Weekend Remodel: How to Stencil a Border

By: Jennifer Stimpson, This Old House magazine

Shopping List

Supplies You Will Need

1. Stencil film
Sometimes called template plastic or acetate.

2. Painter's tape
for delicate surfaces.(It won’t remove the wall paint.)

3. Repositionable mounting spray

4. Old newspapers

5. Latex paint
Use a flat or satin finish to achieve a timeworn look.

6. Lint-free cloths
or sturdy paper towels for cleaning stencils and to dab when prepping the stencil brush.

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Tools List
Tools You Will Need
- Measuring tape
- Fine-tip permanent marker
- Straightedge
- Self-healing cutting mat
- X-Acto knife
- Pane of glass and electric stencil-cutting pen for cutting curved lines. Get one at crafts stores or Amazon
- Plastic putty knife
- Paper plate or small bucket or tray for holding the paint.
- Flat-tip stencil brush. Get a size that suits your pattern's scale and shape. We used a No. 8 brush, which has a diameter of ⅝inch.
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Product selections for this project
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set of French doors with a decorative stenciled border

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Photo: Kolin Smith

Introduction
Overview
Steps:
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
- 12
- 13

6 hours
About $60

Difficulty: Easy Making the stencils takes patience and precision, but the painting is a cinch.

Our nation's first settlers brought with them the European tradition of stenciling floral and fruit patterns on walls to mimic the look of pricey wallpapers. Today, stenciling is still a cheap way to add charm to a room. If you've never worked with stencils before, painting a decorative border around a doorway is a project any novice can tackle. Though you can certainly work with precut stencils, you'll get a more customized look if you design your own, as we did here. Follow along as senior technical editor Mark Powers creates the pattern, cuts the stencils, and stipples on just enough paint to let the wall color show through for a look that's both old-world and up-to-date.