Please call or email me. Please call or email me.

A 4th generation house painter & consultant,
specializing in
old-world painting techniques.

A Color Wash is
Easy to Do!

Anyone can do a color wash ...
just follow the simple steps
listed below.

Color Washes are very easy to do, and work on any type of wall. They're just a blending of paints, and don’t require the use of any glazes.

A color wash is probably the easiest type of faux finish you can apply.  If you already have a well-painted wall, you can even do a color wash right over it without painting another base coat.

The type of feel you generally get with a color wash is one of movement.  So if you're looking for a happy, uplifting look ... one that energizes and brightens ... a color wash would be a good choice.

Example of a color wash

Tips for Applying a Color Wash

Here are some basic "how-to's" that can help make your color wash project easy and fun ...

Picking Your Colors:

When picking colors, consider picking two colors off the same chip chart, as they’re always going to blend well. You can try to be more adventurous if you’d like, blending contrasing colors for instance, but if you want to be safe, stick with colors from the same chart.

Painting Techniques

Paint in Small Areas: As with most faux projects, it's best to work on small areas at a time — areas maybe four to six square feet —at least until you get the hang of it. Complete each step in the process described below before moving to the next area.

Paint Random Shapes: Never paint square areas.  Always paint in areas of random shapes and sizes.  Otherwise you will likely get a repetitious pattern that's unwanted.  What you want is a random look.

 

 

Painting Techniques, continued ...

Paint On Each Color: Put the first color on with a brush, taking up about 50 – 70% of the area. Fill in the remaining area with the other color.

Maintain Your Sequence: It doesn’t matter which goes on first, you just need to be sure to stay in sequence. If you put the dark color on first, continue doing so as you work through each area. You might try a test area first to see which flavor you like best … dark –light or light-dark.

One way to get a same but different look is to do dark-light in a main room, followed by a light-dark in an adjoining hallway.

Don't Overblend: Take a 4” paint brush, dip it into water, and blend your paint back and forth in a figure 8 fashion to create lights and darks. Some people like the brush look to remain, but you can also take a cotton rage, dip it into water, ring it out, and go over the brush tips to blend them in. Take care not to overblend or you'll end up with a muddy look.

 

Example of a color wash