Shane Ralph Decorative Painting: Faux Travertine , Basalt stone blocking & Graining .

I decided to make this one of my first posts because it shows how faux paint effects can transform an area & also answer a question I'm often asked by folks who haven't heard of faux painting / decorative paint effects " Why would you paint that when you can just buy it?" or "Where would use that ?" or " why/how would you use that ?" etc I think all decorative painters have been asked that at some point.

A few years back a client asked could I do something to his hall /stairs /landing/ in his Bar to brighten it up & that he was thinking of a blue'ish grey stone block effect . He had just built a large smoking area outside & put a new entrance door to it half way up the stairs its also the main staircase & leads to all areas within the bar . Its a very dark area & the only natural light source is when the door is opened, he had just installed new light fittings before he decided to decorate the whole area, it didn't do much to brighten it up but kept them . He had removed all other fixtures & fittings from the walls revealing the orange colour wash that was there before the chocolate brown & off white combo.

So after talking with the client my understanding of the conversation was that he would like these areas to take on a more upmarket look & to give his customers a more 'pleasing to the eye' experience whilst using the staircase etc.

some 'before' images

I advised him that a greyish blue stone in entirety would be too dark & close the area in even more then it already is . Instead I recommended a modern mix & design of travertine & basalt that would open the area up and give an architectural feel whilst highlighting his new access door as a feature.

The walls had been lined & painted over a badly prepped surface, showing all nicks, bumps, unfilled ,rough filled etc. He didn't want to go as far as stripping the lining paper off & wasn't peeling in most areas so I just prepped what really needed to be done then sealed the wall with a acrylic primer followed by two coats of brilliant white acrylic satin .

The final touch of “the door” beside the basalt blocking will be grained in a modern art deco style that will marry all elements together. To give an idea of the scale of this hall ....each full block is 100 x 65 cm & the light shade is BIG.

After making the walls good & applying the base coat I measured out & decided what size block would look well when happy with that I pencilled them in & started applying the glaze taping each block as I go. I used Polyvine acrylic scumble for the stone blocking as it has a descent manipulation time , it can be dried within minutes after achieving the desired effect when working at speed , also its tough & long lasting.

close up detail

This particular effect hides imperfections well making it suitable for old sufaces

First workings of basalt blocking surrounding another entrance door

The first workings of the main basalt blocking

                                      Adding the lighter grout lines to the travertine completes
                                       & gives a realistic feel to the overall effect

   I then added a final glaze to the basalt blocking using the using the
                              original mix & painted in grout lines with a lining fitch & a striping edge.