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Faux Finish
Home » Home Accessories » Wall Treatments » Faux FinishFaux finish is one of the most popular wall treatments today. It is fairly easy to do, and mostly uses paints and glazes. Nearly every faux finish begins with a base coat of paint. Faux finish can create the look of material, rock, or suede, or it can just provide an interesting pattern that looks like a texture on your wall. I have personally found that faux finish is great for walls that are old or damaged. They can cover a multitude of problems and if you use a faux finish that looks texturized, it will cover up drywall mistakes, old wallpaper glue, and other things that make your wall less than perfect.
There are many different types and styles of faux finishing. One of the most common types is called ragging. For this finish, you'll need to begin with two colors of paint, a glaze, and old rags or plastic bags. (A sponge can also be used here. If you decide sponge, round and textured sponges work best.) The first step is to paint the wall with your base color; it is usually better to use the darker color as your base color. When the base coat is dry, mix the glaze with the second color of paint, using equal amounts of each. At this point you can either dip your rag into the glaze mixture and blot the paint onto the wall using the rag, or you can roll the glaze mixture onto the wall (over top of the base coat) and rag the paint off of the wall. As you do this, some of the base coat will show through, making the wall appear textured. It's easy to experiment to get the look you want. Just experiment on a smaller area, then paint over it with your base color again.
Another type of faux finish is color blending. Color blending can resemble the look of leather or water. You'll begin with two to six colors of paint. Again, paint the wall with your base coat and let it dry. (Color blending can also be done on a white wall.) Mix glaze and the other colors in equal parts. More colors will create a different effect. On a small section of the wall, dab streaks of paint on the wall with paintbrushes. Then blend the colors together with old rags. Mix and swirl the colors together until your desired effect is achieved.
Color washing is yet another very popular faux finishing technique. It provides the look of a cloudy sky on your wall, giving it a soft and inviting feeling. The supplies you'll need for color washing are one color of paint and one glaze, and paint brushes or rags. Paint brushes will give a more textured look while rags will give a softer, more diffused look. Paint the wall with your base color of paint. After it dries, mix that same color of paint with the glaze, using the ratio of four parts glaze to one part paint. Dip a soft cloth into the glaze mixture and apply it to the wall in a random circular motion, as if you are actually washing the wall. At this point, if you are using paintbrushes, brush the glaze mixture onto the wall in a criss-cross motion using random strokes. Finish by feathering out any harsh brush strokes, and lightly sweep over the patterns with a clean, dry brush.
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