My small stenciling project above the chair rail in the office is finally finished. It took three sessions of about 4.5 hours each spread over four days so my hand could recover between sessions, but it was absolutely worth it. The tone-on-tone effect is subtle up close and reads like a soft texture from the doorway, though photos don’t always capture the depth and feathered detail as well as seeing it in person.
Here’s a daytime shot from the doorway. Ignore the temporary chairs, lamps, leaning frames, the too-short rug and placeholder ottoman — the stencil’s subtle texture blends beautifully with the rest of the room in person.
And here’s the same view at night. The stencil reads even more softly in ambient light; photos still don’t do it full justice, but it’s one of our favorite updates so far.
From the dining room you can see a gentle tone-on-tone pattern that almost looks like wallpaper from a distance. It adds just the right amount of subtle interest next to the bold teal built-ins and colorful textiles in that space. Once we hang art and add window treatments in the office, the two rooms should balance nicely.
Closer shots show the feathered texture in more detail.
The writing on the mirrors is our quirky running to-do list — ignore that for now. And meet Burger, our sweet-faced chihuahua who just turned five. He’s my favorite accessory (tied with our other pet, of course).
There are still a lot of temporary pieces in the room: a placeholder chair and too-large ottoman borrowed from the living room, and a rug that’s too small. I wanted to show a few different angles so you can see how the stencil reads with the existing elements. The only finished items here are the light fixture, the desk, and the stencil work itself.
Wall color below the chair rail is Moonshine by Benjamin Moore, color-matched to Olympic no-VOC paint in a satin finish. We’re considering darkening that lower portion slightly to add a touch more grounding and subtle dimension so the stenciled upper wall reads a little more distinctly from the dining room, but we don’t want too much contrast. If we change it, I’ll share updates — stenciling made the rest of the painting feel easy in comparison.
Here are the paint and stencil details used:
- Gray stencil paint: half tint of Moonshine by Benjamin Moore, color-matched to Olympic no-VOC paint in a satin finish
- Grellow stencil paint: Sesame by Benjamin Moore, color-matched to Olympic no-VOC paint in a semi-gloss finish
The project took about 13.5 hours over three evening sessions. It’s not a fast project, but the result is rewarding. Below is the budget breakdown:
- Stencil: $54
- Martha Stewart stencil adhesive (from craft store): $2.99 (with coupon)
- Foam brushes: $2.50 (with coupon)
- Quart of gray paint*: $11
- Grellow paint*: leftover from another project (would be about $3 for a test pot)
- Total: $70.49
It’s not the cheapest update compared with simple paint jobs, but it’s far more affordable than wallpapering the whole upper wall and delivers a unique, high-impact result. I’d happily have paid more for the finished effect, but this felt like the right balance.
We still have a list of future changes for the office, tackled one project at a time to stay sane. Planned updates include:
- adding window treatments
- painting and reupholstering the desk chairs
- hanging properly sized art (the small leaning frames are temporary)
- finding a permanent armchair, ottoman and rug to replace placeholders
- replacing or re-covering the lampshades
Anyone else working on a stencil project or updating a home office? I’d love to hear about your process and favorite finishing touches. If you want to see more about the stencil application and detailed steps, I’ve documented the full process and paint choices elsewhere.
