Funky Wheel Stenciled Wall {The Start of a New Room}

I've pretty much hit a decorating plateau in my little guys bath as I am waiting on some supplies to arrive before I can finish. I thought it would be a perfect time to get a jump start on the next room on my list; another playroom for my little guy. Unlike the playroom I recently finished in March, this room will be more of an indoor sensory playground. I am so excited to start on this project and can hardly wait to see everything come together! Plus I get to share all the details each step of the way this time around!

So I bring you phase one of the Sensory Playroom; Painting


I can not tell you how long I pondered what color to put on the walls, only to finally decide on plain white. After picking out the equipment and furniture, I had pretty much covered every single bright color in the rainbow. {I'm not kidding} I did not want anything that would compete with the furnishings, but rather let them take the spotlight. I finally decided on pure bright white, though I thought it still needed just a little something {nothing major} to keep from feeling so stark. It all came together while browsing the Cutting Edge Stencils website. {A new DIY Club sponsor}


I found a modern geometrical stencil called Funky Wheel and thought it would add a bit of fun to the plain walls. Since I still did not want to add any color {I promise, you will see in the furnishings} I thought it would be neat to use a few different shades of white for the stencils; nothing that pops off the wall, but rather creates a subtle design around the room.


The reusable stencil is made from a clear durable plastic material; sturdy but also flexible making it very easy to work with. {plus super easy to clean as well}

I had just repainted the room in Pure Bright White Satin finish paint so I had a clean blank slate to start with. I wanted a random pattern around the entire room so I didn't really have a planned layout; it just came together as I went along. I began in one corner of the room by taping the stencil on the wall with few pieces of low tack blue painters tape.


Since I used Satin finish latex paint as a base, I was a little skeptical at using another latex finish on top, fearing it would not adhere to the slick surface. I decided to try some acrylics, in which I could adjust and create the exact colors that I wanted. I used a combination of Americana Slate Grey and White Wash Acrylics by DecoArt.


Using mostly white for the base, I added a few drops of the grey and mixed well.


Using a rounded edge Dense Foam Roller, I rolled it into the paint, blotted on a paper towel, and gently rolled it over the stencil. That is all there is to it - super easy!


I immediately removed the stencil, slowly, to reveal this beauty; how cool!


I repeated the first color around the entire room in a random pattern. The stencil is very flexible which makes it incredibly easy to stencil in corners, around corners, and against any molding.


Once the first color was completely dry, I made a second batch of acrylic paint, this time adding a few extra drops of the Slate Grey.


I overlapped the slightly darker color over a few of the original white wheels and then went back and randomly filled in any open spaces around the room.


I just love the subtle effect of the paint colors and fun design of the stencil.


Perfect for a playful modern room.


I really like how the light bounces off the acrylics too! The designs are ever changing through out the day depending upon how much light is shining in. Just the right effect the plain white walls needed to come alive.


Just what I had envisioned for this room! {love}
Stay tuned for Phase Two: floors - how fun!
Happy Friday Everyone! Enjoy!

Please note that it was very hard to capture the beauty of this stencil through these photographs using the monotone color palette that I wanted in the room. I encourage you to check out Cutting Edge Stencils {here} for additional examples.