I love doing custom faux finishes! By changing from straight-forward single color walls to faux painting, a room can be transformed into something bold and dynamic to something with subtle beauty.
I recently worked with a client in Dedham who has a historic home with high ceilings and large rooms – where the more subtle approach was a perfect fit. The main living room is divided by pocket doors, and was used as 2 separate rooms for many years as my client Susanne’s children used half of the space as a play room (which conveniently could be closed away with the large double pocket doors!). Now that the kids are older, Susanne and her husband decided to re-claim the space and integrate it with the other half of the room.
To integrate the 2 rooms into one, Susanne wanted to match the faux finish that was in the sitting room – which was a very subtle, mottled treatment in a soft green color. Since most faux finishes use multiple colors and different techniques, matching them can often be difficult – but I was able to deduce most of what I needed in the first visit to do a test board.
With the match done – I was on to painting the faux finish in the 18’x16’ room. To accomplish the look, it was a multiple step process – starting with a flat color to match the under-color in the other half of the room. On top of this color, I applied another 4 layers of tinted glaze with a couple different techniques to build up the understated patterning and rich color.
Because the end result was so subtle, it was hard to capture with pictures – but below are some shots the give a sense of how the room looks. Most importantly, Susanne was thrilled and is looking forward to decorating her “new” room!
Enjoy,
Jason
