Faux Finish painting – the Pros and Cons
Posted on June 21, 2024
Faux painting pros and cons
We all understand traditional interior room painting, you pick a color, get the paint, apply it to the wall and your done. You end up with a uniform color, a uniform finish, and a uniform texture. Faux painting, on the other hand, takes one or more different colors, finishes, or textures and mixes them on the same wall. Because of this, a faux finish is more akin to a painting than a paint job.
Faux finishes are used to simulate different materials like wood, stucco, or stone, they can be used to simulate an aged look, a pattern, or just a clever blending of colors that create a dramatic effect.
Your faux finish options are endless…
That’s not to say you have to invent your own finish, there are many common ones that are seen fairly often. The basics are:
Faux stone finishes like malachite, marble, sandstone, quartz, stucco, plaster, and brick.
Faux wood finishes like pine, oak, burled walnut, distressed wood, and barn board.
Faux metal finishes and patinas like zinc, brass, gold, copper, stainless steel, and cast iron.
Fantasy finishes that mix metallic looks with a range of complementary colors like gold with blue or shades of burgundy.
The faux finish can also be found in just the texture like silk, weave, crackled, sponge or suede.
The Pros of faux finish painting
There is no limit to the possibilities with faux finish painting really. Do you want a mottled purple wall with flecks of gold in it? No problem. Trying to recreate a damp old wine cellar? Again, easily done. It’s expressive, artistic, and interesting when done well and with respect to the purpose and furnishings of the room.
If you’re looking to make a room suit a certain mood, have a more dramatic impact, or appear to be something it’s really not then faux painting can deliver. It’s going to cost a lot less to simulate a marble block wall than to build a real one and if you don’t have 100 years to spare waiting for a patina or aged look to appear on your walls or ceiling then faux painting will get you there in a hurry.
It’s a fun decorating option as well, why let the art, furniture, and rugs get all the attention when you can incorporate the walls as well? You can almost look at the possibilities through the eyes of a movie set director and create a “location” that really doesn’t exist.
Faux finishes date back to the very first uses of paint and have been used to make rooms that are fancy, to begin with even fancier. While faux finishes might not make sense in a hallway, in a dining room they can combine with lighting, trim, and furniture to create a fantasy dining space.
Where else can you employ a bit of faux finish painting? Bathrooms are good candidates. They are small and generally sealed off so if it seems like a little bit of faux goes a long way it’s a great place to employ it. Along with dining rooms and bathrooms, you could add bedrooms, finished basements, wine cellars, home offices, and even a living room.
What’s the #1 reason to do it? You get a dramatic and instantly transformed look for your room without having to remodel using expensive materials. Even if it takes time and money to make something look marble it’s going to look like marble fast and it’s going to cost a lot less.
The cons of faux finishes
While you can take your personal sense of style to the extreme with faux finish painting you are creating a space that is personal to your specific taste. If you are ever considering selling your home these finishes may be viewed as a negative by prospective new owners who don’t share your taste.
If you are going to have the work done by professionals (and you should STRONGLY consider doing that) It will cost quite a bit more than traditional painting. That isn’t to say it’s cost-prohibitive but it may at least double or triple the price of painting a room or ceiling. It also takes a long time and once it’s started it’s not something you can just paint over and restart.
You need an expert to do it. The last thing you want to do is “take a crack at it” since it requires a long learning curve for each technique. You will definitely want to see photos of previous work to make sure you are getting someone with real skill and not just a frustrated art student.
Painting over it to get rid of it may require a bit of work and a coat of primer or two before it’s fully hidden so it doesn’t bleed through onto a newly painted wall.
It is unforgiving when it comes to scuffs, stains, and impacts. Any damage to the finish will stand out more than it might on a plain beige wall.
Ultimately, it’s all up to you but if you would really like to explore your options further give CertaPro of New Orleans a call at 504-264-6064 and let us give you a free consultation and estimate. If you can picture it, or better, if you have a picture of it, we can see if we can match it.
