Fake Brick Cornices

A cornice doesn't just add something special to a window treatment. It also serves to add dimension to a wall, fill up space in a large room, and even add architectural accents to the area. Some people go for the simplistic but lovely, wooden cornice, and others make a Styrofoam version, and cover it with foam and fabric. If you have the wooden cornices you can do the cutest design on them, and it will create an architectural arrangement that seemingly was built with the house. Give your cornices a brick look and people will definitely notice.

Lay down some newspaper or plastic and prepare the wood on the cornice. If needed, sand or strip the wood to get it ready for a new paint job. To create the brick look, start by painting the whole cornice in a color one would see between the bricks on a building. The color can be off-white, gray, beige, black, or another color. Give the cornice one or two coats, depending on how much coverage you get with each coat. Allow the paint to dry for at least a couple of days.

Use painter's tape to create the brick look. Painter's tape isn't as apt to pull the paint off as some tape does. The tape should be a half-inch wide. Use it to outline bricks on the cornice. First, make all the horizontal lines. Then, apply tape to make the vertical lines on the bricks. A standard brick is 3-5/8" x 2-¼" x 8". It's up to you if you make standard brick designs or ones that are a bit smaller.

The trick to creating the best faux brick look on a cornice is the color. You can easily find brick-red spray paint to help you finish the brick look quickly. After all the tape is in place simply spray it, allow to dry, and spray again.

When the brick-red paint has dried, remove the tape, then decide if you want to add other accents. Use a white, beige, or other color of paint marker, and just tap dots and other flecks, all over the bricks. Another option is to color corners of some bricks with the first paint color to make the brick look as though the corner of those bricks have broken off.

The fake brick look is unusual for cornices so they'll get a lot of attention from your visitors. Use the same technique to make a fake brick wall, brick mirror frame, or even brick cabinets.