Another Decorative Idea for Wainscoting: Raised Stenciling Over Stried Texture

Hi Everyone...

I just wanted to do a quick blog post while I'm away in CA.  I have to go back to this home to take better photos...but I thought I'd share another idea for panels in wainscoting.

A friend of mine, interior designer, Rosemarie Spratt, wanted something very special for her entryway - she wanted it to be drop dead gorgeous!  Oh boy - not too much to ask of me, right? We first used a cinnamon color on her walls - and then troweled on a metallic plaster in a brown suede color from Modern Masters on her walls.

1) For the wainscoting panels - you can use any texture you'd like, but I used a mixture of two products from Faux Effects - 1 part PlasterTex and 1 part Softex.  I rolled it on and then I took a wallpaper brush and stried the texture to form a vertical design.

Before...Nice, but Plain!

During

2) Then, after it was dry, I did an embossed stencil.  I used two designs from Royal Design Studio - Delicate Floral Panels.  Size-wise, they fit these panels perfectly.  To get the raised design, I used PlasterTex as the texture.  Then, I let it dry.

3) I painted all the panels with a bronzey/copper metallic paint.  Again, you can use any one that you'd like but I used two mixed colors of Faux Effects' Metal Glow paint.

4) When that was dry, I antiqued all the panels with a dark brown glaze.

The Entryway After

5) For the final touch, I antiqued all the moldings with the same dark brown glaze.  

Here are some other pics from the project...

And here's a peek into her powder room, while I will blog about very soon!!

This was a fairly huge entryway, so the entire project took about 8 days to do.  But - it was so worth it - Rosemarie loves her entryway - and that's the most important thing, right?  

I promise to go back and re-shoot this project.  So, please return again soon to see more pictures of this gorgeous room.

Thanks for looking! You also may want to see another way I decorated wainscoting - with burlap...HERE

I'll be linking this project up to...

Miss Mustardseed

Between Naps on the Porch

Redoux Interiors

At the Picket Fence

Our DIY Diaries

Savvy Southern Style

Domestically Speaking

My Romantic Home

504 Main

The Shabby Nest

Under the Table and Dreaming

The Brambleberry Cottage

Weekly Faux Finishing Column Idea: What do you Think?

I am distraught today because I don't have my laptop - it's in the shop getting a little overhaul (and I hope it's "little"!!). So I thought I would try something different for a blog post and see what kind of reaction I get.  This morning, I took some pictures of some sample boards that I've done and I've uploaded them to my husband's laptop.

I am thinking of doing a weekly column called "Sample Saturday...or Sample Sunday."  So, please comment below and let me know if you think you'd like to see something like this weekly!

In the column, I would show you a faux finish or a furniture finishing idea - with a recipe.  I'm going to start out with a troweled faux finish that I love - it's a little difficult, but I will show you how you can make it simpler.

Metallic Plaster with an Embedded Stencil

Now, embedding a stencil can be a little difficult (especially this stencil because I used one with 3 overlays).  You can make it easier on yourself if you use a stencil with just one overlay!  Or you can just do a a regular stenciled design over the metallic plaster.  If you are a beginner, do a single overlay stencil. But, as with any new technique, I would do some practicing on a sample board (like I did on this one).

I would encourage you to try to do a troweled finish like this - it's easier than it looks.  It just takes some practice. I used a product called LusterStone from Faux Effects.  It can be ordered online - but there are many Sherwin Williams dealers throughout the country that carry this product. It's the same product that I used on my Ceiling Design. There are several metallics on the market - Modern Masters makes two different kinds - Shimmerstone and Metallic Plaster. You can also use any of the faux suede products as well...but I love the luscious shimmer that the metallics give you.

FIRST LAYERS

1) First, roll two layers of a good latex paint in a color that is the closest to your plaster color. I used a Terra Cotta color because that's the color I used for the plaster.

2) Add about 10-15% water to your metallic plaster and mix fairly well.  With a small roller (Whizz roller i.e.), roll this mix haphazardly - don't do it like you are painting (up and down).  Do some strokes diagonally, vertically and horizontally - for a little movement. Let dry.
3). With a stainless steel trowel, apply the plaster full strength.  But don't put it on too thick or it will crack.  It's a fairly easy material to move and it stays moist for quite a long time.  Aim for about 85% coverage - leaving some areas of the first layer showing.  This will give some textural interest to the plaster. Let dry.

 Close up of the Embedded Stencil

EMBEDDED STENCIL LAYER


4) I used the Rinceaux Fruit stencil from Royal Design Studio, but you can used any design that you'd like. I used some spray adhesive on the back of the stencil - but I also taped all the sides.  I mixed up several different colors for the fruits - some yellows, greens, plums.  One thing that's great about using the LusterStone is that it comes in many different colors - but they also have a tinting base (which I used here as well).  You can add tints to the tinting base to get the color you want for the plaster.  So, instead of buying many different quarts of the metallic plaster to do the raised designs...you can buy a quart or so of tinting base and create your own custom colors.  You can use Sherwin Williams or Benjamin Moore tints (yes - the same ones they use for their paints). Just ask your paint dealer for a quart of tint only...not the paint.  Put a few drops into the plaster - and build up to the color you want.

5) You want to have the stencil on very well because you don't want any leakage from underneath the edges of the design. For my "trowel" I cut a small square of a piece of styrene board and then I lightly sanded the edges to soften and round them a bit.  Pick up a small amount of your tinted plaster onto your "trowel" and trowel lightly into the design areas of the stencil - green for the leaves, purple for the grapes and plums etc.  You will have to place some tape over the areas you don't want "green" for instance.  If you are doing a multi-overlay stencil, you have to make sure each layer is dry before you put the next overlay on.  If you are doing the above stencil or something like it, you can give it a little more realism by adding shading to the leaves and fruits.

Tip: If some of the plaster has seeped out a bit - don't worry!  Use a Q-Tip to remove the plaster that leaked out.  It doesn't have to be 100% perfect because you will be suffusing the design with another layer of plaster.
 
THE FINAL LAYER


6) Once your stencil design is completely filled in with the plaster and dry, you then do one more layer to "embed" it.  You can use the same color plaster you used in step two (the watered down version).  But I used a lighter, more neutral color - Champagne Mist.  I just put maybe 5-10% water into the plaster.  I put it on first with a brush - and then I took my stainless steel trowel to move the plaster around. It's like you are "frosting" the finish.


So...give it a try.  It's a beautiful finish for just about any room.  You can even use it on furniture.  A single motif embedded in the center of a cabinet door would look gorgeous!


Happy painting!



Updating Your Home Using Color and Creativity

I recently did some decorative work in a lovely condo in Woodbury, NY.  Working with designer, Teresa Simone, we created some beautiful rooms in soothing palettes of blues and and greens...and blue-greens. The formerly all white guest bath was done with a custom-colored blue-green metallic plaster that lends a wonderfully restful quality to the room.  Teresa had located an antique mirror on one of her shopping trips - and placed it on the large, frameless mirror (that shows its 80s origin!).  This is a great way to soften and feminize a bathroom without having to rip the entire mirror down. 

The homeowner found the silhouettes - left by the previous owner - and these look great against the soft blue-green plaster...and they add to the "been there forever" feeling in the room.