Adding pattern to the dining room...

You know that quote about the best laid plans? Well, my original plan for redoing the dining room called for wallpapering the room. The room is large and centrally located and visible from a number of rooms, so I thought it the ideal space for some pattern on the walls. Alas, after looking for quite a while, I couldn't find exactly what I wanted ~ a larger pattern, elegant, with birds. I found a lot of wallpapers that met the criteria, but none were exactly right. So, with time ticking away, a friend suggested I look for a wall stencil and perhaps go that route in the meantime ~ at least that way the room could progress and start to come together while I continued to look. After all, painting or wallpapering over paint is much easier than stripping wallpaper you've decided isn't right.
Normally I would have dismissed the stenciling idea out of hand because I associate stencils with a more country look, but the friend who suggested it had stenciled her entryway with a lovely, sophisticated wall stencil a few months before and it looked incredible. So, willing to entertain the idea, I searched and found this lovely pattern ~ birds included ~ and decided to go ahead.
I've never done stenciling before and I wasn't exactly sure how difficult it would be. It turned out to be fairly simple, just time consuming. First I painted the walls a grayish-blue with a slight green undertone ~ the color was Barely Jade ~ and then I did the stencil in an off-white with the palest tint of greenish blue. The stencil was easy to align and with a level attached, getting it straight wasn't too hard. I decided to just stencil the main wall in the room and I'm quite pleased with it. The pattern on the wall from floor to ceiling really sets off the room ~ a couple people, in fact, have initially mistaken the wall stencil for wallpaper. I've decided I like it so much, I've abandoned my wallpaper search for now.
Be sure to come back Friday to see the rest of the dining room ~ it's quite a transformation. Until then, wishing all of you a lovely week...

I am linking to:

Home and Garden Thursday at A Delightsome Life
Thursday Favorite Things at Katherines Corner

Home Sweet Home at The Charm of Home
Inspiration Friday at At the Picket Fence

Photos by The Art of Living Beautifully