As I mentioned before, I'm sleeping in the bedroom while it's being paint - crazy? Well, the trick to sleeping in a room that's being painted (and waking up the next morning), is to use a no VOC paint. Not that my own health isn't important, but with a small child in the house I feel especially lucky to have that option now.
I am painting for the first time using No VOC paint, and I have to say, I am so pleased! Not only is there no smell (aka horrific toxins), but it applies as well as regular paint, and comes in any finish you might want. I bought a gallon of the Horizon line paint in a gloss, and am very happy with how it looks on the walls - not to mention how easily it cleans off tools and hands! I realize how that sounds, but I wasn't even paid to say that.
If the stencil isn't totally flat on the wall (or if there's the too much paint on it), runaway paint is inevitable. Not sure about latex paint, but the non-toxic stuff cleaned up with a Q-tip or paper towel very easily.
I let my first block dry about 10 minutes before continuing. After that, I alternated going right, left, up and down so that each block had a bit of time to dry before I taped onto it to do the next one.
The Stencilling set came with an extra short row, so I later went back and filled in just the centres of the blanks.
Thanks to the smell-less-ness of my project, my daughter was able to nap in the room while I painted, and when she woke up I was glad to finally have someone make sure that the level definitely - 10/10 times - fit into the roll of tape. At this point I was able to finish painting the window wall, and retire for the day.
I decided to paint the window wall solid because:
You can see that the design doesn't go flush with the the ends of the wall; the clean border around the perimeter is neat and even, which is the best I could hope for for my first time.
I am painting for the first time using No VOC paint, and I have to say, I am so pleased! Not only is there no smell (aka horrific toxins), but it applies as well as regular paint, and comes in any finish you might want. I bought a gallon of the Horizon line paint in a gloss, and am very happy with how it looks on the walls - not to mention how easily it cleans off tools and hands! I realize how that sounds, but I wasn't even paid to say that.
As you can tell I love the paint, and the fact that I can lay in bed and watch it dry without my head spinning. But as for that pesky stencil, that's a slightly different story. I have only stencilled one full wall thus far, and even that was a feat! I was very optimistic in the first few hours - embracing the imperfection and really liking the result, but eight hours into the excitement, I was starting to feel that the stencil was laughing at me.
Here's a recap of what took so long:
Measure once; Stencil 1000 times.
I drew a level line for my first stencil application, which for some reason I decided to do in the middle of the main wall, though it's recommended to start in an inconspicuous corner.
With a handy little roller I applied a thin layer of paint twice, which worked well each time .
If the stencil isn't totally flat on the wall (or if there's the too much paint on it), runaway paint is inevitable. Not sure about latex paint, but the non-toxic stuff cleaned up with a Q-tip or paper towel very easily.
I let my first block dry about 10 minutes before continuing. After that, I alternated going right, left, up and down so that each block had a bit of time to dry before I taped onto it to do the next one.
When it came time to align the the stencil on two sides, I realized that each block wasn't exactly level... My solution was to align on one side and leave a gap on the other - see the blank patterns.
The Stencilling set came with an extra short row, so I later went back and filled in just the centres of the blanks.
Meanwhile, I was loving the sheen of the paint! It adds a lot more dimension to the wall and creates a bit of a wallpaper illusion, but only from afar.
I decided to paint the window wall solid because:
- I didn't want the entire room to be busy. This is the unaccent wall, if you will.
- I wanted the view out the window to be framed by a light canvas, so that the treetops would stand out.
- The white wall will really make my roman blind pop - which is #2 on the agenda.
And here is the glorious "After" of my first ever stencilling adventure!
You can see that the design doesn't go flush with the the ends of the wall; the clean border around the perimeter is neat and even, which is the best I could hope for for my first time.
I think the stencil looks superb; it's the blend I need of David Hicks' midcentury design, and Russian historic embellishments. I can't wait to see the whole room finished, however, I am dreading the thought of the process a little...
