I would like to faux finish some walls, but my walls are not smooth & I don't know what type of faux finish would look best.

For the bath, which is a swirled finish joint compound, I would like a kind of tuscan look or something subdued. The kitchen could be the same or less subdued could work also. Its a large room.

The living room and halls are a knock down joint compound - stucco look. I'd like a subdued look here also.

I haven't really decided most of the colors yet, but I'm not sure what kind of faux finish works with these textures. Thanks!

 

i don't know how to answer your question, because i'm not sure what you're asking. your walls already have a texture on them. faux texture paint finishes are for smooth walls when a textured look is desired. the faux paint job then makes the smooth walls appear as though they are really textured.

i think you probably just want to paint your walls, but instead of just using one color, you want to mottle some lighter & darker colors together, right?

i wouldn't imagine the current texture on your walls would prohibit any mottled paint job you'd want to do. if anything, it will hide the actual texture, which seems a shame, especially regarding the swirled finish.

but if you're trying to decide between sponging, rag rolling, smooshing, whitewashing, or using a Woolie type roller, then i'd choose whatever you feel you can do most easily based on your talents & abilities. i've personally had success with the Woolie and think it's extremely easy to do & quicker than the other methods. you would have no problem using it on textured walls.

you might want to just use a wall & experiment with several methods to see which you prefer.

 

thanks annette. i wasn't actually looking for texture, just color. i don't want a solid color, but my husband (who is a painting contractor) doesn't think faux finishes such as ragrolling, sponging, etc work well on textured walls, especially swirled plaster. he's been doing faux finishes (marbleizing, wood grains, etc) for a dozen years or more, so i have to consider his opinion, but i really want something a little different in those rooms. i haven't seen the woolie before, so i'll definitely look into that. you're right, though, i do want a soft "mottled" kind of look. i saw an episode on hgtv where they did a suede finish i liked, but i assume that would also only work on smooth walls.

if i could find something that he'd like, maybe i could twist his arm to do the work! it would definitely turn out better than my attempt!

thanks for the great advice!

sharon

 

yes, suede is smooth. don't even go there!

but i can see just doing a mottled 2-tone color. the woolie is a paint roller that's split into 2 little rollers on one handle. the paint tray is split, too, so you put one color on one side, another on the other side. then you roll the 2 colors onto the wall at the same time, blending them on the wall, wet into wet. it makes for a very blended effect (which would enhance an already textured wall, as opposed to hiding) since it's wet into wet, as opposed to a wet sponged onto a dry (which can be very polka dotty) & it's super fast. you can get them (& a video) at home depot, etc. & see them at woolie.com. your husband would be impressed with them if he tried it. and with it being a paint roller, it'll get into all the crevices of an already textured wall pretty well.