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!



What to Do With Kitchen Soffits

I've posted about this before on this blog and on my home staging blog - but since this project has been featured on some other blogs and the topic is very popular, I thought it would be a great idea to post it once more with some additional information on how I created the look.

This is a sort of "before" pic, but this was after we added the crown molding

Soffits (or bulkheads) above kitchen cabinetry makes a home feel dated. And if you paint the soffit a contrasting color it only makes your cabinetry seem smaller and it makes the height of the kitchen less tall looking.

If your cabinets are in good shape, you should add crown molding to the ceiling above the cabinets and add some trim molding to the bottom of the soffit. 

Me...putting the first woodgraining layer on

Since these cabinets were in great shape, we decided to go with an oak woodgraining for the soffits and moldings. The "trick" to getting the oak woodgrain (or any faux wood) right is to try to match the underlying color of the cabinets.  Oak has a glow to it so I first used a medium tone yellow base paint (1 part Woody Yellow and 1 part Neutral White basecoat from Faux Effects) and then I did a pale gold metallic paint over that (a pale wheat color from Faux Effects Metal Glow line). You could also just do a gold glaze over the basecoat - just enough to give it a glow.

After - doesn't this look better, more updated and...tall!

Then I made up a glaze for the woodgraining layer.  I used Chestnut Brown and Earth Brown Glaze and went over (in sections) the soffit and moldings.  I created the woodgrain by removing the glaze with a wipe out tool.  I used torn pieces of corrugated cardboard.  Then when it was dry, I took a paintbrush and darkened the grain to match what I was seeing in the cabinetry.  I also used a graining comb for the smaller areas and around the wood grained areas (you can buy this at Home Dept I believe - or at Michael's).

Then I overgrained the entire surface with the same graining material as the first layer.  I had to adjust the color here and there because the color of the oak cabinets differed in various sections.  Some I had to make a bit darker...some cooler.  Then after everything was dry - I did a faux marquetry design on the soffit...the fun part of the job!

You could use any border stencil for this.  I used Renaissance Scroll from Jeff Raum stencils. I used some mahogany, ebony and cherry Stain and Seal from Faux Effects for this technique. However, you could also look at Royal Design Studio's line of stencils.  The owner, Melanie, has many that I love - the Showcase Scroll is one of my favorites.  If you'd like to try a carved wood look, try the Palermo Scroll or Endless Acanthus Scroll.

It takes time and a lot of practice to do woodgraining, but it's worth it to take the time to learn.  It has come in so handy so many times for me.  If you don't have the time (or patience) and you'd like to re-do your cabinets that have soffits - you can paint them a white or off white and antique them and it will give you that updated look.  As long as you add the crown molding, your cabinetry will seem taller.

Hope you enjoyed this!

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