Headboard Stencil

I had the pleasure of creating this headboard for a new client recently. What I loved about doing this particular project was the fact that it really brought me back to my roots, the traditional way stenciling was done when I began in this field of the decorative arts, 16 years ago. Back then, our stencils were all multi-overlays, producing a trompe l’oeil look. Today, the trend is to mostly use single overlay stencils, producing a more contemporary look. I’m a fan of both. I do love the bold, over-scaled designs that have been adapted from some of the classically traditional patterns and I also love the geometrical shapes that we use to adorn accent walls and furnishings. I love that our industry continues to evolve, adapt and compete with all the home fashion trends.

Headboards can be done in a wide variety of ways, as illustrated in this "headboard series" featured on the StencilSearch blog. This project was calling for a very traditional wrought iron headboard, so I turned to Designer Stencils, a company, who I did not even know was still in business (forgive me)! So many of these wonderful companies did go out of business a while ago, when only "faux" was the trend. The good news is that this headboard stencil is available in a variety of sizes from twin to king! Since this bed is actually two twins pushed together, it was a bit larger than the king size stencil offered, so it was suggested that I buy the twin sized stencil and repeat it twice. So that is just what I did!

Here is the "before" shot.

…and here is the "after"! Normally, when the bed is made, there will be three pillows running across the top, filling in the gap you are now seeing.

Now to back up a bit… here is the stenciling in progess. It is only a 2 overlay design, so does work up quite quickly!

Up close, you can see I added a drop shadow and highlights to give it a three dimensional look.

More details.

Thank you Designer Stencils for still keeping such stencils active in your catalog of stencils! For those of you in the business, I don’t have to tell you how much fun it is to revisit this type of stenciling from time to time! 🙂