Wallpaper Stencils

Right now I'm helping (i.e. watching & providing wonderful & lively conversation for) my husband paint this wallpaper stencil all over our living room wall:

A very sweet reader, Mary, gave me the idea to try stenciling after learning that I lusted after wallpaper for my living room & entry. (It's a RL stencil from here and reminds of a henna tattoo & I just LOVE it!! ) It's INSANELY intricate and will most likely take years to complete... No really, it's baaaaaad. It's taking FOREVER. The ceiling is high and the wall continues into the entryway...
Stenciling is for the extremely patient, crafty or BROKE person. (And I'll give you a hint, I'm not patient or crafty... ;) Can you guess what color I chose for the stenciling? The Color Queen from Colour Me Happy (AKA Maria) recommended it to me & it's prefect!!
Have a great weekend & we (he) will be meticulously painting away-- ahhhhhhhhhhhh
xoxo,
lauren

24 comments:

karlene said...

I would like you to know that I feel for you. I too, wanted a bold pattern on one of my shop's walls, I purchased a stencil that was approximately 34" square, one stencil....a wall that was about 35' by 9' ....the plan was to cover the whole wall, (each stencil took about 23 minutes) the plan changed to just to top half of the wall (as I started on the top), then the plan changed to just getting the two top rows done and there was pounding and crying involved....ugh, wallpaper is reasonably priced afterall

Blue said...

Let me congratulate you and commiserate with him. Stenciling large areas is backbreaking work. It will look fabulous and I'm looking forward to seeing the result.

Linda@ Lime in the Coconut said...

Oh geez...my back and arms hurt thinking about it.

I did this for a friend once....told myself NEVER again. The hours put into it were CRAZY!

Yep the price of wallpaper looks not so bad.

Color...hmmm...Either a soft gray or a pale fern green...thats my guess. Or...

MFAMB said...

oh sweet jesus. your husband is the king. either that or you have special skillz that you need to teach us all. as a renter a stencil is a viable option for our dining room. thanks lauren. my husband does NOT thank you however.
i will refer him back to your king though when he starts to complain. and a b.j. class might not hurt. come on! that's what you're all thinking!!

Jaime Rogers said...

Can't wait to see it, have frequently had visions of seeing this in my own home but I am neither patient nor crafty either....nor married, lol. Good luck, keep us posted!

Best,
Jaime

Developing Designs said...

I am with the comment that your husband IS King and loves you so much to take on this project. Best of luck!! Also, every once in awhile one can get lucky in a discount fabric store and use that instead of paper creating a big impact for less $......sometimes :) Hail to the King! xo

Living It At Home said...

Wow, what an undertaking. I love how both of you just dig in and get so much done! You both are amazing. The stencil sounds fabulous.

I cannot wait, it is going to look beautiful and magazine worthy I am sure. My vote is for a PURE STYLE HOME MAGAZINE! But, thank goodness we have your blog to read!!!!!!!

Have a nice weekend and don't work to hard!
~jamilyn

Southern Aspirations said...

LOVE this. WOW. You are indebted to him. Oh but wait- you bear the children, so perhaps it all works out? ;-) Can't wait to see the final project.

Room Service ~ Decorating 101 said...

I am so excited to see this one completed. I tried it once and did not have the patients...so I did it all free hand. Don't let me miss it!

Mary said...

I doubt your husband is thanking me for the idea right about now.
Can't wait to see how it looks when you're done.

Kay* said...

wow! kudos to you and your husband that is going to be beautiful! but i can't imagine the patience that must take...when i stenciled my hallway it took me forever and that was a fairly straightforward line stencil...

Tammy@InStitches said...

Wow, that is a very ambitious project, it's so intricate. It's going to be gorgeous !

Maria Killam said...

No way, you are stenciling in the green! Eeeek, I'm so excited?? (okay if it's not green I'll still be excited) but I don't remember talking about any other colours! I'm so envious of you that you can do all this stuff in the house you own (soon for me :) !!

I loved the way you wrote this post, 'providing the stimulating conversation'. . . so funny!

Tracy Watier said...

During past stenciling projects, if anyone tried to have conversation with me, "stimulating" or otherwise, they'd find themselves the recipient of a testy, frustrated tirade in return. So not only do you have a talented, capable husband, he must also have nerves of steel and unbelievable patience. Don't wear him out too early! I have a feeling you have many more years' worth of projects already lined up! Mine was hammering for me today... moldings and casings... more tomorrow I hope. As long as I don't rush him or watch over his shoulder, he does a pretty fantastic job.

Brianne said...

The stencil design is amazing. Is there a wallpaper like it??

DesignTies said...

Wow Lauren! Wow Lauren's FAB hubby!! HaHa! I've been a bad blogging buddy and haven't been by as often as I would like, but now I HAVE to come back soon to see the results of your stenciling project!! By the way... loving how your home is coming together. It's looking fantastic!! . It seems like just yesterday that you and your husband were purchasing it ;-)
Victoria @ DesignTies

nelya said...

This is going to be another slam-dunk success! So much work, but the result will be stunning, I'm certain. I am excited to see the color you've chosen. Be sure to bat those lovely eyes at him and ooh and aah at his handiwork. ;0) What a guy!

Dianne said...

You owe that man a major back rub!! Cannot wait to see it.

Natalie of TheBusyBudgetingMama.com said...

I don't know if you looked at michael's..but i wanted a big pattern in my dining room..i ended up getting a stencil there that was like 10 bucks..i used a mini roller and a makeup powderthingy to apply it.. didn't take me too long and everyone always loved it when they are over for dinner..i looked at some stencils like you got but they ended up being too much for me. sad. because they are lovelyyyy. i posted some photos on my blog showing the renovation of that room.

Janell @ House of Fifty said...

Looking forward to seeing the progress, hope it went well over the weekend!! Janell

LindsB said...

You have such a sweet husband- what a trooper for doing this :)

Post some pics when you get a little of it done, I'm dying to see over here :)

Anna said...

Just found your great blog when doing a search for wallpaper stencils! Yay!

I can't wait to do my entire dining room in a crazy all-over stencil, and can't wait to keep reading your posts!

Anna in NH

Anna said...

Just found your great blog when doing a search for wallpaper stencils! Yay!

I can't wait to do my entire dining room in a crazy all-over stencil, and can't wait to keep reading your posts!

Anna in NH

patch1308 said...

One of my favorite subjects is using wall stencils for painting. You have inspired me and taken my creativity to a new level.
Many thanks :-)