Faux Painting Decorations for a Wall

Stripes

• If you’ve been inspired by whimsical stripy walls as seen in home decor magazines, give the room-lengthening design method a try for yourself. Start with a base coat over the entire wall in one of the stripe colors. When this color is dry, measure, level and mark the top and bottom of your wall for placement of the second evenly sized or unsystematic vertical stripes using a good quality painter’s tape that won’t bleed. If you have a wild side, choosing black on white might rock your inner designer world. Tone on tone provides a calmer alternative, such as a soft blue over a softer blue. For an even more subtle result, apply the top stripes in the same color as the base with an added glaze to simply catch the light.

Tuscany

• Turn a bland bathroom into a Mediterranean getaway. Thicken a neutral base coat with joint compound to the consistency of muffin mix and casually brush on in fanning strokes. Top the textured walls with watered down deep-yellow paint, dabbing the drips with crinkled parchment paper for a naturally mottled appearance. Thin a mossy green paint and use an artist’s brush to create jagged veins. Using a rag, blot the Italy-inspired wall sporadically with diluted brown, gold and terra cotta layers until you are satisfied with the results. Allow each paint color to dry between applications and thin the coats enough to achieve a translucent effect.

Leather

• A leather feature wall smartly fits into a well-stocked library or cozy reading nook. Speckle a gold undercoat with brown paint mixed with glaze. Use simple plastic bags to blot the paint randomly over the lighter base creating the natural look of wrinkled leather. The two tone haphazard appearance of faux leather covers a multitude of sins as this paint technique seems to blend with the small flaws of any less-than-perfect walls.

Distress

• Typically, causing distress involves an unfavorable deed. If you have a rustic sense of style, however, the paint distressing course of action results in a charming finish for your space. Begin by painting the entire wall with gold paint and allowing it to dry. Choose two green paints with patina appeal, like moss green and sage green. Dip a clean, inexpensive toilet brush or tire brush into one of the greens and let the excess paint drip off. Using the scratchy tool in place of a paint brush and graze color onto the wall forming an aged, worn, distressed feel that blends well with shabby chic or country-home decor.

Concrete

• The industrial look of exposed ducts and rugged concrete walls works in an ultra modern space with stark furnishings against vivid color splashes of decor. By using sponges and a few shades of gray paint over a black base, you can achieve an imitation concrete wall in a kitchen, bedroom, bathroom or entry way for raw attitude.