Patio Transformation Part 2

 

The next piece of the patio changes consisted of making a stencil for the old, wrinkled, wooden flooring. 

Although we have plans to replace the flooring at some point, we decided not to do it yet, but instead to make do with what is there.  Besides I was really wanting to do a floor stencil after seeing one I liked on Pinterest!

Glenn noticed that the design I pinned was scaled in a 1/8th repeat.  So after we discussed how big to make the entire stencil,  deciding on 36 inches square, he marked the center and edges on the huge piece of cardboard that the nice people at Menards let me have.

Here he is marking it out, with Alix’s help, and my iPad with the picture of the Pinterest stencil nearby, while I helpfully take pictures.

 

 

The lady on Pinterest whose design I liked, had taped off her stencil with clear tape to provide a laminate for the cardboard.  This helped keep the edges from curling and messing up the design as it absorbed the paint.  Although I didn’t have clear tape, I had this pretty red tape.

I have stenciled before, but never taped around it like this and it made a huge difference.  It was a little time consuming to tear off pieces of tape small enough to bend around my stencil’s curves, but when it came to actually painting the stencil onto the patio, I was really glad I had. The laminated cardboard worked like a dream!

 

 

Before applying the stencil, I prepared the wood by using a sharp, flat blade to remove the loose paint. (I think my blade was actually a drywall knife! Shhh!  Don’t tell Glenn!)  Then I sanded lightly with a hand sander, before using a broom to sweep the floor.  I swept it 4 times, alternating the direction I was going to try to remove as much dirt as possible.  But since I was going for a rustic look, I didn’t wash the wood, or try to get every smudge or drop of paint off of it that didn’t come off with the blade.

Then, using a midget sponge roller and oil-based Zinsser primer, I painted the stencil!

Although it dried within a few hours, I wanted to let it cure for a couple of days.  So even though we put the furniture back on the patio, we were careful to place the chairs and picnic table around the stencil for now.  We’ve all tip-toed around them to let them dry thoroughly.

 

 

So the patio transformation is almost complete! 

The only piece left is to hang some curtains in the corners.  As soon as I do, I’ll show you what they look like.

 

Here are a couple of before (as in, last Spring!) and after shots of the patio to date.  Enjoy!

 

      

          

 

        

          

 

And here’s a fun comparison of the back of the house:  the day we took ownership on March 12, 2012, and yesterday!

 

 

We feel so very blessed to be here.

Every day, I look out a window and thank God for His kindness to us.