Nineteen dollars a few hours completely changed the look of this kitchen! This boring white box needed an update, but I just didn’t know what. It’s not the kitchen of my dreams, so it needed to be cheap. And a stencil did the trick!
This backsplash isn’t tiled, it’s just a regular textured wall with eggshell paint. If you want to paint existing tile, see this post: How I transformed my kitchen with paint.
Here are some shots of our kitchen before I stenciled before:
So many ledges in here! Why, builders? Why!?
I did a poll on Instagram and 85 percent said not to stencil this middle part. Yikes! So I wasn’t going to do it, but I couldn’t get it out of my head. I finally decided that if it looked terrible I could just paint over it. That’s the beauty of stencils!
And I really like it! Maybe they were just voting against my terrible rendering I did of what it would look like, haha!
The stencil in black adds some much-needed character and interest to this blank kitchen!
That top part was quite scary to do as I am afraid of heights! Marcello said he would stencil it for me and that was all the motivation I needed — thinking about what it would look like if I let him do it!
And speaking of ledges, check out this futuristic peninsula detail we have hanging from the ceiling. Wow. I can’t figure out if it’s dated or from the future. I CANNOT wait to cut this down one day! Not. A. Fan.
And, that black machine poking up on top is a disco light! Controlled by a light switch! It’s so much fun.
Ok, now on to the stenciling. This is my third stenciling project. I also did my boys’ bathroom and daughter’s bedroom in our last house, as well as our current front porch cement floor! I have been on cloud nine with the results every time.
Materials
- stencil (I got the 16″)
- painter’s tape
- adhesive spray
- stencil brush
- paint
Directions
- I chose to trim the extra plastic around my stencil because I was working in a tight space.
- Spray the back of the stencil LIGHTLY with adhesive spray. Spray over plastic bag because it sticks to everything!
- You can use painter’s tape too, but it’s probably not necessary.
- Put the stencil on the wall. I aligned my stencil along the bottom of the counter to the pattern would be straight.
- Pour small amount of paint on a paper plate. I used black enamel, only because it was leftover from painting the front door. You can use semi-gloss too so it will wipe easily. The color here is black — just plain ol’ black from the can!
- Test the paint on the plate with the brush. I chose a brush instead of sponge or sponge brush for this project because I wanted more of a vintage, worn look.
- Carefully take the stencil off the wall and wipe excess paint with a paper towel.
- Spray with adhesive about every other time applying stencil to wall.
TIP: There will be spaces inevitably that your stencil does not fit perfectly. For this project, I aligned the stencil at the bottom against the counter. I stenciled the bottom first that adhered to the wall and bent the stencil to the space as I moved my way up.
Watch the video to see more clearly.
Left to do
It will probably be a decade before we redo the kitchen, so I still have quite a few things on my my to-do list for this space:
- cut off that futuristic peninsula thing hanging from the ceiling!
- add a shelf above doorway for cookbooks
- add a tree or plant on either side of the stenciled space on top
- paint the gray side of the fridge white
Socialize!
Be sure to follow me on Pinterest and Instagram! I’m doing projects nearly every day on Instagram stories and some don’t make it onto the blog. See all my easy DIY videos here: #housemixblogdiyvideos
