Photos by Paisley & Sparrow
Minneapolis lifestyle blogger Jen Biswas is just as lively and creative as she appears in her Paisley & Sparrow blogs. Her “biggest joy is helping others find joy in their life, style, and home through tips, tutorials, and encouragement,” she writes, which is what her brand is all about. So, we asked her about one of her recent projects: stenciling a powder bath to add punch and pow to a small space.
Rishi Biswas, Jen’s husband, says it all started with they “fell in love” with a wallpaper. It was too expensive to purchase. Plus, Rishi says, “A small room with a sink, toilet? I’ve done it. Powder rooms are really hard to wallpaper.” The pair decided to delve into different DIY approach.
“We thought, ‘Stenciling can’t be much more difficult than wallpapering’,” Rishi adds. They found a stencil online that was close to what they had loved on the wall covering. First, they painted the walls Benjamin Moore White Dove using a satin-finish enamel. They used a black paint for the stencil along with a stencil adhesive spray.
Rishi had almost finished the room when Jen decided to help out. “I picked it up one night and ruined one wall,” she says, laughing. “The paint had dried on the stencil, and it didn’t seal, so the images were blotchy and terrible.” The beauty of stencil, though, she adds? “You can paint over what you messed up and try again.”
If you want to also take a stab at stenciling, the couple suggests scraping and cleaning the stencil if you’re doing the project over a period of days. Spray the backside of the stencil, then roll the paint. Rishi also recommends using a 4-inch mini-roller after dipping and blotching the paint into the stencil with a brush.
Another reason to stencil in a powder bath? “It makes sense with young kids,” Rishi says. Wall coverings fade from splashing water and show wear and tear. “Also, a powder bath is an easy place to insert some character by doing something fun and lively.”
“I love the bathroom and how it turned out,” Rishi says, as Jen adds: “I love what we did.”