DIY Faux Brick Wall

A faux brick wall is a DIY home project that you can pull off with simple painting materials, but the technique is slightly more demanding than more rudimentary glazes. The reason is because there is more wet-into-wet paint blending to get the mottled effect of the brick. In addition, the technique demands more preparation time, as you must lay out tape to cover the areas of the base coat that will later show as mortar. However, the effect itself is attractive and will give a room the warmth of brick in a project you can do on your own time and without a contractor.

Latex paint
Roller, tray and sleeve
Acrylic paint -- burnt sienna, red oxide, raw sienna
1/2-inch painter's tape
2-inch paint brush
Craft paper

Instructions

- 1
  Paint the portion of the surface you want to look like brick with the base coat. Select a color that looks like the mortar color you want. Light gray is typical, but you could also use an off-white or light neutral with a breath of color for something more appealing. Use the roller on wide flat areas; use the brush for edges.
- 2
  Put the painter's tape on the wall to simulate an array of bricks. First, lay down the horizontal rows, leaving about 2 1/2 inches between the rows. Next, put vertical pieces of tape across each row to finish the brick outline. Evenly space the vertical pieces about 8 inches apart. Stagger the bricks from row to row, so the bricks do not appear to be in line with bricks in adjacent rows. The bricks in a wall overlap from row to row for greater strength.
- 3
  Brush the three acrylic colors onto a square yard area of the wall. Randomly apply them in strokes at different angles.
- 4
  Cut or rip a 24-inch square piece of craft paper, or near that in size, and fold it in quarters. Press it into the wet paint. Lift it up. Rotate the paper and repeat. Keep daubing the paint and rotating the paper until you have evenly distributed the paint in a mottled fashion. The colors will blend to the hues of warm brick.
- 5
  Paint color directly on to the paper and press to the wall to add more color or variety.
- 6
  Repeat the process, one area at a time, until you have covered the wall.
- 7
  Pull up the masking tape. This will reveal your faux brick finish.

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