Styles of Faux Finishes

Frescos

• Fresco faux finishes have Old World inspirations and can be painted in textured, smooth and high polish finishes. These finishes are characteristic of the Renaissance era, and give walls an aged and weathered image. Textured frescoes give walls an outdoor feel, with raised, stucco-like swirls. Smooth frescoes feature two-tone coloring, a smooth finish and a leather-looking effect on walls. The high-polish fresco finish is similar to the smooth fresco, but is notable for its marble-like sheen.

Stone

• Reminiscent of semi-precious stones, this style features glistening flecks in the paint that reflect light back off the wall. In smooth, brushed and striae finishes, stone faux finishes mimic the shimmer and polish of their namesake. The smooth finish is velvety and evokes the sense of minerals and sand. The brushed finish gives a sense of dimension with its two-toned color layering. The striae finish is the most sparkling of the stone finishes, where the brushing process reveals a metallic underlayer.

Metallic

• Metallic faux finishes provide the most drama and glamour to a room, as the glitz is not subdued underneath second or third layers, but lies most prominently on top. The metallic style comes in smooth, brushed and textured finishes. The smooth metallic finish is sleek with an opalescent shimmer. The brushed metallic finish mimics the lines and sheen in silk fabrics. The textured metallic finish looks closest to a smooth fresco, glinted with the same sparkle of any metallic finish.

Artisan

• Artisan faux finishes are where the real handy work comes in, using numerous paints, glazes and craft tools to create crackle, leaf and tissue finishes. The crackle finish is one of the most extensive, and produces an aged feel with multilayer depth. Leaf finishes take wall texture to the next level, by adhering decorative leaves between layers of paint and glaze, creating a raised, earthy effect. The tissue finish involves layering tissue paper between paint coats, and highlighting the veins and stucco-like texture created by the tissue with a glaze; the result is subtle and ethereal.