Maryam Montague, author of "Marrakesh By Design," shares her tips for this great DIY project.
Add some color and pattern to a wood or concrete floor this summer by purchasing a couple cans of paint and a stencil pattern… like the one shown here from Maryam Montague’s new book, Marrakesh Design: Decorating with All the Colors, Patterns and Magic of Morocco (Artisan; 2012).
The room is just one of the many paint- and stain-decorated motifs featured in Peacock Pavillions: a boutique hotel in Marrakesh that she and her husband built, designed, and decorated.
1. Clean the floor you’ll be stenciling, and let it dry thoroughly.
2. Measure the floor to locate its center, mark it with a pencil.
3. Using masking tape or spray adhesive to position the stencil at the marked center so that it does not move while you are painting.
4. Dip a clean, dry, stencil brush into the paint, and remove as much excess paint as possible from the brush by tamping it down on a stack of several paper towels.
5. Stipple (lightly tap) the stencil brush on the surface in the negative space of the stencil, working on small sections at a time. To avoid bleeding, make sure that there is only a small amount of paint on the brush at all times.
6. Use the same technique over the surface of the entire stencil.
7. Remove the stencil and reposition it. Make registration marks to line up the overall pattern adjacent to the previously stenciled area. Repeat.
8. Let the paint dry for five days, then apply a protective finish, if desired.