Year of Change Challenge March {Otomi Stencil}

For details on a Year of Change head here! 

But for a quick recap, I'm joining Suburban Bitches, Life on Virginia Street and Rosa Beltran Design in a Year of Change! Each month we will have a one element challenge. We will show how changing one element in a room can completely transform or inspire your space!
This month's project was sponsored by Cutting Edge Stencils. 

I am so excited to share with you how I used Cutting Edge's Otomi Stencil in my Laundry Room!

So, as so many of you regular readers know, we've moved A TON for my husband's career. I always try to keep this in mind when approaching a project. Whether you're a renter or thinking of re-sale in the future, stencils are a fabulous way to incorporate color, pattern and personality into your space. Less difficult to do-away with than wallpaper (if you must) and less intimidating to tackle as a DIY, stenciling is limitless.

I was excited to use the Otomi Stencil because for years I have absolutely loved the Otomi Pattern. 

I typically gravitate to geometrics and solids, so using this pattern on a large scale was sort of a hurdle for me. But I was going for it! Pretty much because this pattern is so happy and let's just say my laundry room could use an infusion of anything happy...it was seriously so dreary, disorganized, and a very un-utilitarian Utility Room. When we moved into the house several months ago, it became a sort of catch-all room. I always put off organizing it and finding space for all of the cleaning supplies, clutter, etc. 

So, having my Otomi Stencil as inspiration, I set out to accomplish 3 things in my tiny laundry room:

1. Make it brighter, and more functional

2. Use a shot of bold color, but keep in mind re-sale 

3. Frugality. Accomplish this entire make over with the stencil + $20 + things I already had that I could re-furbish to work in this space

Ready to see?

Here is the before. Yup, I'm a real person. With real kids(4). And a real dog. And a really small, junk in the trunk laundry room.

Total craziness describes the before of this room. 

I was ready for a BIG CHANGE.

When I thought of the Otomi, I knew I wanted to have a bold color and fell hard for "Envy" from Sherwin Williams. I first thought that I'd paint the beadboard this green color, along with the stencil, but alas, there was a voice shouting "RE-SALE" in my head. 

So, I knew it would be the perfect combination to bring a little bit of depth to the space...by using "Urbane Bronze" by Sherwin Williams. I've had a client use this color before and have seen amazing results with painting woodwork this dark, warm charcoal color. {Have you seen Life on Virginia Street's Office Makeover with "Urbane Bronze"?}

So I went for it!

Originally, the beadboard was painted a very pale, baby blue. It showed everything. Every scuff, knick, smudge. Did I mention I have 4 kids and a dog? This was going to go dark.

I was a little nervous at first but knew that this would be practical as well as add balance to the space. 

It needed 3 coats, but I was able to accomplish this plus paint a faux window casing with a small sample size (29.5 fl ounce) from Sherwin Williams. 

I then set out to prep for my stencil projects.

I took a scrap piece of ply- wood, added two screws and painted it "SnowBound", the same white that I later used throughout the rest of the project. 

Next, it was time to paint out the rest of the room with "SnowBound".

It was a HUGE change to brighten up the space. I also taped off and added that faux window casing with "Urbane Bronze". I didn't want to block out any of the limited natural light coming in from the window, so instead of adding a window treatment, I left the sort of crummy/basic blinds in place and added the painted window casing to see if it enlarged that wall. I think it did. I will probably follow up with building in a real wood window casing.

Next up was a stenciled floor mat. I used a $5.99 painter's canvas from Home Depot. Cutting it in half length wise gave me the perfect runner for the space. I then used my hot glue gun to run a bead of glue down the edge to for a seam. {Pardon the UGGS, it was snowing}.

And then, I began painting AGAIN. I taped off a border and then I used a roller to paint the white background and sort of Gesso or prime the canvas. 

I loved the sort of free-form shapes of the stencil, reinforcing the handmade/handcrafted feel that is indicative of Otomi. So for my striped border, I sort of just went for it and didn't measure or worry about anything lining up. As if I was an artisan or something ;)

Once complete and dry, I took the tape off and then added 3 coats of MODGE PODGE to seal the runner. This will give me a good, sturdy mat that is waterproof and that I can wipe down. 

So now that you've seen the projects, see how it inspired the rest of the room!

 A HUGE and GRATEFUL 'thank you" to Cutting Edge Stencils for providing the stencil and a handy stencil kit. They're helpful tips sheet that arrived with my order, plus the online videos on stenciling techniques really had me feeling like I could handle another stenciling project in the near future. What I learned from this experience is that you shouldn't rush a stenciling project! Take your time. You have to wait for things to dry and it will most likely take a bit longer than you anticipate due to that drying time.

You also may be wondering where all the stuff went. I relocated all of the paper goods that were lurking behind the shelving curtain, moved all of the cleaning products to the baskets and small cabinet that is to the left of the doorway, put mops/brooms/etc. hanging on hooks in the garage. This was such a small space that it is so much more functional now as a laundry room to just keep things off of the floor space. 

What do you think? 

XXXOOO,