Faux Stone Painting

by Rhonda Chase Design

59K31320

Intro: Faux Stone Painting

When I replaced my ancient one piece range with new appliances I was left with a big swath of unfinished drywall. Looking at my options and not liking most of them, I decided to paint a faux stone wall. I'm pretty happy with the result, and even more important, so is my family.

Update: I've been using the stove for a few months now. I've had plenty of splashes and spills and have had no problem keeping the painting clean. It's also been well heated and steamed. Nothing seems to affect it.

STEP 1: Before You Paint

A few notes before you start:

Clean the area really well. Stray grit or webs will muck up your paint.

Paint before installing permanent appliances or furniture, if possible.

Use a paint for the base coat that is also a primer.

Mix the colors you already have to make other colors and shades.

Test colors and techniques on spots that won't show.

Always have clean water and a rag handy!

STEP 2: What You'll Need

Good house paint. Choose your finish, interior or exterior, and several colors. You'll need at least one background color, one highlight color and one contrasting color for the grout. I got sample sizes of rust, off white, gray and tan.

A regular sponge

A sea sponge

One medium paintbrush for large areas

Smaller brushes for details

Pencil and eraser

Dish of clean water

Rags/paper towels

Optional: Varnish

STEP 3: Painting Stone

1) Sketch your design on the wall in pencil. For freeform stones, just draw them in. For bricks or angular designs, you can use a ruler and/or painter's tape. Make the grout about 1/2 inch wide.

2) Paint the base color of all the stones. Don't worry about perfection. You'll make the lines neater when you paint the grout. Let dry.

3) Dab some of the highlight color on your bricks with the sea sponge. Work in small sections.

4) When the highlight paint is nearly dry take a damp regular sponge and wipe gently in small circles. This will spread some of the highlight color and make the stone more realistic.

STEP 4: Sketches

These are my original sketches. I just found them on my phone so I thought I should share them. (I originally was going to paint a trellis, but decided against it.)

STEP 5: Add the Grout

5) Continue until all the stones are highlighted. Let dry.

6) Paint your grout color in between all the stones. Let dry.

7) If you want them to look more realistic, paint a dark line (shadow) on one side and on the underside of each stone. You can also paint a highlight in a lighter color than the grout opposite the dark lines. Use a small round paintbrush. Let dry.

STEP 6: Finishing the Wall

8) Make light and dark glazes (transparent paint) by watering down one light and one dark paint color. Test the glazes on a spot that won't show.

9) Paint the glazes in a random manner with your sponges. This will add dimension. Wipe off what you don't like. Dab up excess paint.

10) Touch up any areas that need work and let dry fully.

11) Optional: Apply 3-4 coats of varnish if your painting will get a lot of wear. (Like a stove backsplash!)

STEP 7:

20 Comments

rosey gillespie 9 years ago

This is a good idea!. Thank you.

What makes it water proof? or soap and water resistant?

Have you tried washing the part that is near the stove and does it hold without smudges?

Rhonda Chase Design 9 years ago

Thanks! I used 3 coats of a good polyurethane satin varnish over the finished painting and waited several days for it to fully cure. I've been using my new stove for two months now and have splashed everything from soup to pasta sauce on the wall. It's all cleaned up easily, with no signs of wear. (See step 2 photos for the products I used in this project.)

Hooty1701 9 years ago

Excellent project! This question is a little of subject but I was curious on what stove is in the main picture. My Jenn-Air is on its last hurrah and I'm looking at options.

Rhonda Chase Design 9 years ago

It's a GE Cafe. It's pretty much the only "free standing" electric range with controls in the front. (As opposed to behind the burners.) So far, I'm really happy with it.

thecapper 9 years ago

That's one rockin' kitchen! I really like the spot with the "missing stone". That's the kind of thing I wouldn't have thought of (and regretted later).

Rhonda Chase Design 9 years ago

Thanks, but the great thing about diy is that you can always redo a part. My original sketch was pretty different than what I wound up doing.

uneektalent 9 years ago

Very well done. How much time did you put into this?

Rhonda Chase Design 9 years ago

Thank you! It took about 4 days, a couple of hours at a time. So about 7 - 10 hours. Plus a few days for the varnish to cure completely. (But I want to point out that I painted about twice as much as I m
needed to, as you can see in the photos. I didn't know where the stove was going to come to before it was installed.)

HappyToBeAlive 9 years ago

Brilliant! (now continue that all the way across!)....

lem22 9 years ago

Nice,but what is the large gray spot in the upper left was there a problem ?

Rhonda Chase Design 9 years ago

No, it's just part of the design. If you enlarge it, you may be able to see that it's textured, like when a stone falls out. It looks better and more subtle in the kitchen. I could always paint it in if I get tired of this look.

lvhui 9 years ago

beautiful

Creativeman 9 years ago

Nice project! Could be used to simulate tile, as in these travertine tiles. Many other possibilities come to mind...thanks!

Rhonda Chase Design 9 years ago

Absolutely! That's what I was thinking. I would use thin painter's tape to block out the grout on the tiles you pictured. I love the old world look.

poofrabbit 9 years ago

What a fantastic idea and it looks wonderful!

Rhonda Chase Design 9 years ago

Thanks! (I used to teach art too. I guess that's part of why instructables are so fun!)