And the winner of the Annie Sloan Chalk Paint gift basket is……

Kim Lombardi. Kim left comment #7 and ALSO left two other bonus comments including a comment about which Royal Design Studio stencil she would like-our amazing Springtime in Paris Typography stencil. Way to wish big! Kim, you WIN and are also entered in this weekends drawing to attend the Annie Sloan North American Tour date of your choice.

Thank you all for your comments!! I really enjoyed reading your fav Chalk Paint color combinations and stencil choices.

I hope your Christmas was fabulous, enjoyable, and joyful! Ours was filled with family-as it should be. On Christmas day we traveled north from San Diego (about 2 hours) to spend the day with my husband’s family at my sister-in-law Anne’s new house in Claremont, CA.

I always love seeing a “new” place she is in because she is one of those people blessed with an amazing decorating gene. Even more impressive, she excels at decorating “on the cheap” with restyled thrift store bargains.

When she was visiting us last Spring, we loaded her arms up with a bunch of random stencils from our studio-and she couldn’t wait to show me what she’d done with them. Fortunately, I had my handy iPhone with me, so I can share them with you!

Here’s an adorable little nook area off the kitchen. The wall on the right is filled with mirrors to reflect the sunlight that comes in the windows on the opposite wall.

The built-in bookcase is surrounded by a randomly stenciled pattern using our Indian Paisley stencil.

The gray paint color on the pale blue looks soft and soothing and ties in nicely with the antiqued, punched silver mirror frame.

In the bedroom, Anne used our Large Hollywood Squares wall stencil to accent the closet-again with a blue and gray color scheme. I like the juxtaposition of the geometric pattern softened by the oriental paisley on the comforter.

The bathroom cabinet had been layered with years of coats of white paint, applied with a heavy hand that produced a lot of brush stroke texture.

This proved the perfect background for a distressed patterned finish of grayed denim blue colors. Anne layered spray paint, latex paint washes, and wood stains with some sanding and distressing to get this fabulous look.

This little floral stencil is actually a freebie stencil that we have been including with stencil orders for some time now. I love how she used it to create a random flower field on the lighter blue here and then just as accents behind the knobs on the darker blue drawers. Hey! Whose that person in the door knob??

On to the guest bedroom for another “out-of-the box” stencil application that works beautifully! Here Anne used our classic Fabric Damask stencil in just two rows above the chair rail. I love how the pattern alternates from horizontal to vertical to give a soft lacy edge to the molding. It’s just enough!

Down below is one of our Moroccan  stencils, the Minaret Border. I would never have thought to pair this with the Fabric Damask stencil, but again, the combo of geometric and soft floral is a perfect compliment! I hope you enjoyed this inspiring little stenciled house tour along with me!

Allow me to introduce you to Sylvie Bilger and Metamorfaux.

I had the great pleasure of meeting Sylvie this past October when she attended my last painting trip to Marrakech as one of our very special Peacock Painters. Originally from France, Sylvie has a joie de vivre that is both infectious and endearing. She also happens to be a classically trained decorative artist with an impressive resume.  Sylvie learned her craft first during 4 years in the Ecole National des Arts Appliques et des Metiers d’ Art. She followed that with a year at the Institute de peinture Van Der Kelen in Brussels where she perfected her decorative painting skills in trompe l’oeil, wood graining, marbleizing and lettering. Impressed yet? Well, to top that off she then proceeded to work for two years doing restoration at the Palace of Versailles. Yeah. Cool. For the last 25 years she has lived and worked in NYC, and established her decorative painting company, Metamorfaux with her artist/husband Joe Bilger.

Right before we left for our Morocco trip, she contacted me regarding the opportunity to sponsor the decoration of  a space in the annual Holiday House NYC-an annual showcase and fundraiser for the Susan G Komen foundation for breast cancer research. Of course I said yes! The space was of the sort normally given to decorative painters-a hallway. Hallways are actually fabulous, because they are generally lacking the need for furniture and you can be left to let the paint treatment be the star. Sylvie was inspired by the stenciling that I had designed the year before for a dining tent in Morocco, and this became the basis for the hallway decoration at Holiday House. Of course, she reinterpreted the idea unique and special way. Let’s see, shall we?

Sylvie used a combination of Royal Design Studio stencils and Modello masking patterns. I suggested the Modello patterns for the ceiling, because they can be so much easier than trying to maneuver a large stencil around, and we were able to cut the design to fit the space exactly. Above, she is removing the transfer tape to begin the painting process with metallic paints from Modern Masters.

We also provided Modello patterns for the the arches and medallion. Again, the Modellos are much easier to apply and decorate an otherwise difficult space like these arches!

Cut to a week later, and…..voila! Sylvie used our new large Peacock Feather stencil on the walls. I love how she has them trailing randomly from the ceiling line,

and added just a little extra touch on the window treatment.

More of our Moroccan  stencils were used in the small hallway, including Moroccan Lace, the Fez Corner, and the Fez Floral Border.

A final touch of magic happened when the light fixture was installed. Along with a warm, reflective glow, it adds a whole other dreamy layer of geometric pattern to an already beautifully designed space.

Here is a shot of Sylvie and our mutual Moroccan traveler and friend, artist Tom Henman-her lucky date to the opening night Gala! If you happen to be in the NYC area you can check out Sylvie’s work along with many other beautifully designed and decorated rooms at Holiday House NYC through December 11!

I received a pretty little gift in the mail the other day…a copy of the newest Do it Yourself magazine from Better Homes and Gardens. My first thought: Gee, that’s a very bright, happy cover. Second thought: Gee, the pattern on that wall looks very familiar. Third thought: (lightbulb moment) Awesome! That’s our very own Berry Romantic Wall stencil.

We had sent the stencil out by request from a project editor sometime last spring, which, of course, I completely forgot about so it was a great surprise! You may remember this post about our Moroccan stencils making the cover of Better Homes and Gardens-equally thrilling!

I noticed one cool feature where they had sent old, ratty furniture pieces out to various DIY bloggers for some rehab, including one of my favs-the cute couple from Young House Love, John and Sherry.

That, in turn, reminded me that I should mention the fabulous wall stencil project they did with our Large Feathered Damask stencil. It looks super elegant in cream and yellow on soft gray. Just a LITTLE more understated than the cover above. That’s the awesomeness of stencils-you can have it your way!

Anyhoo, The whole Do it Yourself  magazine is full of fun projects-with tons and tons of patterns thrown in, so check it out in the check out line! Their website is pretty cool too!

One of my favorite things about designing stencils to share with the world is getting to see how our customers use them in their homes and creative projects.  All this internet interconnection makes it even easier to enjoy these rewards-and to share them with others. I truly love and appreciate it when people “share” their stencil art on our Facebook Page. It’s like instant gratification on steroids! This past week there were some particularly NICE photos posted, so just in case you missed them, here’s a visual recap…

Nichole Blackburn of Celadon Style recently completed a large commission at Bel Bambini, a high-end baby boutique in Newport Beach, CA.  Nichole completed 20 different original and creative murals and decorative schemes throughout the store to coordinate with different nursery collections. Here, she used our Grand Damask stencil in a stripe pattern to create a romantic graphic look.

Former textile artist turned decorative painter and muralist extraordinaire, Carmen Benoit,  is always to nice to comment on our Facebook pages and posts, so I’m thrilled to share some of her lovely work on a grand ceiling. Carmen used our Delicate Floral Damask all over this tray ceiling and finished it off beautifully with the Oriental Brocade Frieze border pattern. This looks like SO much work, but what a STUNNING effect!

Sylvie Bilger of Metamorfaux (top photo) is an amazing person and artistic talent who I met recently on our last Moroccan painting adventure to Peacock Pavilions. She was such a joy to be with and I am thrilled to be sponsoring Sylvie’s space at the upcoming Holiday House NYC event to benefit the Susan G. Komen foundation for breast cancer research. Sylvie is very modest, so she probably won’t tell you that she trained at an important decorative finishing academy in Europe and her first job had her working at the Palace of Versailles, but I think that deserves a major SHOUT OUT! Sylvie is currently completing two amazing hall spaces in the showcase house with a combination of stencils and Modello patterns pulled from our Moroccan stencil collection.

On a much smaller scale, artist Kathryn Donatelli shared a table top that she enhanced with wood stains and one of the designs from our Architectural Scroll Set.

Another fellow Moroccan traveler, Cindi Rowley of Cindy Rowley Designs recently shared a cabinet furniture finish using Annie Sloan Chalk Paint and our Ornate Italian Panel stencil. Cindi embossed the pattern for a raised effect which is highlighted by the lovely antiqued wax finish.

Another Chalk Paint furniture stencil project was posted by Kristin at Chi Chi Studio Designs. This is a super pretty blog by a darling  Mississippi girl and this dresser stenciled with Paris Gray and Pure White and our Small Chez Sheik Moroccan stencil totally rocks, IMHO! Oh, and by the way, Royal Design Studio is now officially the stockist for Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in San Diego County, but I haven’t officially announced it yet, as I am trying to get all my ASCP ducks brushes in a row.

And now for the BIG finish!! It’s the Chez Sheik Moroccan stencil again-this time in the larger version.  When I saw these pictures posted on our Facebook Page wall today by Haneen Matt, I thought they were the work of a pro decorative painter. I was already SUPER impressed by the color choice and stylish props, but then I found out that she is a very talented homeowner and I was super, DUPER impressed. How about you??

So-there you have the week in review, and now you know how much I LOVE it when peeps share their stencil photos…….so…….I’m just suggesting……and letting you know that our Facebook page is right here. Have a lovely, creative weekend!

So, I’ve been doing this stencil thing for a long time now.  A. really. long. time. You would think I would be bored with it by now. I mean really, how could a person continue to be excited about a simple piece of plastic with some pretty shapes cut into it?! Well the answer is, silly, it’s NOT about the tool, it’s about the results: the pushing of boundaries, the new twists, the endless creative ways to use the dang things! For instance-just today two new super stencil projects came my way that offer all of those things-and they both just happened to be floor projects that are original, inspiring and oh so cool!

Mandi from Vintage Revivals is a good friend to Royal Design Studio stencils, and we “love her guts”-and her amazing eye and ingenious projects. So much so, that when she asked us for a custom, super-sized houndstooth pattern stencil for a floor project she was doing we said “how big?”

Of course, Mandi didn’t just stencil it. She stenciled it with an ombre effect, with colors gradating from light to dark to light again. How cool is that!? Mandi dishes on all the rug stencil details here!

So, thanks to Mandi, you can now houndstooth (is that a verb?) your own floor-or wall with this new large graphic stencil from Royal Design Studio.

To make matters even better, I have ANOTHER cool floor idea for you courtesy of Tara at  Dump Your Frump (how fun is THAT thought?) Tara had the awesome idea to stencil on a plain stone tile floor with our Allover Moroccan Arches pattern. Yes, you can do this-you just need to make sure that the surface is clean and “toothy” (meaning it will allow the paint to bond) and that you finish it off with an appropriate topcoat.

I have stenciled before on “unsealed” stone, like travertine, and its a great look. Well I don’t need to tell you because you can SEE it here. If you use a more translucent paint medium, like a gel stain or fluid acrylic, the color will penetrate and you can still see the texture of the stone. I love the bold color choice here though. The frump had definitely been dumped from THIS powder bath.

Thanks for the floor show, Mandi and Tara!

We LOVE to sponsor stencil giveaways on many cool design and DIY blogs. When the opportunity came up to participate in the Giveaway Day at one of the bestest blogs,  The Nesting Place, I thought it was the perfect time to host my own stencil giveaway on Design Amour as well!

Just in time for the Holidays – and the chance to pick a REALLY AWESOME stencil that could help pull all your holiday décor together or make a fabulous gift for someone special!

PRIZE: We are giving away a $75 Shopping Spree at Royal Design Studio along with free shipping to the continental U.S. That’s $75 to buy anything your heart desires on our website, including stencils, stencil cremes, and stencil supplies. We have hundreds of stencil patterns to choose from. Here are just a few ideas to whet your whistle….

Feeling like a tigress? Our new Tiger Stripe stencil offers you an elegant way to express your wild side.

Our Rockin’ Roses floral stencil is a little bit floral and a little bit rock and roll. Stencil it in bold, contrasting colors or metallics for a deco statement or in soft pastels for a romantic look.

More modern African adventure awaits with our Zebra Stripe stencil. It makes an awesome addition to a feature wall and can easily be dressed up or down to suit your style.

More soft romance awaits with our lovely Phoebe’s Tulip Vine floral stencil. This design is perfect for a vintage modern design scheme. Check out this blog post on Busily Spinning Momma for a peek at a lovely bathroom project with this beauty!

Our Delicate Floral Damask is a classically inspired pattern done on a large scale for a modern feel. It’s perfect for bedrooms. Lovely, in dramatic black and white, it can take on multiple personalities depending on your color choices. And the great thing about using stencil patterns? The color choices are yours and yours alone!

How to enter you ask?

There are SIX different ways to enter!

1) Visit our Royal Design Studio website, take a look around and just simply leave a comment on our blog post here on your favorite stencil and/or products that you’d pick up during your shopping spree!

The rest involve Facebook, Twitter and/or your blog to give you a chance at additional comment entries!

2) Like us on our Facebook Fan page and leave a comment telling us you did;

3) Follow us on Twitter and leave a comment telling us you did;

If you are already a fan or follow us, do let us know as well.  We love our fans and followers so that counts!

This counts as three entries. Want three more ways to win? Yeah, I thought so!

4) Facebook about our giveaway, and leave a comment here, telling us you did;

5) Tweet about our giveaway, and leave a comment here, telling us you did;

6) Blog about our giveaway, and leave a comment here (and a link if you can!) telling us you did.

I hope it’s not too complicated – just make sure that for whatever you do, leave us a comment.  Do one or do all six — it’s your choice! We think it’s always a little more fun to spread the word and up the ante!  Let the entries begin!!!

We do want to thank The Nesting Place for helping host the Giveaway Day and offering us a chance to participate– She’s featuring all of her sponsors, so do be sure to go there for more giveaways. We’re so happy to be featured along with some very cool companies.  Thanks, Nester!

…and Thank You, Everyone!  You have until Midnight on Thursday, November 3^rd, to get all your comments in. We choose a Winner via Random.org and their name will be announced by Saturday morning, November 5th.  We hope to see your entries and look forward to seeing who the fabulous Winner is!  Good Luck!

A couple of weeks ago, I shared some fresh new stenciled looks with some of our classic stencils. I have some more great updated stencil looks to show you today. Hopefully it will spark some ideas and get those creative wheels turning!

The Oriental Brushstroke Chinese stencil is a series of individual fanciful bird and leaf elements that you can scatter at will over a wall to create a loose, painterly wallpaper effect. Here, it looks very soft in shades of blue, but you can use it in metallic colors over dark backgrounds for very dramatic effects too!

A border stencil can be perfect for adding just the right touch of color and design to spark up a plain wall. The Elegancia Border stencil is shown here above a step-in tub. Notice how the gold color ties in with the bath fixture and really warms up the wall. Simple, but effective. If you wanted to add more pattern, this design coordinates with our Elegancia Allover stencil.

Another area to try a wallpaper effect with stencils in on the back wall of an open bookshelf or china cabinet. Here, the Falling Feather stencil is perfect for creating a casual, yet custom effect. This is another fun stencil for scattering across a wall, but would be great on a floor, furniture, or fabric project as well.

The Moroccan Hexagons border stencil can also be repeated to create an allover pattern, as shown here. This pattern is perfect for an entry hall or bathroom wall. Using stencil brushes makes it easy to paint the tile pattern in multiple colors.

Our classic Japanese Cherry Blossom stencil set takes on a fresh, modern vibe in a yellow/gray/cream color scheme. Individual branches are fun to scatter and stencil. Shown in a laundry room setting this design works great in bathrooms, bedrooms, even nurseries!

One of our most classic and popular designs for many years, the Florentine Grille Border stencil comes in three sizes, so you can use it for everything from a ceiling freize to a small furniture stenciling detail. Here the medium size is shown centered and stenciled on drawer fronts in boldly contrasting colors for a clean, contemporary look.

Another pattern that is available in multiple sizes is the allover Victorian Grillwork stencil. This classic floral trellis is perfect for furniture stenciling. The larger version is shown here stenciled on the side of an armoire. It’s a perfect romantic look-yet not too fussy!

I hope you enjoyed this stencil re-fresher. Perhaps you have some older stencil patterns laying around and maybe now are inspired to try them anew in some updated colors. That’s what is so great about stencils! They can take on a whole new attitude with simple changes in color and application. Happy Painting!

Well, summer has come and gone (OH SO quickly!) once again. The kids are back in school and this is traditionally the time of year when lots of people’s thoughts turn to home decorating projects. After all, the holidays are approaching and fall is a great time to freshen things up a bit! We have some freshening up projects going on around here-Royal Design Studio and Modello Designs website redesigns to be exact. Even this pretty but aging  blog. It’s a ridiculous amount of work, but going to be SO worth it…..someday…..soon…..I hope. So, I’ve been doing some housekeeping at Royal Design Studio. Trying to figure out which stencil patterns to “let go” and which to keep. I’ve been selling some of these stencils since the mid 90′s and some of the color and finish representations are looking a bit, well, dated. But just like that old piece of boring brown but highly functional furniture, many of these stencil designs have stood the test of time and could continue to do so if they just had a fresh coat of paint and some perkier colors added. And so, here you go! Some refreshed classic stencil patterns from Royal Design Studio….

Our Granada Border Stencil looks very cool and current stenciled in white as a backsplash pattern over a chalkboard paint finish.

The Delicate Floral Panel stencil pattern is generally used as a wall stencil, but it also makes a great furniture stencil when used in the panels of a large armoire.

We have a small series of stencils inspired by the tragically romantic ruins of Pompeii. This Botanical Column Stencil , with its delicate vines and birds works equally well in other romantic settings. This wall stencil repeats vertically and can be used as a single element of wall decor or repeated around a room for a patterned stripe effect.

Our Large Rosie motif stencil has an chic, Art Deco look. It’s adorable for nurseries or children’s room, especially when stenciled in shades of lipstick pink!

The Brocade Border Stencil has been one of my favorite stencil patterns for years. I love the delicate vine and berries. It has an Indian vibe to it, especially when paired with a punched tin mirror.

Another funky floral stencil pattern that works great for nurseries and little girl’s rooms is the Deco Doily stencil from our Modern Options Stencil collection. This two layer stencil allows you to introduce a coordinating color for the background which really sets it off from the wall color.

The Floral Medallions stencil set is based on ancient Middle Eastern patterns, but it looks cool, fresh and contemporary in minty green and lilac colors. It’s very quick and easy to scatter stencil motifs like this around a room for a custom wallpaper effect.

The great thing about stencils is that you can completely change the look and feel of the designs simply by changing the colors. So, do you have some freshening up projects planned for this fall?

Continuing a theme from last week, I have a few more Stencil Wall-ternatives to share today!

Amy from Playing Sublimely  is lucky enough to have a skilled carpenter husband! Who’s NOT jealous of that?!  He created a custom built-in cabinet at the end of a hallway which Amy promptly painted with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint.

Not happy with her first try, she tried, tried again, this time opting for a more classic paint treatment and the decidedly “un”classic and ultimately COOL look of stenciling our Zebra Stripe stencil pattern on the back to show off her pretty white dishes. Check out this post also by Amy to see some more Royal Design Studio stencils used on her walls. I’m sure you’ll find her home dreamy and inspirational-especially if you like formal, classic design.

Back to the floor, here is another fun stenciled sisal rug project from Tam at Sew Dang Cute. A project like this is super fast, easy, and economical. Sometimes it’s the little details that add so much!

Royal Design Studio and Modello Designs customer Terry Leibenguth recently sent in some photos of a stenciled ceiling project that I just love!  This one features our ever lovely Allover Flourish stencil on the ceiing of a powder bath.

Check out the added bling Terry added with glitter and crystals.

Crystal embellishments to stenciling has become increasingly popular, and I think that Terry added just the right amount to accent the stencil pattern and tie it in to the lovely light fixtures.

We love to share our customer’s stencil projects. They inspire us and hopefully inspire you too! If you have a stencil project yould like to share and share alike, please send appropriate photos to melanie@royaldesignstudio.com.