Exterior Home Faux Finishes
One of the most fascinating aspects of faux finishes is the fact that it has historical significance. Men have used paint and other techniques throughout history to change the appearance of walls, to make them look like other materials or simply to add aesthetic value. There are a number of ways to change the exterior of a wall and it depends entirely on your taste and how adventurous you want to be. Planning is an important aspect for all your projects.
Textures or Patterns
Creating various textures is a great way to decorate your home. Your texture could take the form of an edging, or you could cover an entire wall, as long as it does not overpower the architecture. Do make sure that it is done with great expertise, so that it does not look sloppy or amateurish. It must also add value to your property. Textures which emulate nature are a wonderful way to enhance the setting of your home in your garden. Using a template of a leaf pattern, for example, and the colors to recreate this is a good idea.
Brick Wall
The illusion of a brick wall can be time-consuming. However, you may want to use a cut-out template, pasted against the wall and then painted over with your preferred color. Make sure that the template is secure enough so that the paint does not run (unless you want to add in a crack or two). The “bricks” can be painted with a roller and the “grooves” in-between with a brush. Another idea is that you could fill in the “grooves” with stucco to make it more “authentic.”
Tile Effects
This effect is similar to the brick wall effect. Instead of simply replacing outdated paint on your exterior walls (or even your porch area) you can re-paint it with the tile pattern of your choice. Paint the entire surface with the color and then re-create the grooves with a white grout-coating pen.
Marble Finish
An exterior marble finish works well on pillars and also walls – especially on your façade. Create the effect by applying layers of paint, which is then “marbled” into the surface. These layers and colors also create depth and give it a three-dimensional appearance. Use additional colors, stencilling and texture patterns to add depth.
Paint Finishes
Use color banding of light and dark to create depth – this can either be used horizontally or vertically. You can also take this a little further, in that you can use geometric shapes in different shades of the same color. You can also create a pattern on your exterior wall with these shapes. For a timber-looking house, you can use a paint finish which can be in the form of wood grain.
General Comments
Pillars can also be treated with Venetian finish as a focal point. Many other paint effects can be used, the only precaution is that you must make sure that the materials you use are suitable for the exterior.
