Look what came in the Mail!!

We had a wonderful surprise last week when we came home and found this on our doorstep.

That's right! It is the Large Chez Sheik Stencil from Royal Design Studio, and I can't wait to use it. Olivia will be turning FIVE in the beginning of July, and we are planning on having her room completely finished in time for her birthday.

Here's a better view of the pattern.

I am absolutely in love with it, and I'm sure I will end up using it in other spots around the house when we are finished with her room.

Our deadline (Livi's birthday) is quickly approaching, so there was really no better time than now to get started on it. I used the Sherwin Williams Visualizer to see how all of our color choices would look together in her space, and I love it!

Obviously the design below the chair rail is not what the final product will look like, but it gives us a nice idea of how the colors will work together.  

Here's a shot of the paint chips to give you a better idea of the colors, though they still don't look quite like the real thing in front of me, they are definitely closer than the visualizer image.

The colors in order from top to bottom are:

Rosebud (6288)

Ceiling

Intuitive (6017)

Above Chair Rail

Priscilla (6575)

Below Chair Rail (Stencil)

Vivacious Pink (6850)

Below Chair Rail (Base Color)

We are using ProMar® 200 Zero VOC Interior Latex. We got 2 gallons of flat for the ceiling (Rosebud), 2 gallons of low sheen for above the chair rail (Intuitive) and 1 gallon each of low sheen in  Priscilla and Vivacious Pink for the stencil below the chair rail. 

Some of you might think I'm nuts for using anything other than eggshell in a kids room, but this was a very well thought out decision. This paint is made for areas where you don't want the sheen but still need scrubbability. (well isn't that a fun word) The matte finish also helps to hide imperfections in the walls, while a higher gloss paint would reflect the light, making any nicks, dents and pops much more noticeable. We also decided that since it was going to be in our kiddos room, that the Zero VOC was our best bet.

The Zero VOC formula is pretty new at SW, but we tried it before when we painted the door in our entry, and it went on beautifully. Another big factor in our decision was the peace of mind that comes with knowing there won't be any harmful off gassing for the next couple of years. To me that is totally worth a few extra dollars. This paint is as close to perfect as it gets when it comes to a child's room. 

So, I am so excited to get started on this project, and we have a pretty long way to go before it will be finished (probably about two weeks), but I know it's going to look amazing! 

Have any of you stenciled before? Any helpful hints would be appreciated!