Stenciled Desk

Although stenciling has been around for years it seems that in the last few it has become very hot because of the choice of beautiful stencils now available.  So, I've been anxious to try a stenciling project and when a drop-leaf desk came up on Craig's List for forty dollars I knew it was the perfect opportunity.

Here's what the desk looked like before.  It's hard to believe it's the same piece of furniture!

After a light sanding, I taped the areas I did not want painted and sprayed the inside with blue spray paint. This was much faster than using a brush or roller and the spray paint provided a nice hard finish which will wear well.

The rest of the desk was primed with a white primer, followed by Benjamin Moore's Barren Plain, which is a soft grey.

The two holes from the old hardware pulls were spackled since I was using single knobs instead of pulls. Then a foam roller was used to paint the primer and top coat for a smooth finish.

Now for the fun part--stenciling! I ordered mine from Cutting Edge Stencils.

I used Martha Stewart's craft paint in a satin finish for the stencil color. The color is called Wet Cement and it looks just like wet cement!

Before stenciling, the back of the stencil was lightly sprayed with a spray mount (glue) so that the stencil would lay flat and stick to the surface. The key to stenciling is not to overload your roller or brush. It should have just a little bit of paint or it will seep out and get underneath the stencil.

I love how the inside of the desk is a little surprise when it's opened and the blue color appears.

A small brush is used to touch up any mistakes...

Once the desk was painted the entire stenciling was done in a few hours. It looks like it takes longer but it goes pretty quickly.

Cutting Edge Stencils has so many beautiful patterns to choose from. They can be used for furniture, walls and even fabric. An easy way to make something plain looks extraordinary!

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