Shabby Chateau French Floral Wall Finish
Explore the decadent romance of a French Chateau with this shabby chic treatment that shows that beauty can be intensified with age! Soft plasters are gracefully layered to create this gorgeous finish.
- Modello Pronto! Floral Fantasy: Contact Modello® Stencils customer service to order this design.
Faux Effects International® Products: Order via our Affiliate Link Here
- Untinted Plastertex
- Venetian Gem Tint Base
- Venetian Gem White on White
- Aquacreme
- Aquacolors: Dark Brown, Earth Brown, Blue
Tools: Order via Royal Design Studio Here
- Venetian Trowel
- Japan Blades
- 1” Stencil Brush
- Neon Nylon Round Brush
- Medium-Grit Sanding Block
- Cheesecloth
Basecoat: Texture Coat
Note: For a more rustic blue color, substitute Teal for Blue Aquacolor in the custom Plastertex/Venetian Gem mixture.
Special Note: Untinted Plastertex is a special Plastertex tint base that contains no Titanium White, allowing you to tint it to darker colors. The tinted mixture will become several shades darker when dry. You can expect to get approximately 250 sq. ft per gallon with texture layers and up to 400 sq. ft. per gallon with smoother “backfill” layers.
Step 1: Create a custom mix by combining Untinted Plastertex with Venetian Gem Tint Base at a 1:1 ratio. Tint to a Steel Blue color by adding 2 tsp. Earth Brown and 1½ tsp. Blue Aquacolor to each quart of your mix. Skip-trowel a slight texture coat over the entire surface, holding the trowel at a low angle to avoid “scratching”. Let dry.
Step 2: Apply a tight skim coat overall using a hard pressure and raising the angle of the trowel. This will help to burnish the material and emphasize the underlying texture. Feel free to leave some small, random areas open to the background. Let dry.
Step 3: Apply a tight skim coat overall, now using the Venetian Gem Tint Base. This will appear white and cloudy when first applied, but it will become more translucent as it dries. Let dry.
Step 4: If desired, apply a second layer of the Venetian Gem Tint Base. This can be used to lighten and blend the overall look. Lay on some thicker areas of material for more contrast. Use your own “personal taste” and judgement to decide how much or how little texture you want!
Step 5: Apply the Modello® patterns randomly over the wall surface. Try to offset the motifs and rotate them in different directions for more variety. Stencil in the designs solidly with Earth Brown Aquacolor, using a dry-brush stenciling technique.
Step 6: Use a medium-sized Japan Scraper to blade on patchy areas of the Venetian Gem Tint Base. Employ a shallow angle with the blade and use short, staccato-like strokes, changing the direction of your hand often to create variety and texture. Let dry.
Step 7: Apply a second texture layer with the Venetian Gem Tint Base, using the same method as in Step 6. Note that the first layer (seen in the upper right of the photo) has dried to a translucent state, allowing the background color to ghost through. Let dry.
Step 8: Finally, add an additional texture layer with Venetian Gem White on White. This is a very opaque white that will contrast nicely with the more translucent layers below. Let dry.
Step 9: Tint an Aquacreme glaze with the following recipe: 1 C. Aquacreme, 1½ T. Earth Brown and ½ T. Dark Brown Aquacolor. Trowel it over and into the Venetian Gem texture with a Japan Scraper. Blot out excess with some wadded cheesecloth. Let dry and remove Modellos.
Step 10: Create a lighter tinted Aquacreme glaze with the following recipe: 1C. Aquacreme and 2 tsp. Earth Brown Aquacolor. Use a Neon Nylon brush to rouge the glaze over the entire background, including the textured motifs. Let dry.
Step 11: Use a medium-grit sanding block to lightly sand back through just the high points of the texture, re-exposing the white Venetian Gem in small areas.
Design Variations: This is a very soft finish with a lot of warmth and character. It will translate well to other soft, muted colors such as Sage Green and Yellow Ochre. Try it with other types of Modello® patterns as well, such as ornate panels and deep border friezes.