Do your walls seem dull and uninviting? Do you long for a cozy, welcoming room? Consider decorative wall painting techniques, such as sponging, ragging, stenciling or stamping. Even if you have no experience, you can brighten even the dullest room quickly and cheaply with one of these easy decorative wall painting techniques.

Before painting your room, pick out a color scheme for your walls. When you chose your paint, remember that many painting techniques use two shades of one color. If you are using one of the techniques that does use two shades of color, you can pick a darker color than you normally would chose for your base color, since the lighter top color will make the final result much lighter.

To sponge or rag a wall, paint on your base color and let it dry thoroughly. Then, dip your sponge or rag into the lighter paint color and sponge or drag the lighter color over the base coat until you are satisfied with the effect. If you are unhappy with your final result, you can repaint any areas that you don’t like with the base coat. Once the repainted area is dry, repeat the faux painting technique.

If you are considering using a decorative painting technique such as stenciling or stamping, you may just want to create a wallpaper effect by stamping or stenciling a simple design over your base coat. However, you may want to go a step further with your project and use stencils or stamps to create a faux brick or stone wall. You don’t need to be an artist to create one of these faux finishes. Just follow these simple steps. First, paint the walls with the color you chose for the mortar between the bricks or stones. Once the base coat is dry, stamp or stencil your bricks or stones over the base coat. Once the brick or stonework is dry, spatter a bit of the darker color over your faux art to give it depth and make it appear more realistic.

Creating faux effects such as making your walls look like they are made of plaster or suede can also really make your room stand out. You can easily learn how to create these seemingly difficult finishes at your local paint store. Paint bases that automatically give a suede or textured effect to the walls are a shortcut that even artists use to create fun finishes.

Finally, no matter which decorative wall painting technique you choose, remember that it is just a few layers of paint. You can always redo the finish on your walls as you learn more about the art of decorative painting.

By: Niall Roche

About the Author:

This article was provided courtesy PaintSplashes.com where you can find tons of information on faux painting and interior painting ideas and techniques.

www.decoart.com An all-purpose, premium quality acrylic paint used for decorative painting, home decor and general craft painting projects. Americana is water-based and non-toxic and has a matte finish that can be varnished to create various sheens. This versatile paint can be used on almost any surface. Americana’s versatility is unmatched as it can be used by the most talented artist on canvas or by a beginner for the simplest furniture or craft projects. Number of Colors: 228 Painting Surfaces: # Wood # Canvas # Plaster # Resins # Papier maché # Candles # Walls # Tin # Leather # Styrofoam # Ceramic bisque # Polymer clay # Watercolor paper # Poster paper Features and Advantages: # Highly pigmented # Excellent coverage – one coat # Smooth and creamy # Rich, true colors # Color consistency bottle to bottle # Highest quality control # Non-toxic # Blends easily # Consistent viscosity # Durable finish # Intermixable # Light-fast # Soap and water cleanup Additional Decorating Ideas/Applications: # Sponge painting # Faux finishing # Craft and decorative painting # Create a wash — Thin with Brush ‘n Blend Extender for making paint transparent, floating and shading color. # Create a glaze — Mix with Faux Glazing Medium for home décor faux finishing techniques like marbleizing and sponging. # Create a fabric paint — Mix with Fabric Medium to create a washable fabric paint for decorating fabrics. # Create crackle finishes — Use with Weathered Wood Crackling Medium. Paint a …

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