 24 hours before you proceed to stenciling.
Next, use the stencil in your kit and tape it to a wall. Use low tack blue painter’s tape because masking tape is much stickier and could ruin your project. Have someone check the position of the stencils before you begin using them.
Randomly place the stencils then have a go. Pour paint on your foam plate then use a stencil brush or foam roller to paint. Blot off any excess paint using a folded paper towel or a clean rag. Roll the paper towel to and fro, making sure that there isn’t any visible paint on your roller surface.
Water-based paint also works if you don’t like working with acrylic or latex paints.
Do this same technique as you stencil using a roller. Be sure to use light or medium pressure only. Putting on too much pressure can cause paint to seep through the stencil. Also, be careful that you do not paint over the edges of your stencil. Most stencils these days come with borders so that you will not easily paint through to the edges. Just to be on the safe side, you might want to put blue tape on the narrow edges so that you can prevent roll-overs from happening.
Once you are done, carefully untape and lift the corners of the stencils. Do you happen to like what you see underneath the stencils? Did you put enough pressure or do you need to apply some more paint?
If you feel that the color underneath is a bit on the pale side, then just put back the stencil and roll over it a couple of times more. This time, make sure that you add a bit more pressure. Stenciling over darker paint may require that you use at least two coats of new paint.
Make sure that the paint has been evenly coated on all your walls (unless you intentionally want to have a faded look). Reposition and stencil the rest of your walls.
Stenciling feature walls is easy even for painting newbies. One of these days, try making this project into a fun activity for you and your family.