My gosh this Real Time Room Makeover is just moving right along, isn’t it? Today instead of unveiling a new piece to the puzzle we are talking a step back and talking about one that is probably the most important one.

Painting over the stencil.

Yes. I know what you are thinking. All that hard work, how could I bear to do such a thing?! I have one simple answer. I love the process. It is so exciting for me when I get to try a new technique and unfortunately I don’t live in a house with a 1000 walls.

But back to the stencil covering.

Stenciling is all the rage and at one point some of you hot mamas are going to want to cover it up. So here are my tips.

Tip # 1 Buy a good quality paint.  When I say good quality I mean GOOOOOOOOOOD. One of the reasons I LOVE Sherwin Williams is because their paint is the best. I know that it does what they say it will do. Up until probably December my favorite paint from their line was Super Paint. It has great coverage and is awesome. Since then I have exclusively been using Emerald. It is a No VOC latex base and it is my favorite. Favorite. Favorite.

The first time I used Emerald was on last years Epic Room Makeover. To be honest while we were painting it on, I wasn’t loving it. It didn’t look like it was covering well and I was really frustrated. After giving it time to dry,  we were surprised at how well it did cover. Since then I have grown to love it more and more.

When I am painting I want to get it DONE. Why is it that we always minimize the actual paint process? You know, we are thinking,  I’m going to paint the walls like it will take 3 seconds? (PLEASE tell me I am not the only one that does this!) And then you start painting and you are like “Hmmmm, I forgot how much time this actually takes. Suck.” That being said, the better the coverage, the less I have to paint,  the happier I am.

When I painted Dylan’s Bulldog Wall it took 1 coat and a handful of touch up spots where my roller was too dry. I wanted to make out with the wall I was so happy about that. (Because remember I had to redo the room design?)

Covering the high contrast stencil in my bedroom was something that I thought could take up to 3 coats because 1. I chose not to prime it and 2. Its almost black and white.

Well guess what? It only took 2. AND this was before I learned the secret that adding more white to your base helps with coverage.

Tip# 2 Buy a lower sheen.  Depending on the stencil that you used and the technique, there is a pretty good chance that you will have some build up formed along the edges. If it is really bad you can sand the entire wall down, but most likely you  will be the only one that sees it. The lower your sheen of paint, the more camouflaged it is. I usually go with Matte or Satin.

The one fear with using a Matte paint is durability. It can be washed away easier if you are a scrubber. That is not the case with Emerald. If it can withstand the scrubbings it takes in Dylan’s room, it can withstand the freaking zombie apocalypse. (remember how she loves to draw on everything? Yes. that.)

Tip #3 Buy the right rollers.  Did you know that there are certain types of rollers that you should use for different types of paint? Mind. Blown. when I discovered this. (Another reason why the guys at my local Sherwin Williams are fast becoming my best friends.)  It makes such a big difference when you are using the right tools.

So there you have it. My 3 tips to painting over a stencil. Hope you guys have a fantastic day!

psst. The winner of the $250 Home Depot Gift Card and 2 rolls of Bounty Paper Towels is Holly. Please check your inboxes if that is your name!

This post is a collab between myself and Sherwin Williams. I love and believe in the quality of their paint and will shout it from the rooftops until I die.

The post 3 Tips for Painting Over A Stencil appeared first on Vintage Revivals.

Guys!! I am so excited to share todays project with you!

You may have noticed that I am a lifer. When I fall in love with something its sort of a forever thing. If you are a Vintage Revivals lifer you will remember how much I love the amazing Melanie and her company Royal Design Studio.

Its true I really do love her. (I actually started crying while I was introducing her at Snap last year because I just love her SO much. Annnnd I may be a little over emotional, but that’s neither here nor there.)

When I decided to do such an over the top wall behind Kelsey’s bed it made the bathroom an obvious choice for my current favorite stencil from Royal Design Studio. (I was actually the same stencil that I demo’ed on my most recent episode of The Nate Show, its just that good!)

The stencil design is called Nova Trellis. I love it because it is ethnic and modern and clean all rolled into one happy package.

Once you have your favorite design picked out it comes down to stencil survival. Here are my 4 favorite stencil tips:

1.Start in the center of your wall. Doing this ensures that the stencil will be balanced visually!

2. Only tape the stencil on 3 sides. This makes it MUCH easier to line up, especially if you have a stencil design that has a lot of blank space (it can “stretch” and wont lay flat or line up square.)

3. When it comes to corners the stencil is designed to bend (not crease!) so make sure that you let the stencil dry between coats of paint so that you have room to play with it and move it around on the wall. If the stencil still has wet paint on it then you will have lots of touch-ups around the corners!

4. Pretend you are painting a baby. Yes that sounds super freaky, BUT when you are stenciling you want to use light pressure. Not so light that you don’t get any paint on your wall but just pretend you are painting a baby, that is the only way I can think of to describe the right pressure. If you push too hard you are going to force paint underneath your stencil and then you will have more touchups. Don’t make the baby cry.

If you are still on the fence about stenciling you can rest assured that the quality of Royal Design Studio Stencils is the best. And if you want more info about how I stencil you can check out this post.

If you are feeling SUPER excited jump on over and use the code VINTAGE10 to get 10% off your next order!

And just for fun I thought it would be great to get the creative stencil juices flowing so we are going to have a linky!! If you have done a project with a Royal Design Studio Stencil link it up below! I will be featuring my favorites all week on my Facebook page and EVERYONE that links up is getting pinned! Did she really get pinned? Did she kiss him and cry?  Can you name that movie?! If so then we are DESTINED to be soul mates.

Love Your Guts, Mandi

The post Stencil Me Happy Tips and Linky appeared first on Vintage Revivals.

Have you seen the latest issue of Better Homes and Gardens?

How about the inside?

Recognize any of the AWESOME stencils that were used? They are none other than our FAVE stencil company/ BFF’s Royal Design Studio!

I am SOOOO proud of this awesome company and I am so so proud to be teamed up with them!!

So incase you were waiting to order your stencil to see if they were you know, legit. Go right ahead cause they are too legit to quit.

And while you are there save some dough and use the code VINTAGE10 and save 10%!

And…

I cant wait to show you the stencil for Jessica’s Room Makeover! You are going to LOVE it!!

And…

If you are in SLC and planning on coming to the GNO click over and let me know where you think we should have it!

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