A Bold & Dramatic Powder Room | A Stencil Project

Hello Readers, 

I'm talking about Powder Rooms on the blog today and I'm going to show you how I finally made my mark on ours and how I gave it a ton of personality.  Here's a peek..

My latest obsession has been to update our Powder Room.  If there's one room that should make a statement in your home--- it is the Powder Room.  This is the one room that potentially everyone that visits your home will go.  Why should it be less than stunning?

My office sits off the Powder Room, and I have to admit I love looking up and seeing this work of art. 

I have been inspired drooling from all the beautiful wallpapered bathrooms that I have seen on Pinterest.  I am in love with all the bold patterns and deep dark base colors creating so much drama... But not with the cost of expensive wallpaper + the labor to do it.  This could cost you a pretty penny..

As you can see our "before" Powder Room is not very dramatic or bold for that matter.  I wanted to try a project like this for some time so I finally decided to put my 'decorating jeans' on and try to achieve this look with a stencil.  For a fraction of the cost, (and maybe the same headache) I was confidant I could do this.  

*Enter: Cheerleaders. 

First, I painted the walls a delicious coat of Pantone's Charcoal Grey in satin.  These pictures of the walls just don't do the color justice.  It has just a hint of blue in it so it looks like the most perfect shade of steel blue.  

Then, the madness starts... I mean creative process, right? 

Supplies Needed: Foam plate for paint, foam roller, painters tape, pencil, stencil, paint for stencil, leveler, paper towels to roll off the excess paint.

I measured to find the middle of the wall that you would see right when you walked in and left a pencil mark so I could line up my stencil.  This one stencil dictates exactly how the rest of the room will look.  You work up, over and out from this first spot to ensure your pattern will be executed just the way you envisioned it. 

I rested the edge of my stencil on the molding and I used a leveler to make sure it was level.  

For my stencil color, I chose the  Hi-Ho-Silver in satin by Olympic. The little tubs at your local home improvement store are perfect for a job like this.  It only cost me $6 for the paint.

For my look, I wanted the pattern to go up and then the next rows pattern to start halfway between.  I wanted 2 inches between the start and finish of the repeated patterns so I measured that every time and then lined up and taped  my stencil for the next spot.  

Just when you think the stencil is straight--it is not.  Use the leveler every time.  Just a slight pattern in the wrong direction will mess up your look and wreak havoc on your patience.

Advice: I watched a couple of videos and they are all pretty much the same.  

• Use painters tape to hold the stencil up.  
• Use a foam plate, foam roller and a paper towel folded to wipe excess off the roller before you roll it on the stencil.  Every time.
• Let the stencil dry before moving it to the next spot (2-3 minutes).

Time:  I broke this project up into a few days.  3 hours here, 2 hours there and another 2 to finish it up.  Yes, that was 7 hours to do this project.  I used my stencil almost 70 times!!

Design Drama: In a perfect world I would have purchased 2 light sconces for either side of the mirror, but since my room did not give me that kind of space, I purchased a 2 light sconce for ABOVE the mirror so I could have a little of the same drama.  I then purchased these beige linen shades to finish the look and give a little warmth to the room.  I liked the simple, but elegant look of this sconce..

I knew that giving my Powder Room a face-lift didn't have to cost a fortune, all I needed was a little budget and a lot of patience.  By completing the look of our Powder Room with a new mirror and light fixture my Powder Room is singing another tune. That's for sure.

So what do you think?  Is this a project you could see yourself doing?  I'd love to hear from you..

For more Bold, Dramatic Powder Rooms like this-- see my Powder Room Inspiration ideas...

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From my House to your House, Happy Hunting!

Let's Connect!


Linking to: Must Love Home, Life on Virginia Street, Thrifty Decor Chic, Savvy Southern Style, Milas Little Things, Life on Virginia Street

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Vintage End Table Hack | Dollhouse Stand

Hello All, 

How's it going? Recently I shared my daughters room and now I want to share with you how I came up with the dollhouse stand.  

This dollhouse was given to me in the early 80's.. I played with it for hours.  I would make curtains and clothes out of toilet paper...Every now and then my mom would take me to MJDesigns and would let me pick out some furniture.  

When I was pregnant with my daughter, I gave the dollhouse a fresh new look with a coat of white paint and a fabulous red door. And I got out all that fabulous furniture my mom saved all these years.

My daughter loves the dollhouse but she needed a way to raise it up to her level.  The floor was too low for her to see the rooms on the 1st floor. We tried it on top of a short bookcase and even on a little kids table. But I was looking for something different...

  

I found this vintage end table at the Habitat for Humanity store for a whopping $10.  Which means if my plan failed, it was no big deal.  

The moment I saw it-- I liked the detail of the legs, but not the two story look.  I purchased the table with the intention of taking the '2nd story' off.  

 When I got home, I had Mr. House pull the 2nd story off and before I knew it my vision was in front of me.   

The next step wood putty the holes, prime and paint. Or just put the dollhouse on top and noone would ever know.. 

While I originally wanted to paint the table white, I kind of like how the color of the wood pops in her room.

So the lonely out dated end table got another chance.. This is re-purposing at its finest, folks.

Here's a picture with me and the dollhouse around the same age as my daughter.  The dollhouse was built by hand and given to me by a family friend, Bob Martin.  

A picture complete with shag carpet, green and white gingham curtains and a less than thrilled "mom hurry up and take my photo"...

So the dollhouse and the end table got another chance at life.  Amen.  It's a good day. 

From my House to your House, Happy Hunting!

Let's Connect!


Linking to:Life on Virginia Street, Life on Virginia Street

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Modernizing a Curio Cabinet | On the Down Low

Hello Readers,

I am loving all this wallpaper or wrapping paper on the backs of bookcases and cabinets.. but what about covering up a mirror on your curio cabinet?  Well, I decided to give it a try...  

I have owned this little beauty for about 18 years.

She has followed me from Texas all the way to Connecticut and has displayed all my pretties lovingly for so many years.

I simply purchased a $20 roll of wallpaper from a hardware store for this project.

Out with the old: I cleared out the shelves and used double sided tape to hang this paper up.

   I really like the simple neutral background of this wall paper, but I think a bolder brighter pattern would be fun too. 

That's the beauty of this project, its not permanent and you can change it out whenever you want!

I laid the paper up and when I was done I used an x-acto knife to cut the paper down to a perfect fit and get all the angles right.  A razor blade would work too. 

In with new: I slipped the shelves back in and decorated them with some pieces just like you would a bookshelf.  I added some pieces I recently picked up from a thrift store along with some pieces that hold memory from my family.

The end result: While it's not an actual bookshelf this look gives the illusion it is and takes the once dated curio to a modern level.  What do you think?

Do you have a bookshelf or curio cabinet you'd like to update? 

Here's one idea for your closet!

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And linens in a bathroom:

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And a smart way to create a bar:

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For more inspirational pictures of other cabinets, please see the Pinterest board I have created. 

From my House to your House, Happy Hunting!

I'd love for you to connect with the following!


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