I would truly be bummed if I were to lose this book from my library.  I don’t remember where or when I bought it but I do know I thought it was a great idea to do a book on exterior finishes — there’s not many of those.  So, my June Book-of-the-Month is Outdoor Painting Techniques & Faux Finishes by Marina Niven and Louise Hennigs.  The authors both have decorative businesses based out of South Africa. 

Published in 2002, the book has beautiful photographs of true outdoor patinas and gives you clear and concise directions on how to achieve various looks.  The finishes are not just relegated to walls, either.  They also touch upon pottery, doors & windows, trellis work, flooring, statues and garden furniture, among others.  Some of the techniques include limewashing, cutting stencils, using pigmented plaster, distressing wood, verdigris and faux metal finishes.  I think they did a great job researching this subject and found fantastic examples of true patinas.  Here are a few pics — and this book is chock-full of them:

                               lime.jpg

                                     little-pots-all-in-a-row.jpg

     moss.jpg   dragon.jpg

     pool-sample-2.jpg pool-sample.jpg

                           stone.jpg

tile.jpg texture.jpg

Those who truly enjoy having an outdoor garden or just a beautiful home exterior would benefit from the recipes and instructions found in this book.  The photographs are terrific and inspirational and you can tell the authors really took their time in perfecting and presenting their recipes.  I hope you enjoy it!