How to Make Something Old Look Like Marble

Marble is a beautiful material. However, it is very expensive and quite hard, literally, to work with. But you can make almost anything look like marble with just some paint, a paint brush, and some time.

Marbelizing is a technique that has been around for some time. It is very easy to do, but does take some time. You really can't mess up this process because if you don't like it, you simply go back over it. You might want to practice on a scrape piece of plywood until you get the hang of the technique. And you will get the basic idea down pretty fast.

Before you begin you need to decide what colors you want in your marble piece. You will want to pick a basic color for the piece. If you want green to be the outstanding color, then you will of course need a shade of green. You will also need white or an off white shade. And for a third color, you might want some gray or even deep blue. The key is to pick several colors that will blend together to give a marble look.

The paint should be all the same texture, such as gloss or semi-gloss. But if you have left over paint in satin or flat that you want to use, then go ahead. It will work just fine.

The only other thing you will need besides the paint and time is a paint brush. If the area to be covered is fairly large, you might want to give it a base coat in either the predominant color or in an off white or gray color. This will make sure that every bit of the piece is covered and will help it all blend in better. You can use a roller for this base coat if you wish.

Now that the base coat is down and dry, pour out some of the different colors into small containers large enough to dip your paint brush into.

To begin, let's say you're marbelizing the top of a coffee table. Dip your brush into the darkest color first. Begin at one corner of the table and work at an angle by stabbing the brush down on the surface. As you move forward in a wavy motion, let the mark get smaller by exerting less pressure with each stab until it fades away. Next dip your brush in a lighter shade of paint and begin at the same corner, again making the stabbing motion and following it out to the end. You will see a blending of the two colors of paint. You can then go back over it with the lightest shade and feather it out to create the marbelizing look.

Don't be afraid of messing it up. If it doesn't look right to you, just go back over it with the colors and reblend them. There is no right or wrong. If you look at a piece of marble, you will see it looks as if there are flaws and irregularities in it. That's part of the charm.

You can use this technique on almost anything. You can make old porch columns look like marble. You can use it on an old hearth to give it a marble look. You can restore old statues and vases. You can give furniture a marble top. You can even use it on concrete porches or steps to create a different and impressive look.

Marbelizing is a great technique to learn and fun to do. It's a satisfying and rewarding way to give anything you want that marble look for only pennies.