I think that it is gorgeous and is in no way reminiscent of sponge painted walls.

Is painting over the purple not an option? If you don't like it, I wouldn't just stencil over it. It still looks purple with the stencil!

How about painting a green-ish color? ...sage or olive...

Love the stencil! Does NOT look amaturish at all. But it IS still purple. If you don't like it, just paint.

It looks very nice, and I think it looks terrific with your home/decor!

Wow -- that is purple, at least on my monitor. I think the effect is kind of old lady-ish, not that there is anything wrong with old ladies since I am on the verge of becoming one.

I love that phone. Does it work?

I think the bigger problem than the Victorian purple is too many accessories---verging on Victorian fussyness. It's visually cluttered, and the stencil just adds to that busyness. If you took out almost everything in the hall, then I think the purple and stencil could actually work just fine.

Two rugs is 1 too many. 3 hooks without a backing plate/plaque to unify them reads too busy. The wreath is too much and needs to go. The stool is too large and needs to go. The stuff on top of the radiator needs to go. The stuff on top of the wood chest needs to be pared down. The light fixture looks odd being off center to the space, and the pendant is too busy. It needs to be a semi flush fixture centered to the door. Too many small pictures. Small walls in a hall are fine without pictures.

Start by taking out everything that you currently have in that space and then add a few things back one by one. Once the visual noise level goes down, your issue with the purple may disappear. The damask tone on tone is a really nice look and having the walls be free of stuff so that you are able to focus on it can be a great look--IF the color works for you.

Excellent suggestions from hollysprings above!

Yes -- start with clearing all of the accessories -- and live with a "naked" (LOL!) hallway for a few days ...

Then you may have a better idea of whether (or not) to re-paint the purple walls ...

I don't think it looks sloppy or amateurish or reminiscent of sponge painting at all!!

No need to be brutal, don't be so hard on yourself! I love the idea, but like you, not the color. You could paint it in a color you like and then stencil it in a different sheen. Then you'd sort of have the best of all worlds, something different and we don't see every day, a textured looking effect and a color you like.

I like purple, but would only paint it in a plumb or eggplant myself. Grey is good too. Add me to those that like the stencil, but not the paint color. If you don't love it, change it.

I love the purple by itself and I love the purple with the sponge painting. Both look great. Whether there are too many accessories is, I think, a matter of preference. I personally don't like alot of accessories in my home but if you do, then keep them.

Looking at the pictures again I actually have a slight preference for the purple walls without the stencil.

You're very talented! Your stenciling looks like expensive wallpaper (it must have taken forever to do).

Thank you for the honesty and thanks for the compliments! The amount I have done so far took about 5 hours with my five year old's "help", with out her assistance it would have taken about 4 hours so not to much time spent yet.
I am torn on the purple. At times I really like it for it plays very well with the other colors I have in the home but it is so much purple for it goes upstairs too. I thought the small pattern was a bit busy but feared the large would be too trendy for my style. I will clear out the things tonight like Holly has suggested and filter thru the clutter and than see if it looks better.
I decided to try this first because I really can not find a new color that works for me either.I thought the silver might mute the color a bit. I have ryegrass in the kitchen, charcaol grey in LR, red in DR and a greyed turquoise in the sunroom and I am not a beige sorta gal. So I am open to color ideas. Olive will not work with my livingroom color scheme but I will look into plum and sage.
I really appreciate all of the feed back.

Clearly not amaturish, but very professional. There are "purple people" and those who do not like purple. I am not really a fan of purple. I could probably live with your color but what I don't like is the shine of the stencil. It is a silver metalic paint, or is it my monitor? I would like a grey with a grey matt finish stencil.

I am really not a fan of stenciling and sponge painting. But I think this looks GREAT! I really like it, and you have done a great job. Gives the texture you are looking for, and a little (but not too much) drama. Your house looks like it has some character, and can handle this. I would NOT be in any hurry to just paint over it. Finish it up, live with it for a while, and if you really can't get past the purple base color, you can always repaint it in the future. You don't spend a lot of time hanging out in the entry/hall anyway, so it's a good spot for a less traditional color.

I would probably get rid of the wreath, and the plant on the radiator. If those hooks and the bench are functional items that are being used, I would keep them without hesitation. I have no problem with two rugs...they are neutral, and with kids treking in and out, I think the functional aspect is more important.

Our house looks to be about the same age as yours with the same floors and woodwork. I painted my bedroom almost the exact colour of your hall when we first moved in. I thought I loved it, but nothing seemed to work in the room. I was going to buy new furniture, drapes, bedding, etc. Then I changed the paint to a grey green instead of the purple. Suddenly everything worked. The grey/green just seemed to tie the floors and accessories together.

Your purple is very cool and the silver stencil work is even more cool while the floors and other wood are warm. I think they might be competing.

Having said that, I love the stencilling I'm just not sure it's the fix you need for the space. I'd love to see the stencilling on the main wall of a bedroom behind a headboard.

You've done a great job, very professional looking. If it's not what you're after, another color to consider for this area would be Restoration Hardware's Silver Sage (if it looks ok with your other colors). I've found it to be a chameleon-ish color that works in lots of situations. It's very pretty with white trim.

I actually like the lavender color and chose almost the exact color for a bathroom in the 70's!

IMO the stenciling seems to be very nicely done and it would be a shame to have to paint over it. If you really dislike the color I wonder if it might be a worthwhile experiment to apply a grey/taupe tinted glaze over all which will change the lavender color altho until you try it one can't know what the result would be! I've played around with paint and had mostly good results.

i think i would prefer the stenciling and the wall color if the stenciling paint was a charcoal, or perhaps a deepish green, etc... not crazy about the metallic silver color- especially in the hallway...would be more appropriate in a bedroom or bathroom or dining room perhaps, imo.
but, i do like the scale of the stencil and the quality of the work done!

I don't think it looks amateurish, either. It looks like wallpaper. Is that what you are going for?

Looks very old-fashioned to me. Not my style, but to each his own.

I love that wall color because it is so unusual. The stenciling looks great...just like wallpaper.

I'd remove the wreath over the hooks and get a nice back for the hooks (I'm assuming you need them there). I love the bench but it's a little too big for that corner. The picture is a little too big for that corner as well. I'd probably take it down and extend the drapes out so that the stack back does not cover the window.

I don't mind the plant on the radiator, but it is too small. I could see a nice tray or flower box with several green plants there.

You light looks appropriate for the house. It appears perfectly located to cast light on the hall and stairway, and it looks centered on the entrance to the next room. I wouldn't touch it!

I've always heard that purples are a depressing color and that people tend to tire of them quickly. You have been unhappy with it since the beginning. Why don't you go look at some damask patterns in wallpaper books? Maybe you will see a color combination you really like and then you can recreate it with paint at home.

I was kind of cringing when you said "amateurish". Goodness, don't ever look at any of my art projects! Looks very well done to me.

Unlike many who posted, I don't care for the pattern (too ornate and formal) but I do like the color (and to me, off white is a daring departure from true white). I recall seeing your hall a long time ago, and liking how the plum went with the woodwork and doors.

To my mind, the avant garde color PLUS pattern is too much. But I am in the minority in that I would chose the color and not the pattern.

HTH

Roar ah - your home looks very similar to a friends are you in NJ? By the way I love the Olof and the beautiful stencil.

I like it a lot. And I don't usually like decorating painting.
It reminds me of this Farrow and Ball wallpaper I've been lusting after.

{{!gwi}}

The colors remind me of the new Farrow and Ball colors "Caluna" (below) and "Brassia".
I love those grayish purples.
Does the hall paint color play well with the other colors in your house?

{{!gwi}}

Love it!

I love the purple. It's unexpected and yet, not crazy. And I love the stencil. I agree with others that the accessories are overloading the foyer a bit. Especially in that corner in front of the stairs, I would get rid of the bench, the wreath, and the picture, and just leave the hooks since they probably serve a purpose. Maybe a new curtain, or no curtain.

Picky, picky... I'd be OK with the key hanging next to the door if it were hung vertically instead.

I think you did a great job with the stenciling.

When it comes time to paint over the stenciling, there may be some additional work of feather-sanding if you can detect an edge to the stencil paint.

I love the colors of both the wall and the stencil but am a little on the fence about the pattern (done very, very well I think). It's a little hard to tell, but it seems to me that the pattern is a tad too small (hence, fussy), given the size of the space. I do agree that there are too many items in the hall. If it were my house, I'd remove the wreath, the key, the things on the radiator, the phone, and the bench under the wreath. I'd also replace the silver hooks with dark bronze-colored or black ones. I'd also replace the rugs with darker purple patterned ones or, possibly, something in a maroon to go with what looks like red brick flooring in your foyer. I find Victorian-style carpet patterns too fussy, but orientals would look interesting I think. Oh, and ditto on the curtains....I'd go with a darker purple or even the same purple as the walls instead of what appears to be a mauve-grey.

JMHO, but I love it! I think it complements your curtains beautifully. It looks like you were possibly creating a mudroom-type area with the hooks, key, bench? It looks like there's a tiny space between your two doors; is it possible to put those items in there for your "mini-mudroom"? And I don't know what rooms it connects to, to determine if it flows well in your home, but what I see is beautiful! And you did a great job!

I'm a huge fan of the stenciling. Looks absolutely fabulous.

Thanks again for the helpful ideas! I have filtered thru the nicknacks and now that the weather is warmer the bench stays in our tiny vestible but it is unheated so not a nice place for children to put on shoes in the winter so it comes inside for those few months. Two rugs are needed at this stage in our family but I have been on the look for different looking rugs just have not seen anything that catches my eye yet. Also, the light is orginal to the house and is going to stay, it is centered to the passage that leads down the hall but not to the door and irl works and looks quite balanced as is.

I still think the small pattern is a bit busy but I will finish off the edges maybe having neater edges might in itself help create a calming effect and live with it a little longer before changing out the color. I have ordered a sample of RH silver sage today tho:). thanks to everyone for your help.

Haven't read any of the replies, short on time. I love what you've done. If it looks as good IRL as it does on my monitor, lovely. I am not a fan of that particular wall color, but your application looks fabulous. JMHO.

I wondered if anyone else has ever found the need to sand walls that have been stenciled or faux finished. Back in the 80's I faux finished two rooms and have wallpapered those rooms ever since because I can't get the walls smooth enough. Because of this experience, I would never do a paint on paint design again.

It is not hard to remove properly applied wallpaper. Thus, if one can afford to use paper instead of paint on paint, I would recommend that option.

Roarah - a friend recently sold their home similar to yours just wondering if this is the place in NJ. Though I'm sure most Victorian homes are similar this one looks just like it. You have done a beautiful job in the foyer .

Rufinorox, I am sorry I meant to answer your query in my last post...no I am in CT but many homes built in the 20s have similar woodwork and details. Kinda like the precursor to the 60s and 70 burb track homes I guess. Thanks for the compliment too.

Cindyloo I had not thought about that but it is quite smooth. I applied it with a roller so it is not as bumpy as when I have stenciled with a brush technique.

To be brutally honest, I think you did a great job and I love it! Purple walls might be considered a bit eccentric, but there's nothing wrong with that, as long as the color goes with the flow in adjoining rooms. I like the silver stenciling. This is a hallway, it's a transitional area where you can get away with some experimentation. I've done stenciling myself, and can imagine all the hours you put in. Pat yourself on the back!

To me, picture 1 looks purple (too purple for me) but pictures 2 and 3 are transformed into more of a silvery, gray, blue. Like very much and would like to inquire into the availability of your stenciling team... :)

Considering how long it takes to a) paint and b) stencil, suggest that if you still have doubts, repaint first with a base coat you like, then stencil again.

I like the wall treatment...but patterned walls really require a person to declutter everything else to avoid the room feeling too "busy."

I would get rid of the wreath, the low hook, the painting smushed between the window and the wall, the giant key, the thing (planter?) on the radiator, etc. etc.

Do you feel your entry reflects you and your home? Brutal honesty! I love it and you did a wonderful job stenciling. The stenciled walls add texture and beauty to your entry.

I like it stenciled, it has a fresh, soothing effect to me. Outstanding job on the stenciling, too!

Love it! Suits your home as well!

I think that you did a marvelous job!!!!!! It looks like high end wallpaper. Close up it looks amazing! Far away it looks a little busy because of the smaller scale. A larger scaled print would make it more modern but w/ the wonderful suggestions given by so many, including HollySprings, I think that it will be even more beautiful.