Paint Series

How To Paint Over A Stenciled Wall: Saying Goodbye to my Hexagon Wall

February 20, 2015 by CORINNA HENDERSON

I can’t really pinpoint an exact feeling for how I feel about that. I created my Hexagon Painted Accent Wall for my entry in the Frog Tape Earn Your Stripes Contest 2013. I didn’t place for anything, but it received a bit of attention on the world wide web and even landed me my first ever guest post gig on Remodelaholic. So there’s sentimental value in that wall. But as my style has evolved and furniture and decor pieces have been purchased for the house, I was finding it harder and harder to “work with” the wall. And I knew I wasn’t loving the wall anymore. So, I figured out how to paint over a stenciled wall.

Plus, it wasn’t perfect and it had started to see some damage 🙁

I’m not a wall painting expert but I have been learning an awful lot the past few years as I’ve painted and repainted rooms in our home. Since I can now add “painted over a painted stenciled wall” to the list of painting projects I’ve conquered, I thought I’d share what I’ve learned.

How To Paint Over A Stenciled Wall:

1. I still recommend a flat paint for this such as I would recommend as the paint paint finish for wonky, uneven textured walls.

2. Use a decent paint. It doesn’t have to be expensive by any means. But go with the paint you know covers well and dries with a good finish. It needs to stay where you put it, even with a thicker than usual coat.

3. Use more product on your roller than you normally would. I say that because I found it really stuck to and globed up around the ridges of the hexagons (where tape welled up beside the painter’s tape) and made them smoother instead of evenly distributing paint and leaving the ridges just as visible.

4. If your walls are relatively flat with few imperfections to start with, take a fine grit sand paper and go over the noticeable outlines of anything still visible after painting your first coat. My walls are old, wrinkly, patchy and bumpy. So the outlines from the former hexagons are barely visible upon close inspection.

After all of this, I’m not sure that I’ll ever tape out or even use a stencil to paint out a wall again. I’m happy with my indecisive decorator paint color choice. I can always buy a sheet of MDF and paint it fun and just hang that on my wall. Those of you that can commit to these kinds of changes, kudos to you. You know what you like and that’s pretty cool.

If you’ve ever painted over a stenciled design before, I’d love to hear what you recommend. Share the knowledge!

Check out these other Paint Related Posts in my Once Weekly Paint Post Series!

The Paint Finish for Wonky, Uneven Textured Walls

February 13, 2015 by CORINNA HENDERSON

Things have been relatively quiet around here on the blog. Just a few small projects have been shared because I’m spending the majority of my time painting walls. Our home was built in the 1950’s and with settling and additions occurring in that time, the walls are a bit wonky. The finish isn’t smooth and patches are visible. Unfortunately for me, here in 2015, I can’t afford to have someone come out and smooth it all out. So I’ve been playing around with paint finishes to see if there was a way of minimizing the appearance of the walls’ flaws. And I have found the paint finish that minimizes the appearance of uneven textured walls!

What I was finding with the glossier finishes was that it was bouncing light off of the high points of the unevenness and casting shadows on the low points. This emphasized the flaws with our walls and it was disappointing. I was doing what I was told to do in regards to choosing paint finishes for the walls and trim in our home, but it wasn’t flattering.

A plain flat finish paint (in a scrubbable formulation) is what I’ve found that best conceals these flaws. The light bounce back in minimizes and the wonky, uneven texture to them are not nearly as noticeable as before. For those that may be concerned, because you’ve likely read the same paint finish advice that I’ve read, I have in fact scrubbed my walls and it’s held up quite well.

I’m also quite obsessed with the almost velveteen effect the paint creates on every point of the wall. Smooth and uneven, they kind of look like they’d be soft to the touch. I know that’s entirely crazy, but I really like how it looks.

So, if you’re dealing with older walls that have seen more than it’s fair share of patches and wrinkles, give a sample can of a flat paint a try!

If you’re planning on doing any painting, but also find yourself constantly switching up your decor and color schemes, check out my ultimate suggestion on Wall Paint Color Choices! That’s all for today! Please share this post with your friends and leave me a comment below telling me about your worst painting hiccup!

How to Choose a Paint Color for the Indecisive Decorator

February 6, 2015 by CORINNA HENDERSON

Seriously guys, I used to love going to the paint store on a whim and just choosing a color because I thought it was pretty. That worked for me for a long time. But, I have Decorating ADD. And the things that I like this month may be the things I hate next month and 3 months from now my new obsession may completely clash with my wall color. Actually, that’s not at all hypothetical, that’s all reality. It’s what happened to me at the end of 2014.

How To Choose A Paint Color

As I’ve tried to set out and discover the style that really speaks to me in a lasting sense, you know like putting pretty Apartment Therapy spaces and Pinterest pins aside, I’ve really been able to tune into what kind of canvas suits people with Decorating ADD. I’m indecisive, and if you’re here, you’re probably indecisive too. And that’s not said in any negative sense. It just is what it is.

Even the smallest of paint departments get overwhelming fast with the different sheens and hues. Even if you aren’t an indecisive decorator and just know what you like, that aisle can get overwhelming. Especially when advice runs rampant about living with a swatch of the color on your wall and different lightings and whatnot. It gets dizzying.

So how do you choose which color to narrow in on?

You don’t. Say whaa?

I’m not trying to be revolutionary. In all seriousness, if you’re looking for something that can go with anything you can possibly think to put in front of it, go with white. Plain white. Like the stuff that they don’t have to open the can for.

Or black. Because let’s be real. I’m indecisive. And there was no way I was going to give you just one recommendation.

But white would probably suit the majority of us better. So go with white.

So that’s how an indecisive decorator chooses a paint color. Just don’t!

But if you crave color? Domicile 37 has a detailed guide for choosing the perfect paint color. Check out the guide for loads of information.

I had a lot of fun thinking about how I’d share this idea with you all and goofy pictures were it! I hope you’ve enjoyed the concept of white walls to leave room for indecisiveness. They really are a great backdrop to go wild with.