About Faux Finishes

With its name originating from the French word “faux” which means fake, it all started out as some form of replicating natural surfaces.  Throughout the ages, faux finishes have evolved into a decorative art which soon found its place in commercial and public spaces, high end homes, and today even the average New York home can afford lavishing at its luxurious appeal.

Faux Finishes have become one of the hottest trends in interior design that can add a truly dramatic touch to both walls and furniture.  Though these can be achieved through a wide range of different methods, they are generally grouped on how they can be done: through either glaze or plaster work.  Though brandishing rich textures, glaze work results to finishes that are smooth to touch.  Plaster work, on the other hand, can either be textured or flat.

Some of the most popular faux finishes include:

• Marbleizing or marble faux finish is made popular by the rarity and appeal that a real polished marble offers.  This can be achieved through plaster or glazing.  The cost of using plaster techniques though has made glazing a much preferred method, but would require ample skills and experience to perfect the look.
• Leather faux finish results to a timeless look that is splendid and sophisticated making it a popular choice for dens, home offices, libraries and just any other family areas.  The color combinations that you can choose from can be blended to capture hues ranging from sandy brown, to deep and rich mahogany red, to dark blues and greens.
• Cloud Faux are not only for kids bedrooms or playrooms.  It can also add a dose of fun and uniqueness to just any area in your home like the bathrooms, living rooms and other entertainment spaces. With this technique, achieving that realistic resemblance to clouds lies in creating that delicate look through transparency.
• Denim Faux creates an ambiance that makes just anybody feel as comfortable as wearing a pair of old, worn jeans.  The color palette of the method ranges from dark indigo to a stonewashed look.  So if you want to capture a lax and fun feel to any room, this could work very well.

Though faux finishes are known to hide wall imperfections very well, especially with older constructions, the walls should still be prepared as you would have for any regular painting job.  One of the keys to successful faux painting is a thoroughly sealed wall where all holes, cracks, depressions and other flaw is taken care of before the actual painting starts.

Working on faux finishes can be tricky, it is important that you carefully consider whether a DIY project is favorable for both you and your New York home.  Though painting over your mistakes can be easy and you can try again and again; time, effort and money would surely be wasted.  The skills and expertise needed for such work have been acquired overtime by painting contractors that specialize in this craft.  The luxurious ambiance and gorgeous look that a perfectly painted faux finish affords is beyond price.  So do it right the first time and let professionals handle it for you.

This entry was posted on Monday, April 20th, 2009 at 11:42 pm and is filed under Painting. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.