For some home and business owners, adding special touches to painted walls is a deeply satisfying expression of themselves within their surroundings. Special touches add customized visual interest, highlight unique architectural features, create a specific ambiance, and—most importantly—express personality and style. The following are the most popular painting techniques that our firm uses to dress up any paint job with special touches that express “the homeowner” to all who enter:
- Stenciling is a fairly easy process that ensures crisp and consistent designs and can be painted anywhere on a wall or ceiling, in corners, and on trim around windows and doors. The choices are vast for botanical, geometric or any appealing motif. Pre-cut stencils can be purchased but some people prefer making their own custom stencils.
- Texturing techniques offer a variety of methods for customizing any space. A textured finish can be achieved by applying a base coat of paint, usually in a darker shade, and then once dry, applying a lighter coat of paint or a glaze. Apply the second coat in small sections using a sponge, rag or brush. Dab or drag the applicator to create the desired texture pattern. Rags can be wadded or rolled up to create interesting textures. Texturing tools aren’t limited to rags, sponges or brushes. Just about any material can be used for texturing.
- Frottage—another form of texturing— involves adhering materials, like cheesecloth, lace or even crumpled paper, to the wall using a texture medium. Once dry, paint over the materials, then carefully remove them to reveal the impressed pattern in the paint.
- Glazing involves applying a tinted translucent wash or glaze over a base coat of paint. This allows the base color to show through, creating a multi-dimensional, antiqued look. Brush or use a rag to apply the glaze in overlapping strokes, removing excess with a rag for more transparency.
- Adding metallic or pearlescent pigments to paint creates a shimmering, multi-tonal finish. Metallic paints can be applied as a base coat or layered over another color for a subtle sheen. Pearlescent pigments produce a luminous, opalescent effect that shifts in different lighting.
Finishing touches to any space are only as good as the original paint job. I cannot stress enough the importance of properly preparing walls, ceilings and trim before the first brush of paint touches anything. A stellar final product requires clean surfaces, correctly patched holes and scratches, masking, and choosing the right paint and tools for the job. Choosing the perfect colors actually is the easiest part.
Before investing time and cost into special painting effects, be sure the first paint job is done the right way. If adding special effects or textures to an older paint job, the proper preparation steps still need to be followed. Applying new paint to dirty walls can lead to peeling and other unsatisfactory results, including compromised colors.
