Tag Archives: Stenciling

Waffler Wrap-up and Recent Poll Results

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Remember how Kelly from Refreshed Designs was waffling about whether or not to paint the inside of this Ikea Billy bookcase?

black-brown-billy-bookcase, ikea-billy-bookcase, wallpaper-bookcase, DIY-wallpaper-bookcase, wallpaper-on-billy-bookcase

60% of voters encouraged Kelly to paint the inside of the cubbies, while 40% wanted her to leave them as is. Here’s what Kelly says she plans to do:

I have decided, because of the close vote and because of laziness, not to paint the shelves for now. My motto is keep it simple, so I think the all-one-color will stay for a while.

This was what my sister’s basement looked like a few weeks ago when she was waffling about what color to paint the back wall.

painting-a-basement, choosing-a-paint-color, good-color-for-basement, orange-basement

51% of readers thought Jessie should choose a color in the blue family while 24% favored an orange. So which color did she end up with?

basement-orange-paint

As you can see, she went with a bold orange — Benjamin Moore’s Jeweled Peach, to be exact. Here’s what Jessie has to say about why she chose it:

I did the orange because I was bullied into it by my daughter and a friend who kept pestering me about “warm colors” in the damp and chilly basement. I loathed it for the first few days but it is growing on me, and my husband likes it too. Now I just have to get the flooring down and order the couch!

What do you think of the orange?

stenciled-stairs, blue-stenciled-stairs

Arte Styling

If Waffler readers are any indication, I bet we’ll be seeing more stenciled stairs in the world of design. When I asked readers about this trend, 80% said they like it while only 10% claimed they did not.

When I posted a fantasy waffle about whether you would prefer a free spring-cleaning or a free spring break vacation, the votes were close. 55% chose the free spring-cleaning option while 45% chose a free spring break.

I guess waffler readers are a practical bunch…either that or you just really hate to clean.

What are you waffling about these days? I’d love to know!

Today’s waffle: stenciled stairs

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Okay, so I knew stenciled stairs were a hot design trend, but I didn’t realize quite how popular they had become until I saw these stairs on a television commercial for Lowe’s new “Creative Ideas” ipad app:

stenciled-stair-risers-Lowes

Lowe's

I tured to Ken and said excitedly, “Look, more stenciled stairs — it’s becoming such a big trend now!” Unfortunately, my design acumen was lost on him and he gave me a perplexed look; I might as well said, “I’ve radioed the giant potato and it says we need to get into the bunker.”

A few days after seeing the commercial, I received the new Serena & Lily catalog in the mail. And what’s on the cover?

serena-and-lily-catalog, stenciled-stairs, navy-and-white, DIY-painted-stairs

Serena & Lily

The yellow and white stairs below have been making the rounds on Pinterest for a long time. I remember seeing the original article they appeared in — from this Boston Sunday Globe article — because I actually went to elementary school with the owner of the house.

It turns out that Carol Leonisio, the artist who painted the stairs, does not always receive credit for her work, which is a shame.  You can check out Carol’s portfolio and other work at her website, Paint It!

stenciled-stairs, yellow-white-stenciled-stairs, diy-stenciled-stairs

Paint It!

Some stencils are done to resemble traditional runners,

stenciled-stairs, blue-stenciled-stairs

Arte Styling

others use numbers,

stenciled-stairs, number-stencils-stairs

The Happy Haven

or words,

stair-riser-decor-ideas-, stenciled-stairs, word-stenciled-stairs, DIY-stenciled-stairs

Apartment therapy

but I think most common are the geometric designs.

stenciled-stairs,blue-and-white-stenciled-stairs, diy-stenciled-stairs, stair-stencils

The Decorative Paintbrush

So what do you think of this trend?

Do you have an idea for a no-waffle, fantasy waffle or just a regular old waffle? Click here to find out more about waffles or on the button below to contact me and get started.

My waffle: stenciling the laundry room

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This is our laundry room. Sexy, right?

Laundry room, decorating a laundry room,

Yeah, I think so too. I would love to paint this room a happy color to offset the tedium of doing the laundry, but I’m too late. The best time for painting would have been before the washing machine and dryer were installed five years ago. Short of moving the machines or morphing into an 8 inch painting fairy, there’s no way for me to paint behind them. I could just stop painting at a certain point, but I know that seeing a half-painted wall (you can see behind the machines while doing laundry) would bug me.

So how about stenciling? It’s pretty trendy right now. I’ve been seeing stencils on walls, stairs, bookcases, chairs, pillows, the list goes on.

stencils on bookcase, stencils

I could do an “allover” type of stencil in which a geometric design is repeated continuously to look like wallpaper.

Cutting Edge Stencils, allover stencil, stencils

Or I could do a design spaced out more randomly and further apart, like the “Zinnia” stencil below

Flower-stencil-zinnia-stencil, stencils, decorating with stencils, cutting edge stencils

Another option is doing a one-off, like this “Dandelion” stencil

Dandelion-stencil, Cutting Edge Stencils, Decorating with Stencils

Are some of you shrieking in horror? My worst fear is that it will look tacky and badly done (I’m not the craftiest of gals). Also, doing an all-over type of stencil might be just as hard as painting. A more randomly spaced or one-off stencil might help the room look more cheerful, but I also worry that it will look too cutesy.

My current idea is to either do the “Zinnia” all over the room or this “Birch Tree stencil” (minus the birds) for the wall with the window. It could look cool…or ghastly.

Cutting Edge Stencils, Decorating with stencils

I really need your help with this waffle. I’d love to make the laundry room a prettier place. Could stenciling help me do that? Or should I just put some of the kids’ artwork in Ikea frames and be done with it?

Do you need help figuring out how to freshen up a room? Click on the button below to send me a waffle and get help.

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