I have pasted tissue paper over the wall paper in my breakfast room and kitchen and have it primed and ready to faux paint, however, I need samples to choose from because I have no idea how to do this. Are there sample books like wall paper books so look at and choose from? I'd like to use about 5 different colors and am trying to get a Tuscan villa look. Debbie
Hi Debbie!
You are so motivated! What a great start you have… but now you are starting with the scary part… choosing colors.
First… yes you can find samples of faux finishes and they are in the wall paper books. Many wallpaper manufactures have are trying to get some of the bucks people are spending with the faux paint manufactures. They have come up with many… I mean many style of faux painted look wallpaper.
As a side note… why would anyone want a faux painted treatment with tiny little seams running vertically down the wall every 3 feet? Plus… you have to strip it someday, Yuck!
Now back to choosing some colors… Tuscan Villa Colors are warm golden yellows, sage greens and terra cotta (burnt orange. The secret to mixing these colors is using one color at a time. I have tried the splooch (my own word) different colors in different sections and trying to make them blend together… Trust me… this is nearly impossible.
The one color at time theory is best. So to make it short - You wash your walls with a glaze mixture of one color, all the way around the room. Then start at the beginning and wash on another color, and so on. You will never want to wash walls again after this… but it is so worth it in the end.
The other thing you must keep in mine… well two things.
- Test colors in layers on a sample board. Some colors work better in layers than others.
- Whatever color is the last color you put on the wall, is the most dominate color… meaning it is the first color you see when you look at the wall. So if for instance you want the wall to be predominantly golden yellow… then that is the last color I would use.
That all said… You may find when you get done with all your layers… that the results are too harsh or messy looking. Not to worry… put on one final wash of a thin… I mean thin layer of creamy white. This will make all the colors less harsh and all look blended together. Very Tuscan Villa!
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Thank you SO much for your suggestion. After faux painting about 8 colors on to try and tone down the yellow base coat which was too yellow to begin with, I took one of my tiles from my floor, had this guy at the paint store mix up a couple colors and I just started all over. What an experience! You weren’t lying when you said I’d never want to wash walls again! I’ve just done the base coat and will start Monday washing on the 2nd color. I’m going to experiment with using some stain to lightly go over some of the “veins” where the tissue paper crumpled to give it a Tuscan look. (I’ll do this behind the fridge) Thank you so much for all your help. Best Wishes
Thank you for your in-put. Your website is great and it is so helpful. I love your word “splooch” it’s the perfect word for mixing colors. I’m a little afraid to use that much red. I have a white & red kitchen. But after seeing your site, now you have me interested in using one of the faux finishes. After reading my responses I may go with a salmon color. I also thought of a cocoa color with a bit ofa black cherry tint to it. I’ll have to do my homework now on finishes and colors. Thanks a lot. Wildflower