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Faux Tile Ceiling

GARY LORD

This is a wonderful way to create the look of an old-fashioned tin ceiling but with a modern, updated style to it. I have done this finish in bar areas, studies, dining rooms, media rooms, hallways and libraries, and with each one I created a very dramatic design theme. By using this concept but changing out the materials and colors, the design options become unlimited. So go ahead and make the “fifth wall” in your room something special!

MATERIALS

“Blue Daisy” latex paint (Benjamin Moore) or an equivalent shade of blue

Royal Design Studio’s Renaissance Tile Series #2, Stencil 710

LusterStone: Cantaloupe

Behr Silver Metallic paint

Chip brushes

Stain & Seal: Antique Cherry

FX Thinner

Denatured alcohol

Rags

Japan scrapers

Misting bottle

PRO TIPS

1. Laying Up Straight Lines
Lay up your horizontal and vertical guidelines using a level and a pencil (please see the “Crackle Foil” project for tips on drawing guidelines). Align the corners of the stencil on the vertical lines.

2. Loading a Japan Scraper
To load your Japan scraper with the LusterStone, use a wooden craft stick to dip into the LusterStone, then transfer it to the edge of the scraper blade.

3. Washing Off the Stencils
Wash the backs of the stencils about every two applications to prevent bleed-through. It’s okay to have a few bleeds here and there (even on your sample board) for a more handpainted look.

STEP 1: Apply a solid basecoat of “Blue Daisy” latex paint to your surface and let dry. Use a pencil and a level to draw your horizontal and vertical guidelines for placement of the stencils (see Pro Tip #1). Mist the backs of your stencils with water; this will act as suction to hold your stencils in place.

STEP 2: Load the top edge of a Japan scraper with LusterStone “Cantaloupe” and apply the LusterStone over each stencil, leaving it slightly raised off the stencil.

STEP 3: Carefully lift each stencil straight up so not to disturb the raised pattern. Let dry completely.

STEP 4: Use a chip brush to scumble on the Behr Silver Metallic paint in a varying depth of opacity over 70-80 percent of the surface. Keep your brushstrokes going in the same general direction. Don’t crosshatch them. You should still be able to see the blue basecoat here and there. Let dry.

STEP 5: Dilute the Antique Cherry Stain & Seal 10-20 percent with FX Thinner and brush it over the surface using a chip brush. Keep your strokes going in the same general direction as the metallic silver strokes in the previous step. Work in a fairly small area so the Stain & Seal doesn’t dry before you go to the next step.

STEP 6: Take a cotton rag and remove as much of the Antique Cherry color as desired. A damp rag will remove even more color. Another option is to mist your surface with water before using the Stain & Seal.

FINISH: If you wish to cut through the color even more, allow it to dry and then use denatured alcohol on a rag and randomly remove the color by rubbing it gently until you achieve your desired effect.