Image by 5500
A lot of people write in before they start to paint to ask this question. “What wall do I paint?” Sometimes it is just as hard to choose which walls to paint and what to paint on them as it is to learn the techniques!
Recently we received this question – How to choose what to paint…
Tip: When asking THAT Painter Lady for help, pictures will always be a huge help for both of us. We often do mock-ups and sketches from the photos.
So…here’s the question:
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Our reply is probably a little vague, but we try to give simple answers that don’t overwhelm people when they write in. Tooooo much information can be “mind-boggling”. Then if they want more detail…we can work on other options and details. Baby steps! 
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Hi Ron & Regina,
Thanks for writing in. Great question! Without being there and seeing the light, the walls and the layout it’s hard to “see” your room and give good direction. But our first thought/suggestion is… don’t over do the brick stuff. Especially on the wall with the cabinets.
If there are too many things to look at in a room your eye bounces around unable to “settle” on anything. It becomes over stimulating and it isn’t nice to look at…it’s junky and cluttered looking. Blech! 
Faux finishes are different than bricks… The more walls you do a faux finish on in the same room the better. They’re soft and soothing and can tie a room together. If all the walls are white and one wall is a bold accent color that can be nice, but if that one wall has a deep rich faux finish on it… the room looks unfinished. So spread the faux love around when painting a room.
As for the cabinets … we bet they would look good with a green faux finish surrounding them! Or if the wood is a deep cherry color…a goldenrod might be nice. You can make it looked like aged plaster to get that Tuscan feel! Do a test board at least 3 feet tall by 2 feet wide (foam core boards are great) and then stand them next to your cabinet for a day or two and see which one “feels” best to you.
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Some times it’s good just to do a simple faux around the room and then do a more involved look on a single wall. We’ve done this often in bedrooms. Soothing walls all around and then one wall to punch it up. You just don’t want to leave it “hanging” out there by leaving your other walls “naked”! Lol!
Do your faux finish over all the walls and then go back and create an accent wall by adding two more layers to it. Give it depth. Or add a design…either hand painted or using stencils.
Depending on Ron & Regina’s room layout and how much of the wall is covered with the cabinets…well…all those things need to be factored in. And is it a long wall or a short wall that the cabinets are on? All these things play in to what to do with the walls.
If it’s a long wall then we’d say paint the whole room a nice soft color wash, have some “break outs” of bricks but not on the wall with the cabinets. Or at least VERY VERY limited on the cabinet wall.
If the cabinets are dead center of a long wall maybe create a topiary on each side. But again…you don’t want to get to carried away and have entirely toooo much to look at on that wall. Cabinets will be full of “stuff” so adding painted visuals can be overwhelming.
Remember…each room is different. Each room has it’s own energy. Don’t overwhelm your room by painting too many different things on the walls, then filling the walls with paintings, or cabinets with books, and photos, and statues and stuff. Your eye won’t be able to rest and the room will feel oppressive.
OH! And this book…we’ve probably put it on here (TPL) once or twice already, but really… it’s a great book if you’re going to be doing faux finishes.
As you can see it’s called, “The Paint Effects Bible: 100 Recipes for Faux Finishes” and it is one of the best books to have on hand as a home owner or faux finisher. Every time you want to change a room up, open this book up and get inspired. There are all kinds of great ideas in this thing.
Most of the finishes are subtle and interesting. It’s just a wonderful little encyclopedia that is an absolute must for any do-it-yourselfer who is wanting to create results that are definitely not your standard fair.
It has instructions on how to take your ordinary wall and create a textured look to it or a metallic look or wooden, even like snakeskin! Yeah…SNAKESKIN!
Okay…now get out there and splash some paint around! And share your projects!
