Faux Finishes for 2009
They were hot in the 1980’s, you couldn’t walk in a home without seeing a faux finished room. But in the 90’s faux was finished, only to resurface in 2000 with a new series of Ralph Lauren faux finishes in suede, leather and linen looks. Is faux hot or not this year?
It’s hot – redecorating and renovating are in, but big budgets are out in 2009. Homeowners are going for the “Wow!” factor in their projects, rather than the “Ow!” factor in their wallets. What’s available in faux finishes?
Suede
The suede look is still on the scene in a big way, with this year’s hot color of moss green, could moss green suede walls be the look? An easy faux finish for a DIY’er, walls are painted with the specialty paint rolled on and random X’s are made with a brush all over the wall. It’s so simple that you can’t mess this one up.
The result, a professional looking faux finish that really does mimic suede and adds attractive texture to the walls.
Faux Fabric
The linen and bolder denim faux finishes give such a subtle, warm look to the room, we can’t believe it wasn’t used more in cottage style decorating! Perhaps it was the difficulty factor – actually not so much the difficulty factor, it was more, it didn’t turn out right even when you slaved away at factor.
Walls were painted and combed, which had to be done immediately in one fell swoop. It was step aerobics with a paint brush, and labor intensive. But, when you could get it right, it sure could look like fabric, particularly the subtle linen blends.
Distressing
Creating an aged look, faux distressing has been around and will continue to be around for years to come. Distressing furniture is cooling off somewhat, primarily because shabby chic has cooled off, but kitchen cabinets are still being transformed right and left with this look. Super easy for any DIY project, one of those faux techniques you can’t mess up, unless you do it too perfectly.
Candlelight
Candlelight wall finishes use a specialty topcoat to mimic the glow of flickering candlelight. Using a special roller, a topcoat is rolled on and x’d to create the finish. We’ve not seen a completed candlelight wall in person, but it looks great on paper!
Metallics
Faux metallics are going to be hot this year, with metallic finishes being one of the hot decorating trends for 2009. The metallic faux finishes add a “shimmering richness to classic colors inspired by military and heraldic trim”. Not only that, but they add a nice ‘hammered’ texture to the wall and are an easy DIY painting project.