No, not the lovely hotel that Rachel wrote about in our previous post. If you have seen the 'Visit Our Stencilled Home' posts you will know I like colour, 
so it is with excitement that I visit a VERY colourful hotel in London this weekend. This is one of their many themed rooms. I will share my pictures and their web site with you upon my return.
Last night Helen and I went to see the film Ocean's Thirteen. There are obvious reasons for us girls seeing it, but we had a particular interest in going. Last year, we were contacted by Warner Brothers who wanted to purchase the rights to use some of our designs for set decoration. They were not to be used as stencils, but to create pattern on other surfaces such as carpets. We were ridiculously excited that George Clooney and Brad Pitt might be walking across one of our designs. I insisted that as part of the deal, lunch with the boys would be insisted upon, but Helen decided we needed to be a tad more professional, so no lunch. The film takes place in a purpose built casino. The look could be classed as Modern Oriental - bright, slick, glittery, a bit disco and a bit boudoir. Bright red and gold are the predominant colours. Pattern reigns on every surface (good for them!). As with many films today, tricky camera work was involved which meant a lot of whizzing around and split screens so it was hard to take in all the visual delights. But we did manage to see the influence of our Japan stencils on many surfaces including the carpets, walls, and panelling. I think it will have to be viewed again. Stencil patterns aside, it is a thoroughly enjoyable film. We highly recommend you go and see it on the big screen to get the most of the wonderful interiors, fabulous pattern and of course, gorgeous men. See if you can spot our stencil designs. R.
Designs and pattern are usually defined by historical era. We quite often refer to a particular design as "victorian" or "gothic" or "art deco" to name a few. Even using such a vague, open term such as "modern" defines a pattern to an era, albeit a contemporary one. In the 21st century, as far as pattern is concerned, it is safe to say that pretty much everything has been done. What we see in design now is usually a twist on something from the past that gives it an updated feel. I believe we should not label a design by its historical classification - quite often, the lines between each era are blurred anyway. When choosing pattern for our interiors, we should choose first and foremost what we like visually and ignore the era it comes from. The only time we need to pay particular attention to a design's origin is when we are working on a restoration project that needs historical authenticity. With that in mind, I thought I would show you a couple of photographs of stencils from a particular era used out of context to demonstrate how flexible pattern can actually be simply by choice of colours and accessories.
The first photo shows our TR19 Medieval stencil. It includes the typical fleur de lys design as its main motif which is iconic of medieval design. For an authentic medieval look, designs like this would have been painted in rich colours such as burgundy, deep green, dark blue with lots of gold. For this room, I chose to take this medieval design and do it in pale colours to show it in a different light. The choice of colour was very much influenced by Wedgewood pottery with pale blue walls and white pattern.
This second photo, courtesy of The Paint Quality Institute, shows our GMT61-L Tile stencil from our Gothic, Medieval and Tudor range stencilled as a panel on a wall. This typically gothic pattern has become quite Morroccan in feel because of the colours and accessories used.
I shall be starting a new series of posts shortly giving a potted history of the decorative arts, but I still feel that designs should be chosen for their artistic merit in our interiors rather than what era they come from. R.
What is it about the humble polka dot that makes it such a design classic? 
(Photo showing our stencil MD33-L stencil courtesy of Paint Quality Institute). You can go back through time and be guaranteed that the polka dot turns up as a significant pattern in just about any era. It is classic and fun, yet simple. I was recently reminded of this when looking through the current issue of World of Interiors magazine. They have devoted an entire feature to the dot
. When I looked through my wardrobe, I realised I have no fewer than 5 items of clothing with the polka dot on them (as well as assorted scarves) and they never go out of style.
Maybe Minnie Mouse is not such an icon because she is Mickey's other half, but rather because she remains stylish, whatever the era, in her polka dot dress.
As a design, the beauty of the polka dot is that it goes with everything, yet is a step up from a plain surface. It can be a dash of contemporary amongst the traditional. It can be subtle or it can be bold. It can appear in a single colour or combination of colours - this is stencil CO17 Polka Dots:
It can be used on its own or in conjunction with another pattern - this is stencil MD33-L Circles No. 2 used with DM25-L Jigsaw:
It can stand alone as art - this is stencil MD33-L Circles No. 2 on a plain canvas:
It can be used at a uniform size or in a combination of sizes. This is stencil DE282 Border from our Art Deco range, repeated in bands down a wall:
I struggle to think of a pattern so universal or popular. R.
Over recent years, the border has become less favoured in decorating. I believe that the border very much still has a place in interiors of the 21st century....it is just a case of how you use it. Here is a photo courtesy of the Paint Quality Institute using our OTT20 Border No. 19 stencil:
I love what they have done with it. First of all, a border does not have to go around the top of the room as per tradition. It can look equally effective lower down as shown here just above the skirting board. This particular stencil has been used upside down as it works equally well either way up. For a clean, crisp, contemporary look, it has been stencilled in white on a dove gray wall. The advantage of a border is that it can add an element of pattern to a room without covering the entire wall with design. So, rethink the poor border. It is still a useful part of decorating. R.
I have just ordered a copy of the book "Florence Broadhurst: Her Secret and Extraordinary Lives" by Helen O'Neill from www.amazon.com and can't wait to recieve it.
If you are interested in design and pattern then I can recommend that you purchase a copy. I have long been a fan of Florence Broadhurst and she sounds like a fascinating person. She had many careers before returning to Australia and setting up a wallpaper company. Her wonderful and fun designs were way ahead of their time.
They have recently been reissued both as wallpapers and fabrics by Signature Prints in Australia and can also be purchased from Walnut Wallpaper in the US and Borderline Fabrics in the UK. When I recently redecorated my bedroom (more on that in a future post), I stencilled one wall in an homage to Florence Broadhurst. She was a fan of oriental style, having travelled there extensively, and it is evident in her designs. I chose JA51 Bamboo from our Japan range.
First, I painted the wall with metallic gold paint. The main colours in the room are navy blue and salmon pink so I stencilled the bamboo in navy with highlights of pink. Ms Broadhurst's biography is a wonderful read if you are interested in pattern, design and the creative process. So, think like Florence, combine stencils from the Japan range with imaginative colour for a really striking look. R.
This past weekend was the first anniversary of my wedding to stencil designer and business partner Michael Chippendale. It was a long engagement of 26 years, but when we decided to do it we set a date just two weeks later. July is our busiest month of the year so there was no time to diet, shop for a frock or create a lavish celebration. The ceremony took place in the early morning because my family are also my colleagues and there was no time to close the business. 
I picked the flowers for my bouquet at dawn and wired them into a posy. Our confetti was peony petals. The reception was two days later and it turned out to be one of the lovliest wedding receptions I have been to.
Friends baked cakes and scones we ended up with three wedding cakes...how fab is that? My family made sandwiches and twenty five of us assembled in the garden for a good old fashioned tea party. It helped that England had just lost their place in the World Cup football tournament so I picked up football flags and canopies very cheaply and Rachel stencilled over the flag of St George (being the national flag of England) with cherry blossom and hearts. Pink chandeliers hung from the cross bars.
A chocolate fountain was set up in the Ottoman style stenciled tent. Here is a photo before the entire thing got trashed by wind-blown melted chocolate! 
I visited the local charity shops and bought old, mismatched fine china crockery. The crappy tables from our stencil workshop were tranformed with swathes of inexpensive fabric from the Factory Fabric Centre nearby. Flowers from the garden were supplemented by more exotic offerings from the local florist. I was working away from home until days before the wedding so my husband had to tackle the garden alone. 
It looked lovely in spite of the overcast weather (and tiddly guests!). The other three members of the band that I sing with entertained us with songs from Gilbert & Sullivan and Leadbelly, a curious mixture I know but they did it beautifully. I wore huge silk skirt with train and petticoats that I bought from a Ralph Lauren outlet years ago with the intention of stenciling it.
The glamour ended there because I teamed it with a joke tee-shirt customised for the occasion with stenciled lettering. The same design had been worn by my colleages on the day of the ceremony and involve a word play on Chips, my husband's name. The last line reads "Helen + Chips". I just wanted to show you what you can do in a few days with the help of stencils and friends... oh, and semi decent weather.H
One of our most popular stencil ranges is Chinoiserie. The range is based on Chinese handpainted wallpapers from the 18th century which can still be purchased today if you have a massive budget. The focus of our Chinoiserie range of stencils is the large bird and blossom panels that come in sizes up to 8 feet tall. With them, you can create the look of the handpainted wallpapers at a fraction of the cost. We will certainly have more to show you from this range in future posts, but as a taster, here is a photo of two of the panels to whet your appetite.
We used CH10 Bluebird Panel and CH11 Peacock Panel, both in the largest size, in this room. The wall is a pale blue and the stencilling has been done in bright jewel tones to match the distressed jade dresser. People think that these large panels are technically difficult to do, but in fact, they are quite easy to use. The technique for stencilling them is the same as any other stencil, there just might be more of it because of their size. We split them into top and bottom halves so you do not have to wrestle with huge sheets of stencil. Have a look at the full range on our site: http://www.stencil-library.com/docs/cat292.htm. Wherever you see a camera icon, there is a photo showing that design. If you want some monumental and truly beautiful pattern on your walls, then look no further than the Chinoiserie range. R.
Helen wrote a post on stencilling shoes recently, but how about a stencil of shoes? As both Helen & I have, like most women, a love of shoes, it would follow that we would have to have a shoes stencil in our range. Here are two photos to inspire, both using the same stencil CO18 Shoes and both achieved using a single colour.
This photo shows the stencilling in a dressing room:
And this one features the stencil in a Ladies' Powder Room done by Carolyn Blahosky at Stencilwerks:
If you decide to stencil one of your rooms with our shoes stencils, don't let anyone tell you that you then don't need to buy anymore actual shoes! R.
More and more, people are putting bold patterns on their floors and we applaud them. 
We have always painted and stencilled our floors wherever possible, but it is becoming a more popular concept. It is also evident in carpet and rug design. Looking at interiors magazines, we are seeing lots of photos of interiors with laid back walls and bold, graphic pattern on the floors. I was given a wonderful book called "In the Pink: Dorothy Draper, America's Most Fabulous Decorator" by Carleton Varney for Christmas. I recommend you order a copy as it is a feast of wonderful interior design. I love her style! Over the past couple of years, we had been working on our Big & Bold range of stencils and patterns, which includes a selection of graphic patterns such as stripes, chevrons, waves, and other geometric shapes. Big & Bold are quite a different concept in decoration and are perfect for floors as well as walls. I was flicking through my Dorothy Draper book last week when I was struck and impressed by her use of pattern on floors. She was advocating effects that can now be easily recreated using one of our Big & Bold stencils. Just goes to show that great minds think alike!
Here is an example of a room she did (on the left) and how a similar effect can be created using our DM6 Squares stencil (on the right) which comes with optional circular shapes:
I love the effect shown below on the left. Dorothy Draper has created wide horizontal stripes down a hall which really lengthen the area. On the right, we have used our DM1 Stripes stencil horizontally for a slightly different look. DM1 Stripes is available in 3 sizes, the largest being 15" wide.
As a final example, these photos show more square patterns for your floor. The pattern on the left can easily be recreated by using the large DM6 Squares stencil in the extra large size. It is an exaggerated version of the classical black and white square floor pattern. On the right, I am showing you a variation using our DM24 Cubes design.
Virtually any floor surface (for example, wood or concrete) can be painted. And if you fancy adding pattern to a surface other than your walls in your interior, consider your floor. Big, graphic pattern will really make a statement in your room. R.
We are Helen, Chips and Rachel, partners in The Stencil Library. We design, make and sell stencils. We also teach, decorate with, eat, breathe and live with stencils. Inspiration comes from many places for us. We would like to share our inspiration and projects with you. All our stencils are designed and made in Northumberland, England. They are sent to customers worldwide.
