GLOSSARY OF DECORATIVE PAINTING TERMS
There are a wide variety of decorative painting techniques we offer. Here is a glossary of some effects we do provide.
Antiquing
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Chinoiserie
ANTIQUING
Antiquing is where various methods are used to give surfaces the look of mellowed age or a weathered look.
Colorwashing
COLORWASHING
Colorwashing is a decorative paint technique which consists of applying translucent paint (glaze) over a base color. Colorwashes can be given a variety of different textures and patterns.
Distressing
DISTRESSING
In distressing, the object's finish is intentionally destroyed or manipulated to look less than perfect. It is a rustic vintage look.
Embossed Stenciling
EMBOSSED STENCILING
Embossed Stencils is a relief design that is raised above the surface, just barely more prominent than the background.
Faux Finish
FAUX FINISH
Faux is a French word meaning false. Faux techniques started as a form of replicating materials such as wood or marble. However, faux painting has become an umbrella term to describe a variety of products and methods for all decorative finishes.
Glass-Beaded Stenciling
GLASS-BEADED
STENCILING
Glass-beaded stenciling is a relief using glass beads to create shimmering texture which allows the colors and patterns of underlying layers to shine through.
Stone Plasters
STONE PLASTER
Stone Plasters are trowel-on products that are used to create stone like finishes such as limestone, rustic stone textures or dimensional stencil patterns. Stone Plaster are also used to create "Old World" wall effects.
CHINOISERIE
Chinoiserie is a term for a style in art reflecting Chinese painting's qualities or motifs. It is Europe's 18th century interpretation of Chinese composition.
Crackle Finish
CRACKLE FINISH
Crackle finishes simulates the look of paint that has aged and cracked and gives a multicolor effect because the top color is opened to reveal a different layer beneath.
Embedded Stenciling
EMBEDDED STENCILING
Embedded Stenciling is when the design is indented into the surface.
Fabric Finishes
FABRIC FINISHES
Fabric finishes are techniques that duplicate the look and feel of fabrics like linen or denim to highly textural weaves of grasscloth.
Foil & Metallic
FOIL & METALLIC
Metallic paints & plasters have thousands of tiny metallic flakes that create a shimmer.
Foil techniques involve the use of any variety of foils, from metallic to matt or antique finish. Foils can also have complex textural patterns.
Lusterstone
LUSTERSTONE
Lusterstone is a decorative trowel-on coating that produces natural reflective stone patterns. Sculptured shadows are created through its variety of sheens and colors.
Strié
STRIÉ
Strié, is French for "stripe" and it is a classic glazing technique that creates subtle thin streaks of color.
Trompe L'oeil
TROMPE L'OEIL
Trompe L'oeil translates from the French as "trick of the eye" and is a method of decorative painting in which the artist employs light, shade and perspective to give flat-painted images a three-dimensional appearance. The earliest examples date back to Greek and Roman times.
Wood Graining
WOOD GRAINING
Wood Graining (faux bois) is painting surfaces to resemble woods. Wood graining can be almost impossible to distinguish from genuine wood. However, on a simpler level, it can be used to evoke the presence or essence of wood, without seeking to be an exact copy of a specific timber.
Venetian Plaster
VENETIAN PLASTER
Nowadays the term Venetian Plaster is loosely used to describe a technique or a look derived from inexpensive synthetic plasters to costly lime & marble plasters from Italy.
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