Accent Walls Are So 2011...

I thought since so many communities provide accent walls, why not take it one step further and provide stencils? I have no sense of design, so this may be a horrible example, but I hope you get the idea: I am sure there are plenty of stencil providers out there, but I was curious about general pricing, and the above example is $45 and is reusable. And while I was at it, I went ahead and called them and managed to get a 10% discount for you all! (They have a lot more design options than just this) You can use the following discount code: Brent10 (good until October 8th)

Here is the website: www.cuttingedgestencils.com/

(Please feel free to shop around as there might be providers with better pricing, even with the discount - I have no idea.)

Anyway, what do you think about this idea? If I were a resident, I would love the idea of selecting an accent wall and neat stencil along with it.

Hi Brent, is this a stencil or a rub on transfer?

I'm going to show my design ignorance and say I have no idea what a rub on transfer is. As far as I know, it is a stencil.

It's a stencil. Stenciling was hugely popular in the 90's! I should show you my house! Anyway, I could see offering this service, but I think my Maintenance crew would balk at this additional - they would call it work - but I could see me doing it (the actual work) for Residents, but it can be incredibly time consuming. But I like the thought ... I would probably have to reduce the selection to a couple of patterns only, or offer the use of the stencils so Residents could do this for themselves. Hummm. Ahhhh, creative process is starting to flow. I can feel it.

So basically my grand idea is a throwback from 20 years ago? haha - well, I never claimed to be a design expert.

I didn't mean to burst your bubble I happen to like the look of stencils but I'm a Southerner and I am poor so it is a great substitute for the beautiful flocked wallpaper I can't purchase. I have seen stencils best used in the entry area of apartments. I happen to like using something like this in the interior of a closet, too, just because it is so unexpected. I mean, it's a real POP when someone opens the door of a vacant! (Just thinking, everything comes back around in style at some point. Some designer just coins a more sophisticated sounding name for it is all.)

I could see allowing residents to put products like what can be found at: www.fathead.com/ to accent walls of a kid's room; as long as the resident signs an agreement that they will pay for the cost to remove and repaint the walls when they leave.

I actually have known about stencils for a long time, but I hadn't seen them in apartments and didn't know they were out of style. Or we could just wait ten years and market them as "retro"!

Stencils are back! I purchased several stencils lately after attending a "lady's night" at Home Depot. They provided us with stencils and Martha Stewart's new texture/color paint that comes in a small jar.

We stenciled 3x3 tiles and made coasters. That's when I got the idea of stenciling walls and furniture. Stick on words and letters are going out and stencils are coming back in!! they are so much cheaper and reusable.

Do a search on Pinterest and you'll find a ton of examples. I plan to stencil the backsplash in the kitchen in our model as soon as I decide on a paint color. One of my residents is painting some old furniture for me and we are going to stencil it, too. I have plans for a decorated 2nd bedroom in the model with ideas from Pinterest.

I just redecorated my office with examples from Pinterest. I've been getting a lot of compliments, too. Please check out my board on my property and decorating.

The biggest problem with stencils and stiping walls is that it has to be sanded before repainting. It leaves a thicker edge that shows through the repaint unless it is sanded. This is time-consuming for maintenance.

This year, I have noticed more residents asking to custom paint their apartments in a color they like. I let them if they pay for it and I approve the shade.

I use Sherwin Williams paint and have one of their paint "fans." I show the resident the color we use on the wall (Macadamia) and tell them they cannot choose a paint that goes any further down on the paint strip. They have lots of choices and they get my property discount.

No one has actually repainted, yet.

Actually I do these all the time. I also hang wallpaper. My grandfather apprenticed me as a paper hanger back in the 1960's. As I said I do this for my friends and relatives, and also do accent walls with open framing and posts, which some of you may say is sssoooooo 1980!
(Mindy made copious points with me saying she was southern and poor. Now that is my kinda people!! Maybe she will join me for some beans and cornbread sometime!)

I also, when in a good mood, and like the people, will hang borders or do stencils
for sweet little tenant ladies. Kicker: They pay me in home made cookies.

Talking about being poor..... some people were born with the proverbial silver spoon in their mouth.... mine was PLASTIC...... :laugh: