Paint Techniques

Need advice on painting floors?
Need to give your home a makeover? Paint is still one of the easiest and most affordable ways to instantly update a room - no matter what surface you paint. And paint is not just for walls. With proper preparation and the right paint you can paint just about any surface in and around the home.
Get creative with a paint roller
There are so many ways to get creative with paint effects and paint techniques and sometimes, a little out-of-the-box thinking can bring about surprising results. Like wrapping wool around a paint roller to paint on walls, wallpaper, fabric, or even furniture.
How to paint French doors
Give your French doors a makeover and add a splash of colour at the same time. In this project plain white doors are painted with a medium teal to add a dose of fresh colour.
Decorate a wall with Rust-Oleum metallic paint pens
This project shows how easily you can transform a boring wall with a Rust-Oleum metallic paint pen. You will find Rust-Oleum paint pens at your local Builders Warehouse store and they come in a selection of metallic colours.
Easy painted wall adds interest
If you are looking for an easy way to add interest to a boring wall these colourful circles are right on spot ! Painted circular designs can easily infuse any room in your home with colour, pattern, and personality.
Paint effects for the modern home
Liven up a room with paint effects. Modern paint effects still incorporate some of the old techniques, but these walls are anything but dated. It's so easy to incorporate a splash of design with paint to update a plain room or add high impact to a feature wall.
How to colour wash on walls
Colour wash is a painting technique that adds a thin layer of darker colour over a previously painted surface in the same colour group. Colour washing creates soft, muted tones that can dress up drab, plain walls. The technique involves mixing paint with scumble glaze; the glaze thins the paint and slows its drying time to make it easier to work with.
Techniques for finishing wood
There are so many finishing techniques that you can use for wood, whether you are starting a project with new wood, or giving old wood furniture a revamp. Techniques for finishing wood can range from a high-gloss painted finish to a finish that is more rustic or natural.
Use liming wax for interior and exterior wood
Wooden doors, floors and furniture can be transformed by the simple chalky tones of liming wax. Liming has long been used as a traditional finish on exposed timbers, floorboards and furniture. Inside the home, limed wood has mild antiseptic properties so was favoured for hygienic reasons.
How to limewash
Limewash or liming is an excellent technique for any wood with a good natural grain that can be opened with a wire brush. Traditional liming wax has been replaced with water-based liming paste that can be sealed with varnish.
Use paint to transform ugly or dated furniture
As we look for ways to reuse, repurpose and recycle, being able to makeover or modernise old furniture is just one way to transform dated pieces and save them from the trash heap. You don't need any special talents to be able to paint furniture, just a can or two of matt or low-sheen acrylic PVA, some Woodoc antique wax or clear acrylic sealer - and painting tools and supplies.
How to paint gingham walls
Using a paint technique for gingham walls is one way to add interest to a boring wall. Using soft shades of colour from a single paint swatch you can easily transform any room.
How to paint furniture
Being able to paint furniture allows you to not only look around for bargains, it's also a way to customise dated or dark furniture to fit in with your style of home decorating.
How to paint concrete
Don't live with a dingy, grey concrete slab when there are so many ways to update and give concrete a makeover. You will find a selection of concrete paints and concrete preparation products at your local Builders Warehouse, and painting concrete is a project you can easily tackle in a weekend.<
Paint effects can transform a room
Paint can do more than change the colour of a room - it can add texture, pattern and visual interest. Today's decorative painting techniques are simple and sophisticated alternatives to wallpaper. Whether you're a painting pro or a DIY beginner, here's how you can transform a room with a few simple strokes.
Faux wood grain for hollow core or steel door
You only need a wood graining rocker, wood stain (I like to use Woodoc Gel Stain), lint-free cloth and polyurethane varnish to make a hollow core or steel door look like wood.
New front door gets a paint makeover
I have lived in my home for the past 15 years and have reached the stage where I am starting to get bored with the look. It's time to make some changes. They say move or improve, and with the property market the way it is, it's definitely more improve than anything else. But without a large budget to work with I am going to have to make small - high impact - changes here and there.
How to age or distress furniture without sanding
My original decorative side table was simply painted and then waxed with Woodoc Antique wax to protect. But if you want to age and distress the piece, here's how my version of the table came out.
How to add stripes to a wall
If you're prepared to do all the preparation for painting stripes onto a wall, they really do add interest to boring rooms. Horizontal stripes visually widen a space, while vertical stripes create the illusion of height in a room with a low ceiling. Add to that the various other ways that you can use stripes to add colour, interest and texture and make an instant impact - and you're ready to earn your stripes.
Faux stone columns
Almost any room can benefit from a few large, impressive accent pieces, but home accessories like these tend to be expensive. These inexpensive columns are made from building forms - or carpet tubes - plus terracotta flowerpots and saucers. You can use a jigsaw to cut the tubes shorter if desired.
How to make milk paint
As one of the oldest forms of paint, milk paint is one of the most versatile and eco-friendly paints that you can use in a home. Used for centuries to paint furniture, this completely natural paint is extremely durable once dry.
How to create a faux rust effect

For a quick and easy faux rust effect you don't always need expensive paint kits - some acrylic colour, a scruffed up paintbrush or old seasponge, a clean cloth and some spare time are all you need.

Stacked stone wall paint technique

Easily transform a plain wall into a feature wall with a faux-stone technique. By applying the paint in rectangles of varying sizes you can reproduce a stacked-stone effect.

How to do relief stencilling

Here's an easy way to create a raised effect - relief design - by using a stencil and paste. You can use this technique on furniture, walls and even on doors, to apply a textured design
Metallic effect for furniture
With painted furniture being hot, hot, hot at the moment, I have begun to see another trend appearing - painting furniture in a metallic finish. I think it looks absolutely glam.
How to paint a hardwood floor
While hardwood floors are beautiful, where floors are no longer looking good are cannot take any more sanding, painting offers you an opportunity to add a new look without the expense of replacing the entire floor.
How to paint a rug or carpet
I recently came across a post where a rug was painted with a stencil design. Having used my Rust-Oleum spray paints on fabric and furniture, there's no reason why you can't use it on rugs and mats as well.
How to apply glaze to furniture
Use a glaze technique to create wonderful textures and depth to painted furniture. Glaze is normally a mixture of paint and scumble glaze combined at varying ratios to extend the drying time of paint, thereby allowing you more time to work on the effect that you want to create.
How to paint clouds on walls and ceilings

There's something so magical about clouds on walls and ceilings - they make you feel that you are floating on air. I remember as a young girl that my mom painted clouds on the ceiling and I spent so much time lying on my bed daydreaming!

Instant feature wall
Stenciling with a foam roller is by far the fastest stencilling technique, and also the easiest. However, there are couple things to keep in mind to make sure the results are perfect. In this project we'll show you how to add an instant feature to a wall using a stencil, paint and foam roller.
How to add guilding or silver leaf to furniture
Gilding is fun, a little messy and quite time consuming on bigger pieces but the end result is fantastic! Decide on your piece to gild - perhaps start off with something small till you get used to it ....or jump in the deep end!
How to paint over tiles
Contrary to popular belief, bathroom makeovers will not break the bank. Painting over old and dated ceramic tiles will immediately transform a bathroom.
Table makeover with distressed technique
Sometimes older pieces cry out for a bit of TLC to restore them to stunning collectibles. Here's how to create a rustic finish on a wooden side table using paint and a distressing technique.
Damask wall with pearlescent paint
The effect I wanted was a subtle backdrop to my bed on a feature wall, for that reason I didn't choose a strongly contrasting paint but rather a pealescent paint.

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Art decor stencilled wall design
Stencils are great for using to add detail to walls. In this project we show how to add an art deco themed stencil design to a hallway to dress up a plain wall.
Add a gingham pattern to walls
With just a little old fashioned elbow grease and know-how, you can create beautiful striped walls and stencilled patterns. Striped walls help give smaller rooms a sense of height and ordinary rooms some visual interest.
What is limewash
Used in the past as a paint treatment for furniture, lime wash how more recently been replaced with the easily applied white washing technique due to the caustic properties of lime.
How to paint furniture
If you're in the market for new furniture or looking for a way to spice up one or two pieces you already have, paint may just be the answer you're looking for. When applied correctly, paint can alter the very nature of a piece.
How to faux bois - wood grain effect
Thanks to Woodoc Gel Stain, it is now possible to create a faux wood finish on supawood. The gel formula of Woodoc Gel Stain is not quickly absorbed into the wood and means that it does not run and seep into the surrounding area, making it perfect for using with a Wood Grain Rocker to create the look of faux wood. Now you can have the look of wood for the price of supawood!
Clever bedroom makeover
I just had to share this bedroom makeover with you. Not only do I think that the back wall gives a lovely dramatic effect, but the cabling from the two hanging bedside lamps has been cleverly camoflaged.
No wallpaper decorating solution
Wallpaper is definitely in, and you can shop around for designs that range in price from R199 (Builders Warehouse) up to R2000 (Interior Designer) per roll. The only problem with wallpaper is that it's lovely to look at, but awful to remove once it's up.
Decorate with wall murals
If you have just a little bit of artistic talent, decorating with murals is a fun and affordable way to spice up a room, and especially a children's bedroom.
Create a focal point or feature wall
Introduce a dramatic focal wall into a living room by stencilling a wall with a creative pattern and using paint colours to add impact.
Cherry blossom wall stencil
Random stencilling involves applying stencil designs to portions of the wall to suggest a hand painted design. The cherry blossom desing featured below consists of a sheet of component parts that you can arrange and combine to create designs that mimic the natural growth of cherry tree branches.

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Use paint on upholstered furniture
Having done something similar in the past, I was quite surprised to come across an article in which an interior designer actually uses paint on fabric.
How to paint designs on textured walls
Painting textured walls can be a challenge. Every time we paint, we think that we have the walls perfectly covered, until a few days later when we find tiny little dots that we missed due to the “knock down” texture. It’s become such a routine with our painting that touching up a few days later is one of our expected steps.
How to apply wood grain effect to walls and more
You can use faux bois - or wood graining - to apply a decorative effect to a feature wall in any room. It's easier and far more affordable than wallpaper and you get to choose the colours that you would like to use to match your room decor.
Opulent damask tapestry walls
This lovely stencilled wall effect adds a touch of drama to any room in a home. Use Prominent Paints Ultramatt or Ultrasatin and silver craft acrylic to create a dramatic and elegant effect.
Textured paint effect for tiles
Give outdated ceramic tile walls a new look by decoratively painting them in colours you love. Use non-drip enamel paint, as this works well on most matt tiles, but to be certain it will work on yours, brush a small amount on a spare tile or in a discreet spot and allow it to dry before completing this painting project.
How to distress furniture
I love the look of distressed furniture, even though I don't have a single piece in my home. My personal style is more modern with a touch of eclecticism. There is something that appeals to the inner me - a desire to make but not to own.
Colour blocking effect for walls
Colour blocks allow you to play around with colour in a small way. It's also an inexpensive way to introduce colour into a home by using tester pots to create colour blocks. There are endless possibilities for creating a focal point, highlighting a particular area, or simply adding extra colour to a bland space.
Add drama with large patterned walls
For a one-of-a-kind look that is more personal than wallpaper, grab some blackboard chalk and start sketching. In the dining room shown here, a swirly floral wallpaper pattern design was adopted as a larger, looser drawing for a fresh, whimsical effect.
Paint two-tone walls
To create the effect of patinaed plaster you need to apply two different colours of glaze over a base coat of paint. The technique works well with colours from the same family, but can also work with unrelated colours.
Twig design for walls and panels
Decorative moulding can help make a large room feel more intimate, but those rectangles can also be a challenge to work with. The solution came in the form of gentle tree branches, a natural motif for a room with a garden view. The design lets the branches grow up naturally, as if rooted in the dark oak floor, their leaves bumping up against the wall mouldings as if they were framed by windows.

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Lace design for painted floors
Concrete has become today's eco-friendly choice for modern homes. Whether polished, etched, tinted or painted, there are many options available for decorating a concrete floor and other types of flooring as well.
Faux stone or painted brick wall
Painting a surface to look like it is made of stone blocks or bricks is a versatile technique because you can customise the size, shape, arrangement, and colour of the blocks or bricks in the finished treatment.
Have fun with paint
We all know by now that paint is one of the most affordable ways to add colour to a home, but more than that, paint offers an opportunity to design and create unique interiors. There are several ways to apply various paint techniques and paint effects to walls.
Decorate walls with tone-on-tone colour
Choosing the same colour and using different tones to decorate a room has a calming and pure effect like no others will. Whether you lean towards the calming tones of green for your bedroom or would love your living room to be awash with blues that are as deep as the ocean or as light as the sky, decorating with tone-on-tone colours will evoke a connection with nature.
Faux paint techniques
The '80s ruined faux. The decade that gave us big hair and acid-washed jeans also introduced sponge-painting and marbleising kits to the masses. Suddenly, amateurs started taking a Renaissance-era art technique and applying it to everything from stereo cabinets to kitchen walls. The result? A bad reputation!
Sophisticated stencil
For decades stencilling has been boring and uninspiring, but now it’s time to show the new, trendy way to add unique wall effects. Download our sophisticated stencil design featuring willowy leaves that drape and fall down a wall.
How to whitewash furniture
Whitewashing brings out details. Although you can whitewash almost any wood item, whitewashing really shines on projects that feature carved details, turned legs, and interesting grains.
How to do a dragging technique
Dragging produces delicately interwoven lines, rather than high-contrast stripes of colour and glaze. Although dragging looks great as a treatment on an accent wall, you can use this versatile technique for an entire room as well.
Colour blocking technique for walls
If wallpaper isn't your thing but you're dying for a splash of colour and pattern, then colour blocking may be just the technique you're looking for. Colour blocking is done by selecting zones on a wall or ceiling and painting them a different colour from the main wall colour.
Applying paint with a trowel
You can easily create the look of old, faded adobe walls simply by applying the paint with a variety of trowels. The process of troweling paint is basically goof-proof.

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Decorate with metallic paints
Rust-Oleum offers a wide range of metallic spray paints, decorating kits and paint pens that you can easily use to dress up everyday accents for a touch of glitz in the home. Rust-Oleum Specialty Metallic Spray provides rich, shiny finish for decorating and accent pieces.
Decorate with strie paint technique
Strie is similar to dragging and involves the use of two paint colours, one of which is mixed with scumble glaze, to create a two-tone brushed effect on walls. You can brush horizontally, vertically or in both directions for a linen effect.
Faux bamboo feature wall
Bamboo walls are a popular way to evoke the faraway cultures of Asia and painted bamboo finish can be a stylish substitute for expensive wall coverings without their potential fraying and easy soiling.
Create a faux stone wall
Painting a wall to look like stones is easier than you might think. Starting off with small projects will provide you with the experience necessary to be able to tackle larger projects in your home.
How to add verdris faux effect or patina
Verdigris allows you to add another element to decor accessories and fittings, such as wrought iron, etc. Transform burglar bars with a delicate verdigris patina to create a beautiful aged effect.
How to age and distress raw pine furniture
Distressing unfinished pine furniture gives it antique charm with an aged look that allows you to buy affordable furniture and create a reproduction piece for a home.
How to wood grain on supawood or board
Wood graining simulates wood grain using paints and effects finishes. Use this technique where wood might normally have been used. In the majority of cases, it is best to use tones of the same colour. Usually the basecoat is lighter than the effects finish applied to the top.
How to create a faux pewter finish
Faux pewter technique works well with smaller items, particularly ones that you would typically see made with real, solid or plated pewter. Items such as picture frames, candle holders, trim and other solid objects work well, and their smaller size makes it easier to complete this finish.
How to create a tuscan wall effect
Tuscan accents is a two-colour paint process resembling antique Italian finishes in its unmistakable warmth and character. Bringing to mind old-world charm, it will add a sense of history to your decor.
Go faux for effect
The recent resurgence of interest in decorative paint effects shouldn’t make you think they’re new techniques: we have been using whatever has been at hand to decorate our environment for millennia.
Create an instant feature wall
Give any room in your home a splash of serious style with a new, modern wallpaper. You will find a varied selection of wallpaper at your local Builders Warehouse.
Metallic design on painted wall
To add a burst of sunshine to an entryway or boring wall,, paint your walls with a base coat of warm orange or brown. Stencil on small sunburst patterns and spray with Rust-Oleum Metallic gold and silver. Repeat all over for a bright and inviting look.

 

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plascon paint calculator

How to faux linen paint effect

 

Substitute the products with metallic paint - Plascon Wall & All - Plascon scumble glaze

Linen defines elegance - it's an easy paint technique that offers a subtle and sophisticated finish to walls.

 

Substitute the products with thin wallpaper or whitewashing brush

How to strie paint effect

 

Substitute the products with acrylic PVA - scumble glaze

How to create suede walls

 

Suede walls add a warm, textured finish to a home. Use suede paint effect to add a feature wall.

How to paint vertical stripes

 

Vertical stripes are one of the most versatile wall finishes. Use vertical stripes to create the illusion of height in a room with low ceiling, or simply to add impact to a wall.

How to stencil onto walls

 

Stencilled walls allow you to be creative with design and paint to apply a stencil design in your choice of pattern and colour.

Combing paint technique

Learn combing paint technique. Combing in an overlapping S curve simulates the look of moire ribbon.

 

Aged copper paint technique

Learn combing paint technique. Combing in an overlapping S curve simulates the look of moire ribbon.