Interior Design - Special Painting Effects

Using special effects for a unique and creative wall treatment is a truly rewarding design project. Following are a couple of examples of what you can do. Both are interesting, and give a touch of drama and excitement to a room.

Depending on the look, each project has a few different required tools or materials. Another requirement is patience.

DIY Texturing

If you like a rich texture, there are a few different ways to do it. You can include sawdust as an aggregate for a coarse grain. For a finer texture, adding a little play sand does the trick. Mix the texture material with flat latex paint, and roller it on as usual.

For adding dimension to a textured look, a few tubes of burnt umber acrylic paint will help give dimension to the finished work.

After the textured layer is dry, go into it with a burnt umber, tinted paint wash. Water down the acrylic using one tube of acrylic paint to a quart of water. For this project, find a softer brush designed for holding a wet mix, or simply use a sponge.

Apply lightly confining the work area to three-foot sections at a time. Keep a large rag handy so you can reduce the intensity of the tint if necessary. This step is a detail of the finished design, so make the most of your desired lightening and highlighting effects.

DIY Rubbed Back Plaster

Go for quaint and charming with this look. This is an easy method that involves the layering of paint washes on top of white latex. The technique for this feature involves waiting for each phase to dry, then doing a light sanding between the layers.

To get the desired effect, this project usually works best with colors in the soft pastel range. Sophisticated green, blue, gray, or yellow are the best color choices for this method. By the time the layers are applied, dried, and sanded the finish is full of interesting and rich color variations.

Repeat the paint wash, let it dry, then alternate between each application of the color wash with the sanding. Once you have the desired look, you may wish to apply a sealer.

Slightly more advanced techniques are at this address:

DIY Ready, Set, go

Creative wall treatments and artistic DIY painting effects reward you with a home interior of your own personal touch while providing a most enjoyable environment expressed through color and design.