Kendall’s Big Girl Room – One Room Challenge – Week 3
Good morning! It is Wednesday of Week 3 which – holy pants and shirts – marks the halfway point of Kendall’s 6 week room makeover! I just realized that I really need to get all my online orders going because three weeks may just not be long enough for things to ship and arrive in time! So this is all about to get reeeeaaall interesting! Or expensive :/ – can you say “expedited international shipping from the UK” 12 times fast? Speaking of – SO MANY of the makers I love are based in the UK. Although for those of you that know me, that shouldn’t be surprising given my love of 90’s Brit Pop in my early teenage years.
And now speaking of music, this week I noticed a theme in the wall decor I’m putting in Kendall’s room. Unplanned but I love it.
Wildflower/Let’s Dance/Go Your Own Way
So this is a sneak peek of what I plan for her wall decor! There are some other items too and I’m unsure where all of it will end up. I’m concerned the dot wall will appear too busy with a gallery wall on it but I guess we will just have to see!
Speaking of the dot wall (gosh I am just FULL of fluid transitions today) it is well underway and I am IN LOVE WITH IT. The stencil truly appears EXACTLY like the wallpaper thanks to the genius that is Alex from StencilsLAB. I honestly can not thank him enough. He saved me HUNDREDS of dollars AND, as painstaking the work is to install a wall stencil, he gave me a project I could really put some elbow grease into and be proud of. Don’t get me wrong, INSTALLING WALLPAPER IS NOT EASY, but it doesn’t give me the same artistic gratification as wall stenciling does. 🙂 As a reminder, here is the wallpaper inspiration.
I am so mad at myself though because I abandoned my tried and true technique for stenciling on textured walls (read about that HERE) in exchange for what should have been a faster approach. That “faster approach” involved using a sponge brush and long story short – paint bled everywhere and I basically have to completely redo a few sections. It’s paint so it’s not the end of the world. But I will say it one more time here people and then never speak the words again (or at least not until my next stenciling project) – sponges just do NOT work if you have textured walls! You need a firm, hard bristled brush like this.
I did a little tutorial on Instagram stories about the technique I use – stippling and swirling. Yes, wall stenciling techniques ARE A THING. Stippling is a hammering motion, swirling is then filling in using, well, a swirling motion. Head to my Instagram to check that out if you’re interested! Oh and of course, less is more when it comes to paint! I always make sure to have VERY LITTLE paint on my brush or it will bleed even using this method! Okay enough about that. Here is the paint I used to achieve a rusty gold look.
I tried a couple of combinations but it turns out about 1/2 Antique Bronze 1/2 Pale Gold created the perfect color. These are both by Modern Masters and I purchased them at my local paint store. Here is a side by side of the stencil and wallpaper. Can you tell a difference???
The bottom 1/3 on the left is where I tried that different technique. From a distance it doesn’t look too bad but up close – woof! Anyway, overall I am SO SO SO please with how it is turning out. Seriously can not wait to style the smithereens out of that wall 🙂 Kendall loves it too because the dots look like animal print, so we are calling it her cheetah wall. ROAR!!!
So that is my main update for Week 3 of the One Room Challenge! Once the wallpaper arrives I will get to work installing that too – then it’s time to pimp the room out! Yay! Thanks to Better Homes and Gardens for sponsoring such a fun event, and head to their blog HERE to see what other designers are dreaming up for their spaces. So much inspiration!
Til next week…
Kristen
