Faux Finish

For years it was wallpaper and now it's faux finishing. There are certainly pros and cons to each.  The one thing that bothers me most about wallpaper is that it just doesn't do well in humidity which always prevails in the bathroom.  I have drifted away from wallpapering in bathrooms for that very reason.  Inevitably the edges curl over time and all your hard work starts to look pretty bad. I've turned to faux finishing my walls using paint.  I'm pretty sure that I've tackled every faux finish technique that is possible.  My latest faux was in my daughter's bedroom.  It came out looking like a basket weave print or even more like grass cloth.

I selected two paint colors.  The base coat was beige and the faux (mixed with glaze) was a medium brown.  

The first step is always preparation of the wall. Filling all the holes and sanding to a smooth finish and any repairs your wall may need.  I painted my base coat (one coat) beige. Then I mixed one quart paint to four quarts glazed-4:1 ration.  I used a roller and a whisk broom.  Yes, a whisk broom.  Working very quickly I rolled across the wall, horizontally with the paint from the ceiling to about 24 inches down, took my whisk broom and dragged it across the glaze.   If you can get help from someone, it really makes the job a lot easier.  One person rolls and one uses the broom.

After the horizontal work was done, then I repeated the step working vertically.  Pictured above is a very close up shot of the paint effect.  Pretty cool, huh?          

The above  photo is taken from further away.  The look is a lot more subtle.     Although I really wanted to do this in blue (the daughter would have no part of it) I do like the way it came out. However, done in blue this technique would make your walls look just like denim.  A great look for a teens room.

Materials:

Two closely matching colors of paint.

a hand whisk broom     

a gallon of glaze

and some help if you can get it

I managed to do it alone (but that's how I operate) and it came out fine.  Remember this-when working with glaze you don't have much time until it dries.  You must be prepared to move quickly with no interruptions.    

Christy                            

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