|
|  |
|
|
Bring The Walls To
Life
You don't need an interior decorator to achieve a custom design look
in your home. Specialty painting techniques may be just the touch
your kitchen, hardwood or bedroom needs to pull the room together.
And, it's not just your walls-your cabinets or other decorative
molding can also benefit from a unique glaze or wash.
Sponging, rag-rolling, stippling and paneling are a few of the
decorative paint techniques that can give your home unique charm and
character. Beautiful dapple color effects can be achieved with
minimal materials and the most basic instruction. Start off with a
simple, basic project and before you know it you'll have the
confidence to create your own design ideas and bring these
techniques into every room in the house.
Broken Color Techniques with Glazes and Washes
Most specialty painting techniques involve "broken color," a term
that means applying one or more colors in broken layers over a
different base coat to create a mottled or textured effect. Most of
the time these techniques employ glazes or washes applied over a
solid colored background color. Glazes are made of oil-based paints
mixed with linseed oil and are more transparent than washes. They
give a sleek glow to walls. They work best when the technique
requires the paint to remain open and workable for longer periods of
time. Washes are simply latex paint that has been thinned with water
to produce color that appears fresher, purer and more delicate than
that of a glaze. Washes, unlike glazes, will also show brush marks,
which adds a greater sense of depth and texture. They are also
easier to make, modify and clean up, which makes them the best
choice for beginners.
Sponging
Sponging On is a quick and simple technique that begins with the
application of a solid base paint color. After the base coat dries,
a wash or glaze is applied on top with a dampened sponge to create a
mottled look. More than one glaze or wash color can be applied but
each layer must be allowed to dry thoroughly before the next
application. Beginners may want to try neutral tones of beige and
grey or different values of color in the same family for a tone on
tone damask effect. Lighter colors are typically applied over darker
ones to create depth, but the opposite can be done for more
definition and texture. Sponging Off is accomplished by applying a
uniform glaze coat over the solid base with a brush or roller.
Before the glaze coat begins to dry, use the sponge to remove some
of the glaze to expose the undercoat. When sponging, always use a
natural sea sponge instead of a synthetic household type for a more
varied and interesting texture.
Ragging and Rag Rolling
These techniques give walls the dramatic effect of crushed velvet,
parchment, chamois leather, watered silk or brocade. Begin with the
application of a solid color base and allow it to dry. For "ragging
on," dip a crumpled cloth in a glaze or wash and blot on the wall.
"Ragging off" involves lifting off part of the glaze coat to reveal
the under coat. "Rag-rolling on" requires the painter to roll the
cloth into a sausage shape of varying tightness. Lightly dip the
roll into the glaze and apply to the base coat with a rolling
motion. For "rag-rolling off" roll a slightly dampened rolled cloth
through the wet glaze coat to reveal the undercoat. Different fabric
will create different effects. Popular materials include linen,
lace, and burlap, but almost any natural fiber material will do as
long as it is clean and lint-free. Layering glazes works well with
this technique as long as each layer is allowed to dry thoroughly.
Stippling
This technique achieves more subtle results than rag rolling or
sponging and can be best described as suede-like. The process starts
with the solid base coat which can be either a light or dark tone.
After the base coat dries, the painter begins working from one side
of the wall to the other, applying a different color topcoat (either
paint or a wash) in 12" wide strips from ceiling to floor. Working
quickly before the paint begins to set, the painter stabs at the wet
paint with a large soft-bristled brush, removing dots of paint. To
keep the brush absorbent, the painter should periodically blot the
excess paint from the stippling brush. This process breaks up the
wall color into a mass of very small dots, which lends richness to
the finish. Usually stippling involves just two topcoat colors of
paint or wash. Additional colors can be incorporated into the color
scheme by stippling the paint or wash on, rather than off. To do so,
simply stab later colors on with a soft-bristled brush.
|
|
| |
|
|
|
