Not going to lie, I love wall paper and where there is the money I would always choose it over stencils. However, when it came to the wall in my children’s play area I knew that spending $600 + on wallpaper that may possibly get drawn on was out of the question. Instead I paid a visit to one of my favorite Etsy shops, Cutting Edge Stencils, and picked a fabulous tree stencil to go along with my aforementioned “wood land whimsy” theme. Here’s how it turned out:
As long as I don’t look too closely for the flaws I love the look. And as Steve encouraged me, “It’s a forest, imperfections are organic”. It was terribly time consuming but considering it was my first venture into the world of stenciling I’m pretty happy with how it turned out. Everyone who sees it thinks it is wallpaper so why bother spending that extra $400 if you are willing to put in some grunt work!
This project got me excited about stencils as a decor tool which led to a prolonged internet search on stencils vs. wallpaper. I was amazed by the variety of motifs you can paint using stencils. Here are some great pictures of gorgeous wallpaper and their stencil counterparts.
Vs.
Vs.
Vs.
Vs.
Vs.
Vs.
If you are willing to put in the grunt work, the possibilities with stencils are limitless. I had to restrain myself from not going on with more pictures, there is such a variety available for any style of decor. As someone who is super picky about colour I also love that I can customize my stencil colours to be exactly what I want instead of searching for a wallpaper that will work.
Cutting Edge Stencils has a great tutorial on ‘you tube’ that I found super helpful. They also recommend with some patterns that you use an adhesive to help stick the stencil to the wall while painting, a technique which I think would have made my own stenciling experience less frustrating. Stencils on their website range from $40- $100.
Are you inspired to foray into the world of stencils? It will be worth the work.
Great choices! These are really appealing. I would choose stencils over wallpaper every time. They’re so much more personal! Thanks for posting.
They are amazingly versatile. I’m just working up the courage to take on another wall! Thanks for your comment.