Wall Painting Techniques: Try These Great Faux Effects
No matter what look you desire for your home, faux painting can help you achieve it. From luxury marbling to a sunny Mediterranean look, paint can realize the illusion. Faux painting specializes in color and texture effects that can transform a dull wall and reinvent a room. A range of techniques are used but the basic principle is the use of a thin paint layer, known as a glaze. Multiple layers of almost transparent coats of glaze are used to create a variety of striking and stylish effects.
Color Washing: Used to create a textured wall finish, color washing can be soft and moody or bold and bright, depending on the color combinations chosen and the way it is applied. Typically, a rag or sponge is used to apply colors more or less randomly using a wiping motion.
Basic color washing involves applying a layer of glaze onto a different colored base. Usually the painter works from lighter to darker colors. Light colors create a dreamy atmosphere. With earthy colors the technique can create a cozy, distressed effect. More, or brighter, colors can result in a more dramatic look.
Textured Effects: A lot of faux painting depends on adding texture in one way or another. If you want to distract attention from uneven surfaces but want a more or less monochrome color scheme, there are various ways of creating textured effects and introducing visual interest.
Dragging a comb through freshly applied glaze is one way of creating this effect. You can make it as bold or as subtle as you like, depending on the space and the style you want to achieve. A woven effect can be created with a comb or, as in the French strie technique, by using a fine brush. Dragging and rolling are other techniques for creating textured finishes.
Trompe loeil painting seduces the eye into perceiving texture on a flat surface. The illusion of brickwork exposed by crumbling plaster and faux low relief fittings or moldings can all be reproduced with clever paint work.
Stenciling: A fantastic variety of stencils are available today, for use either in creating a patterned effect across a complete surface or for use as border or trim. Many are reusable and you can get them in custom sizes.
Gone are the bridges of paper that marked the old cut-out stencils and designs of much greater complexity are now available. Some contemporary stencils are closer to transfers. Subtle differences can be achieved by using different applicators: brush or roller, sponge, rag or even aerosol. Stencils can also replicate a particular finish, such as brickwork laid in a herringbone design.