DIY Stenciled Designs for Walls & Painted Floors

While stenciled designs for walls trend from time to time, they are a folksy classic when it comes to home decor. When haven’t humans been making marks on their walls with pigments and patterns to express creativity and enliven a living spaces? Wallpaper is all the rage, but you have options to avoid the expense, mess, and commitment. If you are not quite ready to commit, a stenciled pattern may be the answer since you can easily paint over it.

Stenciled Designs for Walls & Painted Floor

Wallpaper or a Stenciled Pattern?

It can be faster and less messy than wallpaper. Isn’t this block print design stunning in a country kitchen?

And how cheerful is this blue bathroom?

Watch this to get a feel for what is involved (psst…it’s easy!):

Inspiring Stenciled & Painted Floors

This masterpiece by Segreto Finishes is what first springs to mind as showstopping stenciled magic!

Isn’t it amazing how painted floors can feel friendly, folksy AND chic?

What a fabulous solution when hardwoods are too old and thin to refinish and need refreshing.

These yellow checks at Storybook Cottage in Leiper’s Fork where we vacationed were so friendly and surprisingly neutral.

I have always wanted an excuse to stencil a design on a patio, but it does feel like quite the commitment, yes?

If stenciled patterns are new to you, I recommend starting with a castoff piece of furniture that could use a little whimsy.

Or you could stencil a mirror as I have done here:

You need not stencil an entire statement wall, but the spirit moved me to do just that…

Hello Lovely’s Stenciled Designs

My Fortuny style stencil may be my favorite.

This was a DIY project 14 years ago at the dawn of this blog. I wanted to add flair to a dressing room in our French country home, and the stenciled wall provided a measure of chic.

Such a quick easy project, and I commissioned my husband to build these rolling garment racks so I didn’t need expensive custom built-ins or clunky modules.

The artwork by Emily Winfield Martin has always filled me with childlike wonder.

Script Stencils

I don’t listen to folks who tell me script stencils are sooooo 5 minutes ago.

While I stenciled this mirror eons ago, it’s now in my closet where I admire it everyday.

You can see it in this mood board photo too:

I used the same French script stencil on a wall in the bath of our French country home:

When we moved from that home and bought a neglected fixer upper that needed to be completely re-done, we gutted a bathroom but saved this mirror. I stenciled it and placed it in a French courtyard we created:

I know this sort of look isn’t for everyone and can sometimes go wrong and look too shabby. But in the right context, a simple castoff mirror stenciled in 10 minutes or so can feel old and natural.

That same mirror moved with us to our current Georgian home. I placed it inside an old fireplace surround in our secret courtyard in the backyard:

Stencil on Vinyl, Glass, and More

If you look closely, I even stenciled the vinyl upholstered seats with a script stencil on this vintage iron dining set! Of course we could go nuts with outdoor furniture in this new outdoor living space we covered with pea gravel. Maybe we will. But I bought this set from the sweetest older couple who bought it when they first married, and it has meaning to us. They wanted to us to have it, and just being in their presence inspired us. Here’s a bunny who visits me in the yard nearly everyday. This was yesterday:

Let your imagination go wild when it comes to surfaces you can embellish. When it comes to pieces that aren’t valuable…the sky’s the limit.

More Script Stencils to Consider

I have stenciled walls for myself and many others since the early 90s, and stencils have come a long way! That stencil I used on the dining seats above? It’s the one I used in this guest bedroom:

Script style stencils remain a favorite:

This was an easy project, but a time consuming one since the stencil is not terribly large like the wall!

I have seen all sorts of stenciled pillow covers online, and the effect seems nearly believable on vintage canvas fabric. (You can always add fabric sizing medium to paint on fabric).

This Parisian inspired stencil can be used for a variety of projects – imagine a rustic wood box, a pillow case, a door, or a decorative sign for the wall.

If you have shopped for antique grain sacks from Europe then you know how pricey they are. Here’s a low cost alternative to creating something suggestive of an antique. The lettering is so Old World and authentic!

p.s. Find more inspiration for laundry rooms and mud rooms RIGHT HERE.

Peace to you right where you are.

-michele

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