Chalkboard Paint

Today, chalkboard paint can be tinted in many colors. If you would like to move away from the traditional blackboard, you now can choose your favorite color and add it to your interior. There are so many ingenious ways to apply this in your home, it's amazing!

We decided to give this chalkboard a hand painted frame with faux wood carvings. This framed 3x5ft. chalkboard hangs in a reception area, guest will be asked to sign in or leave an inspirational note for all to see. The color used for this project is Benjamin Moore # 184 Ivory Lustre. Artist acrylic paint was used for the frame and a finish coat of satin urethane. Take a look at all the fantastic ways to apply chalkboards to your interior: http://www.houzz.com/chalkboard-paint

Faux Painted Crown Molding

                                                        Faux Painted Crown Molding

Having very high ceilings calls for a larger profile crown molding. Here is a great trick to achieve the look of  larger crown molding and save money, two moldings were used with the trim molding applied 4 inches below the crown. The crown molding size increased from 5 1/4 in. to around 12 inches. The wall area was base coated and faux painted to give the illusion of  one large molding.

The space below the crown molding needs to have a smooth finish for the faux wood technique. The sheet rock area which is in the center of the two moldings may need to be skim coated with compound, to remove any texture which was produced by a past paint finish. Once the compound has dried and smoothed out clean all dust with a damp cloth. Apply a primer, let dry completely and apply the base coat to all pieces which make up this new extended crown.

Note: all brush strokes most go with the grain direction from start to finish. That means the primer too.

Base coat - Benjamin Moore # 1110 eggshell finish

1st glaze - BM - Charleston Brown - 1 part paint to 3 parts glaze, this glaze will be brushed on randomly applying heavier in some areas and lighter in others. I recommend this to give the look off real wood. Your brush strokes need to go left to right lot form a grain pattern.

Note: A quart of paint goes a long way especially when glaze is added.

2nd glaze - BM - # 2107 - 10  - 1 part paint to 3 parts glaze, this glaze will be applied lighter than the first keeping in mind of a flowing grain pattern.

Step 3 - This faux wood shown above has the look of deep scratches and some of the scratched areas are moving diagonally across the grain. With a 1 to 2 in brush apply the scratched areas with a dry brush and use straight paint ( no glaze ). If the lines come to heavy wipe them off with a damp rag and try using a lighter touch.  Note: Adding worm holes with an artist brush gives more realism to your work.

Step 4 - apply glaze # 2107-10  into the areas which have groves or designs in the molding. Wipe the excess off with a clean damp lint free rag. When this is dry follow last step

Last step - I use this step to give a believable glow to the faux wood. Over time the poly will age and amber. Brush on satin polyurethane with a 2 1/2 inch china bristle brush, move with the grain. Add a small amount of poly to your brush so it does not sag or run on your hard work.

I recommend practicing on some crown moldings so you get the hang of it and work out any issues
before you tackle the real thing. 

Coffered Ceiling Faux Painted

Coffered ceilings add a unique and elegant look to any room. Here is an example of how this type of ceiling can be decorated with paint. The ceiling panels were sponge painted with a subtle warm glaze and the crown moldings were fauxed to a warm mahogany with a satin finish.  The soft off white painted beams have a great contrast with its neighboring colors making this ceiling pop.

Faux wood garage doors

     There's nothing like the look and feel of real wood with a deep warm stain, it's so elegant. The homeowner decided that the original off white  painted  doors needed to be changed.

     Do we change the doors to real wood which would cost a small fortune or faux them to match our front entry door. Well as you can see they went for the faux wood, great choice!

     Faux wood applied correctly can give the illusion of real wood and feel real to the touch, that's what faux is all about, fool the eye and everything follows. In the picture above I have the sequence of steps which I needed to take to build up the faux wood.

     The first door on the right I used base paint from Benjimen Moore Moreguard exterior latex # 1110. I applied only one coat and painted with a three inch brush going in the direction of the grain.
The doors were originally off white so I let a little of that come threw to add depth. I like to start the grain pattern right away if I can. Starting with a solid base is satisfactory.

     The middle door - I started to apply the first glaze B.M. Mooreguard Charleston Brown in the panels of the door. At this point my brush strokes were going in a horizontal pattern, side to side leaving some of the base showing threw. Each panel needs to have it's own personality so try not to repeat the same pattern.

     Door on the left shows the grain pattern running left to right. Normally the pattern would be horizontal with this door design and the grain would run up and down on the vertical frame pieces. I felt in this situation I would run the grain horizontally. These doors originally had smooth wood and were spray painted unlike the stamped metal doors that have grain running the same way threw out the entire door. I mentioned this because the grain comes out much better with a smooth base. The faux technique for metal doors is much different.

    Finally, the picture below shows a rich warm color and a nice sheen. I used B.M. Mooreguard #2107-10 in glaze. Take special care to apply the grain to each panel first and then the frames. Don't cover your work completely, let the under glazes show threw. Some areas I added straight paint # 2107-10 to create a more defined grain using an artist brush. Keep your grain random, try not to repeat the same pattern.

Click on to enlarge

    Protective finish - After the paint is fully dried I added a little ultramarine blue oil base artist color out of the tube to Exterior Spar varnish to reduce the orange color. To do this on your first coat mix 50/50 spar varnish and mineral spirits plus a dab of blue. Check on a sample board to see if your satisfied with the results. If your happy move forward apply this coat, let dry and then apply 100% exterior spar varnish.

   Now sit back in your driveway and admire your work!