• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Home
  • DIY Home Projects
  • Recipes
  • Spring
  • About

Craving Some Creativity logo

menu icon
go to homepage
search icon
Homepage link
  • DIY Home Projects
  • Home Tour
  • Recipes
  • About
  • Free Email Series
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
  • ×

    Home » Home Remodeling » Wall and Ceiling

    Published: Apr 12, 2017 · Modified: Dec 11, 2020 by Rachel

    Why I will Never Stencil A Wall Again

    This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure.
    111 shares
    • Share
    • Tweet

    This post has actually been one I have wanted to write for two years. The truth is that I love the look, but I will never stencil a whole wall or room again. Ever. Mistakes were made and I hope that anyone attempting this can learn from my experience.

    Let’s take a step back to my mindset before I ever began this project:

    I blame Pinterest.

    The inspiration! The creativity! And every project is labeled as “easy”!

    Intricate stenciled blue dining room wall detail
    Contents show
    1 What went wrong?

    Have you seen all of the pictures of those beautifully stenciled walls on Pinterest? I mean there were the pros:

    • I have stenciled before in small scale with projects like this wall map or my favorite Beer Safe which was completed later. Clearly, I don’t mind the concept of stencils.
    • Wallpaper cost – about $400. Paint – less than $50. Now that’s enticing!
    • I was limited to any color combination I could come up with in the whole world.

    Doesn’t it seem like a no-brainer?!

    More like brain dead zombie as I trudged along during the stenciling process. So what happened?

    Stenciled blue dining room wall detail with white hanging birdlife art

    PAINTING AND STENCILING THIS DINING ROOM TOOK 5 WEEKS AND MAYBE A 150 (OR MORE) HOURS

    Yes, you read that right. Stenciling was single-handedly one of the most exhausting and tedious projects I have ever done and, truthfully, we have had our fair share of exhausting, tedious, and took-way-longer-than-we-thought projects. This one was especially grueling, however, because of its repetitiveness.

    Classic chic dining room with intricate blue dining room wall details.

    What went wrong?

    A Flaw in Design

    First, for a room this size, you still only have one stencil, and you can only do one 20×24 inch area at a time. The stencil that I chose required a bit of overlap to lay straight. It was designed that way which actually seems like a good idea. However, you can’t lay a stencil down over fresh paint, so we developed a system where we alternated from one side of the room to the other to stencil. When doing this on a ladder, or in corners, it made it more difficult.

    1 Mistake = 100 Fixes

    Second, I am somewhat of a perfectionist. I wanted crisp clean lines.

    Here’s the thing.

    Let’s say that you make 1 mistake per stencil square and some paint gets underneath the stencil or you don’t fully paint into all of the edges.

    Ok, now multiply just that little mistake by the 100+ times I re-positioned the stencil.

    Mistakes were harder to notice since I had chosen two colors that were very similar. In fact, when wet, the darker stencil area was almost identical to the paint color underneath.

    While some may not be bothered by a few paint blobs or light areas, I wanted professional looking results. The vast majority of time was spent with me going around with a tiny paintbrush and fixing all of the mistakes and edges.

    I might have honestly hand painted or fixed 20% of those walls. 

    Instructions Lie

    Corners: the single largest reason I would never do this project again. I have seen several YouTube videos with users lining up their stencils so neatly in the corners. (One of the videos was directly from the company I purchased my stencil). My stencil might as well have been like folding origami using a friend’s left hand. It was awkward, frustrating, and pretty much impossible. I ended up stenciling as far as I could on each side separately and then hand painting to connect it all.

    Because of this, I was so convinced that my stencil was defective that I actually called the company to complain. I wasn’t necessarily looking for a refund or anything. I just wanted confirmation that I didn’t suck this bad as a DIY girl. They offered me a second stencil while assuring me that my stencil was absolutely up to their standards.

    Yeah, no thanks, buddy.

    Not  Using the Right Tools

    It has long been known to me that a stencil brush works far better than a roller. A roller is of course much faster though and I was assured that as long as I used a dense foam roller and only had a tiny bit of paint on it, everything would look designer perfect. NO way, Jose!

    The end Result is that the wall is beautiful, but I would never do it again this way. I mean never. That isn’t to say that anyone should be scared of stenciling. I still love stencils for smaller projects. I just learned my lesson the hard way with this DIY stenciling project. I actually struggled with giving this post such a negative title. I do understand that some of my experience is user error. I made a lot of mistakes and I learned from them so I hope you can too. For me though, the nightmare is just still too real.

    Weekend DIY project. A pegboard organizer in the craft room above the desk workspace.

    Grab our free series "Weekend Home Projects that will Transform Your Life"

    Sign up below to receive updates including free printables, organization tips, home improvement projects, recipes and more!

    Stenciling Projects I would do again:

    Chalk Board Menu Frame made with a silhouette cutting machine. Turn Inexpensive Frames Into Chalkboard Signs - Paint the frame, and then paint the inside with chalkboard paint.
    DIY Menu Chalkboard
    Final Photo Transfer of a Brightly Colored Horse Head
    How to Transfer Images
    This mini refridgerator started out as white and we painted the refridgerator to fit the man's office. This is a silhouette cameo project but every man I know wants one of these babies now!
    The Mini- Beer Safe
    Christmas Stenciled Tea Towels - Free Christmas Silhouette Icons to create stencils including jumping reindeer, ornaments, Christmas Tree silhouettes, and text. Files are available in PDF and free silhouette studio cutfiles
    Stenciled Tea Towels
    « Kid’s Football Party Decorations
    Dining Room Makeover Reveal »

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

      Leave a Reply Cancel reply

      Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

      Recipe Rating




    1. David says

      November 22, 2022 at 12:25 pm

      Did you spray the back of the stencil with repositionable spray adhesive? Makes all the difference in the world. No bleeding, much much faster, and no problem in the corners

      Reply
    « Older Comments

    Primary Sidebar

    Headshot of Rachel Beach, the author of Craving Some Creativity.

    Hi, I'm Rachel!

    Creativity makes me energized and fearless. My husband and I have been renovating homes for over a decade and love to share our passion for all things home. Follow along for remodeling tutorials, recipes, and entertaining ideas sure to inspire!

    More about me →


    Popular Projects

    • Midnight blue vanity with brass handles in a grey and white bathroom.
      How to Paint a Bathroom Cabinet the Easy Way
    • Man holding up baseboards for a corner.
      How To Caulk Baseboards like a Pro
    • Behr Midnight blue painted cabinets in a classic old world kitchen with modern white accents and backsplash. Wicker chairs, copper light fixtures, and wood floors add warmth.
      The Best Blue and Navy Kitchen Cabinet Paint Colors
    • Organized linen closet with white towels and grey bins on wire shelves.
      How To Beautifully Organize Your Linen Closet
    • White painted kitchen cabinets with stainless drawer pulls.
      How To Paint Cabinets with a Sprayer
    • Completed oak painted stair railing with black handrail and white balusters.
      How to Paint Stair Railings that Last

    Featured On

    Collection of Expert Features including Better Homes and Gardens Magazine, Apartment Therapy, Angie's List, This Old House Magazine, The Huffington Post, Delish, Wayfair, and Real Simple Magazine.

    Most Popular Recipes

    • Restaurant style Mexican white Cheese Dip with pico de gallo topping in wooden bowl on dish cloth with chips.
      Mexican White Cheese Dip {Queso Blanco}
    • Ricotta Stuffed Shells with Sausage makes an easy italian meal for the whole family!
      The BEST Sausage Stuffed Shells
    • Strawberry Poppyseed salad on a platter with blueberries, mandarin oranges, pecans, red onions, and grilled chicken.
      Strawberry Poppyseed Salad (Panera Copycat)
    • Closeup of blueberry muffins on a table.
      Ultimate Lemon Blueberry Muffins
    • Shrimp etouffee in a bowl on a table.
      Shrimp Etouffee {My Louisiana Family Recipe}
    • Two glasses of blackberry sangria with straws on a wood background.
      Blackberry Sangria – Amazing Summer Cocktail Recipe

    Sweet Spring Recipes

    • Stack of lemon bars on parchment paper with top lemon shortbread having a bite removed.
      Lemon Bars
    • Slice of homemade carrot cake on a plate with walnuts sprinkled on top
      Carrot Cake with Pineapple
    • Top down view of Southern Punch Bowl Cake in a trifle bowl.
      Southern Punch Bowl Cake (Potluck Dessert)
    • Key lime pie on blue plate with a slice cut out to show texture.
      Key Lime Pie
    • Strawberries on top of cheesecake layer and rice krispies crust.
      Cheesecake Rice Krispies Bars
    • Banana Chocolate chip muffins in a muffin tin with one muffin broken open to show texture.
      Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • Privacy Policy
    • Disclaimer
    • Terms & Conditions
    • Accessibility Policy

    Favorites

    • Blog
    • Shop
    • Our Home

    Contact

    • Contact

    Copyright © 2022 Craving Some Creativity