Create a Stone Block Wall with Paint

I came across this picture and was so impressed with the work of this company out of Las Vegas, Nevada, called Unique Paint Finishes.


This finish is called Stone Blocking. It is a trompe l'oeil technique that gives the painted surface the look of a real stone block wall. This is not a simple finish to attempt, by any means, especially if you have a room with angles and odd shaped walls. But if you have a simple box room and you are good with measuring, then I say go for it! It would even look nice on one wall (an accent wall) to make it a focal point of a room.

Great how to article on using plaster to create a stone effect:
Click Here


www.artfauxdesign.com

Here are a few simple steps on how to paint a faux stone wall:

1. Basecoat - Paint the entire wall the color that you want the grout to be. Make sure you do 2 coats of pearl or satin finish paint. DON'T USE FLAT! The paint finish will allow the paint to be more movable for the decorative glazing.

2. Measurement & Size - how large do you want each stone to be? You will need to use some of your math skills with this. Once you come up with a size, you can use a pencil or chalk line to put your lines on the wall.

3. Tape - Tape comes in all sizes. I would suggest a 1/2" tape. Otherwise you can use 1" painters tape and tear the outside edge to give the lines a more natural look. Tape all of your lines.

4. Glazing - This is the fun part. You can use any number of faux finishing techniques: sponging, ragging, or even colorwashing. The key is to layer your colors. Be sure to do samples on foam board so you can make sure that you are happy with the color combinations that you have chosen. Start with the darker color and then gradually go lighter.

5. Shading - This is very important final step. You will need to choose an imaginary light source. If the light is coming from top left, then the tops & left sides of the stones need to be highlighted with a lighter tone and the bottoms & right sides will need to be shaded with a darker tone. This will make the stones look more realistic. You can also add some shading on the grout lines.

There is a lot more I can say about faux stone blocking, so if you are going to attempt this at home, please feel free to Ask me a Question. I would be happy to help you!