Kitchen Wall Treatments

Ragging

• Ragging produces slight variations in color and a subtle texture. For this finish, decorative painters apply a layer of glaze over a tinted basecoat, which they disperse and soften with bunches of rags. Cheesecloth, cotton cloth and plastic bags all make different textures. Ochre glaze over yellow walls creates a sunny kitchen environment, reminiscent of a Mediterranean villa.

Color Washing

• Color washing is a simple technique that can create a bold effect. Kitchen walls take on the look of old painted plaster walls when glaze is brushed on walls with a wide brush in all directions. A diluted umber glaze over cream walls makes a surface with an understated patina. Bolder colors like yellow, peach and sea foam green resemble the colorful lime-covered walls in French farmhouse kitchens.

Stencil

• Stencils can create a demure or dramatic wall finish for a kitchen depending on the scale of the image. Small borders of a repeating motif are traditional and pretty, but an oversized design in a random pattern makes a bold statement. Apply a transparent faux finish over stencils to make them look more integrated in a kitchen wall treatment.

Tissue Paper

• Sheets of tissue paper attached to a kitchen wall produce an out of the ordinary, crinkled effect. This finish is perfect for walls in bad condition, as it adds a layer on top of the existing surface. Finish a tissue paper wall treatment with a layer of glaze or opaque paint in any color or combination of shades. Pale gold glaze over white tissue paper takes on the look of antique parchment.