Saturday, June 13, 2009

Faux Painting = Faux Pas

Well, I actually think that 'faux pas' means a big boo-boo as far as etiquette goes, so maybe gaffe or blunder, or just BIG MISTAKE will suffice!!
I attempted to do a type of faux finish in our living room, but I did not get a beautiful blend of colors, my walls did not look color washed, they looked yucky! I had done a faux finish in the kitchen a few months ago. My husband and I did a base coat and then the next day I did the sponge painting with the glaze, and while it didn't look like a professional finish, I was happy with the results.
But I forgot one thing. Our kitchen was remodeled and the walls in there are all straight, and smooth, and pristine. A nice canvas to start with.
The walls in our living room and dining room, well, not so pristine. They are old, and they are hand plastered with a stucco finish. I love them, but they are not the canvas for a washed/blend paint finish, at least not for me to attempt a washed/blend paint finish. I started out by following the directions I saw on a video online. I mixed the paint and the glaze, and I got a bucket of water and a big car washing sponge, I rinsed the sponge, wrung it to near dry just as instructed, then I dipped the sponge in the glaze/paint mixture and went to work. It wasn't blending, it wasn't even covering, the stucco was much too thick for such a big sponge. I moved on to using a little sea sponge (that's what I used in the kitchen), but this wasn't giving me a nice blended look either, it wasn't even giving me the look I had in my kitchen, it was just a mess! The more I swirled, the worse things got! It just looked like someone attempted to paint the stucco walls and did a bad job of covering the previous paint color! Ugh! Oh Puke!
(This picture I took after the first attempt with the big sponge, it looked a little better but not much after I went to work with the sea sponge.)





So when Ray came home from golfing, he agreed with me that it looked horrible, and he rescued me by taking a trip to Home Depot, buying more paint and rollers and brushes, and went to work on painting, just a normal paint job, no faux, no fuss.
(Don't ask why nothing is off the walls when we are painting, Ray refuses to take anything down until he gets to that spot, then it comes down, and goes right back up the minute the paint is dry!)






We still have one more wall to go (that wall with the candles still on it, it's also the wall with Ray's big TV on it! Yikes!), and we won't get to it for a few weeks as we have a party tomorrow, and then another party next Saturday, and then there will be NO PAINTING on Father's Day, so we'll wait until the following week. But I'm a very happy camper!
I took some pictures but they are lost somewhere on this computer! I'll look again in the morning. I'm tired and I'm going up to bed!


Okay, Ray found the 'finished' pictures. They were still in the camera! Duh!
Well, it was late and I was tired.
So here there are:
(These two were taken last night)




(This was taken this morning, but it's not true daylight as it is raining AGAIN! So the color isn't true in any of these pictures, it looks more yellow or yellow green to me in these pictures, the color actually looks more cream, the name of it is Country Beige.)



Okay here's before and after to give you an idea:
(Before on the left ~ After on the right ~ Can you see any difference?)




It's not what I had originally envisioned, but it's fresh, and it's clean, and I'm very happy!

13 comments:

  1. Hello my friend, I have to say I really love Ray's wall.....sorry wasn't fussy about yours but then you weren't either so I don't feel rude. Eileen, I love your energy and how you enjoy decorating, always doing something to make your home beautiful. I so love decorating, at one time my late husband threatened me that he was going to nail the furniture down as he was so tired of everything being in a different spot. He loved to help paint and paper as well and he was always proud of how our home looked.
    Hope you have a good night's sleep, I am unable to settle yet but I am finding comfort in my favorite blogs. Take care my friend and have a wonderful Sunday.....:-) Hugs

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  2. Poor, poor baby...I had that same experience with trying the same thing in Arizona, but it was after I lost Mario, so thank the Lord for my creative and energetic daughter-in-law who helped me, even though we opted to leave the one wall that way as an accent. All the walls that way would have been a true horror as the color was way too deep even though the directions and sample showed a whole different picture!

    The color Ray is using looks very pretty, though. How funny that he leaves things on the wall that way...never heard of that before.

    blessings and extra hugs,

    marcy

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  3. I really like the cream walls with the white trim and the white blinds/curtains. Very pretty! The cream beside the curtains just make the curtains pop. I also love that old fashioned black phone by the couch!

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  4. Good choice in colors Eileen...I would of had to have my SIL (whose very artistic) do the faux painting for me...you're braver than I...
    The room does have a crisp clean and peaceful look to it...Ray did a very nice job!

    Noticed you had a Dyson Sweeper...don't you just love it?...that's a favorite of mine!

    Maybe this Friday I will do the Friday Favorites with you...I noticed Diana and Teresa did...you should "make" everyone! :)

    Smile and take care!

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  5. The cream walls looks pretty and soft!! It matches your pillows..and I LOVE the white trim and white curtains. Very Cozy!! Sorry the other didn't work out for you..especially after all the work you put into it..but the outcome is gorgeous..You have a lovely home!!! If you don't mind me asking, what does the picture on top of the other picture say? Love, Jerelene

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  6. Bernie, thank you for always being so kind. I'm sorry you've had to go through such a sorrow. I am thinking of you, you and your patient, and his family are in my thoughts and prayers. 'Hope you were able to get some much-needed rest.

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  7. Marcy, you are the brave one, I don't know if I would attempt any big projects on my own, I always seem to make a mess of things left to my own devices!
    And Ray never used to leave things on the walls, we used to clear the room of everything, but I think that's what he hated most about painting (I liked it because then I could really do a good cleaning, now I just clean the things that came down before he has a chance to hang them back up, and I quick vacuum while he has furniture pulled away from the walls!)

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  8. Thank you, Jill, I'm happier with the color than I thought I would be. At first I thought it was darker than what I originally had (a rose beige) but the room does seem brighter. And Ray got that phone on ebay! I can't stand the new phones because I like to cradle it on my shoulder and do things as I talk, but the new ones keep slipping, this old one is great and has a long, long cord.

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  9. Yes, Wanda, I do like the Dyson, it took some getting used to (my old vacuum was easier working with the smaller utensils, not so many steps), but now I'm used to it, and it is POWERFUL!

    And I would LOVE if everyone would do a Friday Favorite! Marcy and Diana and I were saying maybe one time we could all do a post about our grandmothers, or maybe another favorite relative, someone who left a favorable mark on our hearts and our lives.
    I really enjoy the Friday Favorites, I love to see what others love. And most times it's what I love too!
    I don't want to force anyone to do it though if they have something else in mind to blog about, but anyone that wants to join in, the more the merrier! I think that would be such fun!

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  10. Hi, Jerelene!
    The picture on top says "Home Is Where The Heart Is", one of my favorite sayings. (I should use that as a Friday Favorite sometime!)
    I know you have certain days that you post specific things, Jerelene, but if you ever want to do a Friday Favorite please join in!
    I know some of you have so many more 'blog friends' than I do so you may all be involved in other things.
    Or you may want to invite others to post their favorites on Fridays too.
    I'm so computer illiterate, I'm sure there's a way to hook things up, but I have no idea, so I'm just going by word of mouth (or word of blog!).

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  11. Love the end result in your living room, and the color is so pretty. A job very well done my friend, it looks great.....:-) Hugs

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  12. I think your living room looks just beautiful! I love all of the moldings. They are lovely and give so much character and charm to a room. We have to paint our living room in the fall. I had to laugh when you said your hubby goes wall to wall taking things down and putting them back up. My hubby doesnt mask off a thing or cover any furniture. It drives me crazy. He thinks it's pointless to do stuff like that. LOL I'm leaving when he starts painting LOL Actually I should add that I don't know how he does it but he does a good job and doesn't get paint on anything, well hardly....

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  13. Thank you, Bernie! I'm happy with it.
    Now on to the dining room! And that has tons of furniture, and built in shelves with lots of knick knacks!

    Carol, you are so funny! I guess I can't blame our husbands though, why make more work for them? As long as it gets done, and it's not such a mess to clean let them 'have at it'!
    I do feel bad for my husband, he really is very handy and therefore I always have a million projects in mind for him to do!

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