Decorative Wall Treatment

Faux finish offers genuine design

Wallpaper is the new darling of the design industry, which could be bad news for faux finish artists like Vanessa Shaw Finelli, who has done her share of parchment, leather, suede, wood graining, marble graining and antiquing to walls and ceilings over the past 20 years both in America and England. But, she's not worried. "Faux" (which means false in French) finishes may be disappearing from walls but this ancient form of trompe l'oeil (fool the eye) artistry is moving to other areas of the home to create more subtle effects.

"Ragging, crackling, dragging, sponging or applying several layers of paints and glazes to expansive areas of walls to achieve dramatic surfaces with lots of depth and color certainly isn't as popular right now as it was in the 1980s and '90s," says Vanessa, "and the return of wallcoverings is certainly one reason. But décor application trends are cyclical. Currently, my clients are interested in achieving custom looks for repurposed furniture, counter surfaces and things like fireplace surrounds, mantles, door frames, things like that. There will always be a market for faux finish techniques because people will always be fascinated by how paint techniques can transform an object."

As a decorative art and a way to achieve rich looks on a pauper's budget, faux finish artistry has been around since the ancients decorated their homes and temples. The pharaohs' artisans used faux finish techniques to replicate the look of exotic wood graining, and ruins of Pompeii show examples of clever faux finishes used in homes in that ancient Italian city. Faux marbling was and is a part of most church décor, and artisans used it inside the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art when that edifice underwent its remodel several years ago.

Vanessa uses her own home as a studio and place to experiment with various new applications. She and her husband, Neil, the owner and publisher of Taste magazine, bought their Bradenton home five years ago for the location and the neighborhood. They knew they had work to do on the 1986 interiors as well as the exterior of the house.

"Our former home was larger and had a shabby chic design scheme, but in this one we decided to go much more modern because it suits the age and architectural style of this home," says Vanessa. "That involved taking away from what was here rather than adding to it. For instance, I removed a domed ceiling in the kitchen and replaced it with a paneled one and updated lighting. I got rid of the range hood and removed the upper cabinet doors for open shelving. On the counters I tried a new faux finish that I applied right over the dated Formica counters. The treatment is called a hammered metal finish. I poured on the oil-based paint and dragged it across the surface with a dry synthetic sponge." The product dried overnight to a metallic finish that looks like it has been hand-hammered.

Decorative Wall Treatment | Little Fish

Lily Pulitzer is a Palm Beach staple. I grew up wearing her clothes, and her bright and colorful patterns are known world wide. Not only does Lily Pulitzer create clothing, home good, and stationary, their interesting and unique design treatments extend on into their fitting rooms! I snapped this pic inside of the fitting room of Lily Pulitzer at The Gardens Mall. The walls were covered in the current colors, swatches with the name of the color written over top of it. I think this is a super cool treatment, and the graphic designer in me would like to recreate it using more of a PANTONE take on it.  I have an area in my walk-in that I might try this in, or maybe the guest bathroom. Any of you have a cool idea for a decorative wall treatment? I’d love some additional ideas!

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