Cutting Edge Stencils: Bold vs. Bashful Color Choices

Bold vs. Bashful Color Choices: Matching Your Stencil with the Perfect Color

How to make intricate, simple.

Are you nervous about using an intricate stencil design? What about stenciling with bright paint colors? I often hear from customers the concern that a stencil pattern might be "too busy" but my response to that is always, "what colors are you going to use?" There are so many ways that you can use colors to enhance a stencil design on your wall. At the same time, there are equally as many ways to tone down a detailed pattern as well. Depending on your color choices you can take a very intricate pattern like the Zamira stencil for example and make it only really show up in certain lighting to create a very soft and muted affect. At the same time, if you choose to use high contrasting colors, your wall can make a bold statement and be the primary source for pattern and color in a room with the most basic of stencil designs. Both looks when done correctly look stunning. It is really a matter of what you want your stencil to do for you and the space you are stenciling in your home. If you are trying to keep your room decor very toned down it doesn't necessarily mean that you have to pick a simple stencil pattern. It does mean that you need to pick the right combination of colors and sheens to balance out a busy pattern with simple home decor. In this post, we are going to explore both bold color options and subtle colors options. You can be the judge of which one works for you!

Funky Stencil + Subtle Colors = Glamorous!

Designer Anne Stowe featured the Funky Wheel stencil in her show room at Southern spring home and garden show in Charlotte NC. The theme of her room was "glamorous" and she really nailed it on the head. I chose this image because it is a perfect representation of a very funky and bold stencil design but due to her color selection, she has managed to create a very elegant, subtle and glamorous feel in this room. The Funky Wheel stencil on the walls does not overpower the rest of the room decor but rather acts as a nice element of detail and design to the space. Now, if Anne had decided to stencil the Funky Wheels in bright red, it would have completely changed the look of the room. The stenciled wall would be the focus rather than a subtle background. The concept is quite simple but very often people are turned off by a stencil pattern because it is too funky or intense and dont realize that they can really tone it down with color selection like Anne did. To get the look shown above, Anne used Benjamin Moore's Sandy Hook Gray as a base on the walls and then HC-107 Gettysburg Gray, HC-106 Crownsville Gray, hc-105 and Rockport Gray for the stenciling adding in a little metallic paint on some of the stencils to give depth to the walls (to see more of Annes' work go to www.greatdesign4u.com).

Just go for it! Stencil with bright colors to compliment your room decor.

This room is so bold and beautiful! Crafter and mom, Robyn, took a risk with the bright colors and boy did it pay off. She definitely was going for lots of color with her Bollywood inspired craft room. Not only is the wall stencil a bright turquoise, but the storage units add even more amazing color! Even though you might think that turquoise is too bright and the Vision Allover stencil is too busy, Robyn went for it and balanced out the colorful wall with colorful room decor. There is definitely harmony between the stenciled wall and the colorful craft supplies and storage units. If you like this design but want something less dramatic, pick your background color and then choose a color a step lighter or darker on the color deck. To get a similar look as Robyn use Benjamin Moore Whispering Spring as the background color and Toronto Blue as the stencil color. To see Robyn's design inspiration stop by her Pinterest board.

Toning down a detailed stencil design.

I included this photo by Shawn to give an example of a very similar design to the Vision in the turquoise but done in a tone on tone color scheme. As you can see, this feature wall looks very subtle yet adds the perfect amount of design to the room and is a perfect backdrop to the bold black framed mirror. With such a similar design as Robyn's turquoise feature wall, it is amazing how different the effect is to use such subtle colors right? A really nice tip in terms of choosing colors is that if you don't want the stencil to overpower the room or be too bright make your stencil color is one step lighter (or darker) on the color deck than your wall color. This has always worked splendidly for me! For a tone on tone look like Shawn, use Benjamin Moore Durango Dust as the background color and Butter Pecan as the stencil color.

Color, design, decor: Finding your perfect combo

Above are two really beautiful rooms designed by Barbara Klein from Creative Impressions. She collaborated with June Moon Furniture store offering a stenciling workshop that turned out great! She really displayed how bright colors can compliment any stencil design. She also highlighted the furniture in the store with these splendid stenciled backgrounds. There is no doubt that is an example of bold color choices. There is nothing bashful about Barbara's two looks. The green stenciled wall on the right is the Zamira Allover stencil which is the same as the stencil Shawn used in the previous example. Pretty dramatic difference right?

How to stick with one color but still use a stencil.

"I had minor anxiety deciding to paint a room in my house BLACK, but I love, love, LOVE the way it turned out!" says Megan the mastermind behind this gorgeous room. It definitely takes courage to go for black and then on top of it add a stenciled pattern but Megan pulled this look off perfectly. She used a flat background paint and then a high gloss in black as well for the stencil to create a really beautiful and elegant look. I highly recommend this technique if you want to stick with one color on your wall but would like to add some dimension with a stencil pattern at the same time.

Complimenting a color theme

A Girl and a Glue Gun blog used Cutting Edge Stencils Polka Dot Allover stencil in her daughters room as a feature wall. I think that this is a great example of choosing colors that are similar in tone. In this room, the accent wall is quite neutral which leaves room for all of the pink room decor accents. I personally really love when grey is combined with bright colors like pink, yellow and green. If you are going to make bold color theme for your decor, pick feature wall colors that compliment that color but don't compete with it. As you can see there are endless options when it comes to combining stencils and paint colors. There are a few major tips we covered in this post:

Stencil and Color Tips to keep in mind:

1. If you want to stick with one color but want dimension - paint your background with a flat finish paint and then stencil on top with the same color but with a high gloss (don't do the reverse though because flat paint does not go well on top of high gloss and can lead to bleed) 2. If you love a stencil design but feel like it is too busy for your space, just choose a stencil color close to your background color. I suggest taking your color deck and finding the color that is either a step lighter or darker from your background. 3. Don't be afraid of going for it!! If you try a bright and funky paint color, with a dramatic stencil and colorful decor it can look gorgeous. I would just say to be courageous. If you don't like it, you can always paint over it right? Whether you have the urge to use every color in the paint deck or want to stick with beiges, there are many options. Hopefully this post will help you decide on what works best for your next DIY endeavor. What to do now?

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Stay tuned for many more posts! Thanks for stopping by! Yours truly ~Gabi and the Cutting Edge Stencils Crew