Your walls are the largest canvas in your home, but most homeowners never do anything interesting with them.
Yes, a fresh coat of paint is fine, but if you want a room that genuinely turns your guests' heads, you need to know about special paint finishes and when it’s best to bring in a professional painter or interior decorator to get the job done right.
This guide covers everything from basic interior painting tips to four showstopping techniques you can attempt yourself, or hand over to the experts.
What Painters and Decorators Actually Do
Painters and decorators work across a wide range of residential and commercial projects. For residential projects, that means applying paints, stains, varnishes, and wall coverings to interior and exterior surfaces.
And for commercial and industrial projects (high-rise buildings, bridges, and warehouses), it means applying specialised finishes: weather-resistant coatings, anti-corrosive paints, and intumescent (fire-retardant) finishes designed to protect structures rather than simply decorate. For homeowners, the focus is almost always on interior painting.
Painting vs Decorating: What’s the Difference?
These two terms often get used interchangeably, but actually, they aren’t the same thing.
Interior painting refers to the application of paint and stain to walls, ceilings, and surfaces. It is one component of a broader process.
On the other hand, interior decorating is the complete visual styling of a space by selecting colour schemes, sourcing furniture and furnishings, choosing window treatments, hanging wall art, and specifying lighting. Painting is just one aspect in a decorator’s kit.
Many homeowners are natural decorators. They have an instinct for what looks good and how to pull a room together, but others find it quite overwhelming.
And yes, painters can also be decorators because, after all, it’s a core part of interior decoration. But decorators are not typically painters. They only specify the paint finishes and colours, then contract the application work out to professional painters.
Can You DIY Interior Painting?
If it’s for standard wall and ceiling painting, yes, most homeowners can do a competent job with the right preparation and tools. The only thing that can hold them back is usually time, uncertainty, or the fear of making a costly mistake.
But special paint finishes are a different matter. Some can be DIY’d with patience and practice, but others, particularly metal leaf gilding, are painstaking enough that most people are better off calling in a professional.
Before you attempt any special finish, the condition of your walls matters. Fresh, uncoated walls, previously wallpapered surfaces, and walls that have been repainted many times all require different preparation. Skipping preparation work is the most common reason decorative finishes fail.
Choosing Your Wall Finish: Start Here
Not sure which direction to go? Then consider the following before you pick up a brush to paint:
- What mood do you want to create in the room?
- What’s your preferred colour palette?
- Do you want a unified colour scheme throughout the space or a statement feature wall?
- Are you drawn to flat, smooth finishes, or do you prefer something with texture and dimension?
Most special paint effects work best when applied to a single feature wall. It can be your living room focal point, a bedroom headboard wall, or an entrance foyer. Going all-in on four walls is an overkill that can overwhelm any interior space.
Special Paint Techniques Worth Knowing
1. Wall Antiquing
Difficulty: Beginner to Intermediate.
DIY-friendly: Yes.
Wall antiquing creates the illusion of aged, worn plaster that’s streaky, mottled, chipped, or softly textured.
It suits eclectic interiors where the old and new work comfortably together. It works particularly well as a feature wall finish.
The basic application involves painting a thin, translucent film of colour over a light neutral base. Pigments from brown earth-tone palettes like raw umber and burnt umber give the most convincing aged effect. A second method involves using a smooth glaze applied with a large brush, followed by stippling random areas with a coarse brush (or spray gun) while the glaze is still wet.
Materials required:
- Two or three shades of water-based flat-finish paint (a few shades apart from each other. More contrast creates a more mottled effect)
- Paint rollers
- Brushes
- Paint trays
- A large sea sponge
- Rubber gloves
- Drop cloth
- Painters tape
- How to apply:
- Tape off baseboards, trims, mouldings, and electrical outlets.
- Protect your floor with drop cloths.
- Practice on a spare piece of drywall or board first.
Apply the lightest colour first with a roller. It doesn’t need to be perfect. Use an angled brush for edges and corners. Once it’s dry, apply the mid-tone in uneven vertical strokes using a coarser brush or sponge. Once that is dry, dab the darkest shade irregularly on the surface with the sea sponge.
*Tips:
- Work in up-and-down strokes and dabs.
- For a more weathered look, repeat the process left-to-right and let more of the base coat show through.
- Glazing each coat before applying the next one creates translucency and builds depth.
- Keep your colour choices on the lighter side for your first attempt (it’s easier to add depth than to pull it back).
2. Wall Stamping
Difficulty: Beginner
DIY-friendly: Yes
Wall stamping is a stylish and more affordable alternative to wallpaper. It involves pressing shaped foam stamps loaded with paint onto your wall in repeated or random patterns. The result can look modern and abstract, or traditional and classic, depending entirely on the shapes and colours you choose.
Simple, repeatable geometric shapes such as squares, diamonds, circles, and hexagons are the easiest to work with. You can either cut your own from craft foam using a straight edge or buy pre-made pattern templates.
What you need:
- Coordinating acrylic paints up to four colours (anything more than four will look chaotic)
- Clear acrylic glaze.
- 3/8-inch-thick craft foam (roughly 8” x 10” pieces)
- A straight edge
- Scissors (or a utility knife)
- Plastic plates (one for each colour)
- Sponge brushes
- A level
- Latex gloves
- Paper towels
How to apply (Plan your pattern before you begin):
For a grid design, lightly pencil your grid lines onto the wall using a level and straight edge.
- Cut your shapes cleanly.
- Pour roughly 3 tablespoons of paint onto each plate, add a tablespoon of mixing glaze, and combine with a sponge brush.
- Brush the mixture onto one face of each foam shape, with all strokes running in the same direction.
- Press each stamp firmly onto the wall, ensuring full contact across the surface.
- Mop up any excess paint off the foam with a damp paper towel between applications.
Tips:
- Draw light guidelines every 30–45 cm on the wall to keep your grid consistent.
- Practice on a piece of poster board before moving to the wall.
- For a more abstract effect, apply different shapes in a deliberate but freeform arrangement. Overlapping and layering will add visual interest.
3. Metal Leaf (Gilding)
Difficulty: Advanced
DIY-friendly: With care
Gilding is the application of ultra-thin sheets of metal leaf, gold, silver, copper, bronze, or aluminium, to a wall surface. The result is a luminous, regal, and genuinely breathtaking finish, especially in candlelight. A gilded feature wall needs no further decoration because it is the decoration.
Gilding is one of the most impressive wall finishes that’s not much harder to apply than wallpaper. But gold leaf is far more delicate, and the process is unforgiving of shortcuts. If you’re not confident about trying this out, it’s best left to a professional.
What you need:
- Tack cloth
- Shop cloth
- 120-grit sandpaper
- Drywall filler
- Craft sticks
- Painter’s tape
- A water-based primer
- An extendable roller
- A short-nap roller
- Squirrel mop gilding brush
- Eggshell latex paint
- Metal leaf adhesive (water-based is best for DIY)
- A water-based varnish.
How to apply:
- Wash the wall gently with diluted washing-up liquid and water.
- Allow it to dry completely.
- Sand down any uneven areas and old paint bumps, then wipe with a tack cloth.
- Fill cracks with drywall filler. Once it’s dry, sand-smooth it and wipe clean.
- Tape off ceiling edges, trims, and baseboards.
- Apply two coats of water-based primer with at least 4 hours’ drying time between coats (6 hours if conditions are damp or humid).
- Apply two coats of eggshell latex paint. Allow the second coat to dry overnight.
- The following day, begin at one end of the wall at the ceiling line. Press a strip of metal leaf onto the surface and go over the paper backing with the squirrel mop brush to eliminate air bubbles. Ensure it sticks.
- Peel off the backing and brush it gently to allow it to flatten. Continue the process strip by strip, until the entire wall is covered. Seal with water-based varnish applied with the short-nap roller and leave overnight to dry well.
*Tips:
- Water-based adhesive is the better choice for DIY as it dries more slowly and gives you time to work carefully.
- If you opt for gold leaf adhesive, work quickly in long strips from ceiling to baseboard. Never apply metal leaf in an unventilated room.
- Varnish is non-negotiable because it significantly protects the finish and extends its lifespan.
4. Faux Marble
Difficulty: Intermediate
DIY-friendly: Yes, but with practice.
Real marble is not only expensive, but it is also heavy and permanent. Faux marble paint gives you a remarkably convincing version of it at a fraction of the cost, and you can tailor the look to any marble variety of your choice.
The easiest starting point (and the most popular) is classic white marble with grey and black veining.
Faux marble adds texture, depth, and an unmistakably high-end quality to a room. It immediately transforms a feature wall into a genuine focal point for the room.
What you need:
- Two shades of latex paint (lighter and darker, with the darker shade acting as a base coat)
- 3/8-inch paint rollers
- Roller trays
- A large sea sponge
- A large feather
- Polyacrylic gloss topcoat
- Foam plate
- Shop cloths
- Painter’s tape
- A paint stir stick
- Drop cloths
- Joint filler
- A putty knife
- Hand sander
- Fine-grit sandpaper
For a subtle veining finish, choose colours two or three shades apart on the same colour chart and for a bold, dramatic veining, choose colours from different colour strips entirely.
How to apply:
First, protect your floor with drop cloths and tape all trims, mouldings, and baseboards.
- Repair any cracks or holes with joint compound filler and sand flush once dry.
- Apply the base coat with a roller and allow it to dry.
- Apply a second coat for a smooth, even base and allow it to dry.
- Using the feather dipped in your second colour, run random vein lines across the wall surface. Repeat the process until you are satisfied with the vein coverage.
- Allow to dry.
- Mix equal parts of the base coat paint and polyacrylic gloss on a foam plate. Dip a damp sea sponge into the mixture and dab lightly over the vein marks.
- Allow this to dry for ten minutes.
- Roll a dry cloth into a ball and lightly blot the entire surface to blend the colours.
- Leave for one hour.
- You can add additional veining if desired, but allow two more hours of drying time.
- Apply the polyacrylic satin topcoat with a roller using long vertical strokes and allow it to dry for two hours.
- Using a hand sander with fine-grit sandpaper, buff the wall in gentle circular motions to reduce streaking.
- Wipe away sanding residue and repeat for a total of three topcoats.
- Allow the final coat to dry for approximately three hours.
*Tips:
- Always wear a sanding mask when buffing the topcoat.
- Practice on a sample board before touching the wall.
- Use the darker paint as a base for subtler, softer veining.
- Use the lighter paint as a base for bolder, more dramatic veining.
When to Call a Professional
Special paint effects are achievable as DIY projects, but the wall condition is the most important thing of all. No technique will look good when the surfaces are poorly prepared. If your walls are heavily textured, wallpapered, or have been repainted many times without stripping, you may face significant preparation work before any decorative finish can be applied.
Hire a professional if:
- Your walls need extensive repair before painting.
- You want gilding or metal leaf on a large surface area.
- You are attempting a technique for the first time on a prominent feature wall.
- You want a guaranteed result rather than a learning experience.
Hiring a decorator is less expensive than most people assume. What drives the cost up are the products and finishes chosen, and not the labour costs.
The Difference Between an Awesome Room and a Bland One
The difference between a forgettable room and one people talk about is often just one wall. Special paint effects, whether the warmth of antiquing, the precision of stamping, the drama of gilding, or the sophistication of faux marble, are within reach of most homeowners. With patience, a little preparation, and the right tools, an awesome, inviting room can be created.
Remember this: choose colours that complement both the ceiling and the entire space. Since there is no single right answer on how best to choose, make your gut instinct a legitimate tool. And when in doubt, start with a feature wall. One wall done brilliantly beats four walls done the typical way.
Browse more posts in Home Improvement for more home improvement ideas.
(Article originally published at hubpages.com on 0/09/10)
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