The Garay Artisans Mailbag: Black
DIY, Finishes & Surfaces, Inside In-faux, Mailbag February 15th, 2008This month’s Mailbag comes courtesy of Kristen from Jacksonville (this is her second appearance — she has great questions!). Here is what she asked us recently:
I’m thinking about painting my dining room walls black. I’m starting to see this trend. What paint would you reccommend? Thanks.
From Regina: I myself notice a lot of black coming in and according to paint trend predictions, the coloration will lean towards a navy-black color towards the end of the year.
Well, as far as paint manufacturers — my favorites are Sherwin Williams and Benjamin Moore.com, however, according to Consumer Reports, the Behr line from Home Depot is a great choice. A black with warm undertones is what you should shoot for — the staff should be able to help steer you in this direction.
Here are some other options:
If you want to do something a little different in black, try a metallic black (actually, a kind of really dark gunmetal gray) that leaves a bit of shimmer. We did it over a tissue paper finish and it was so cool — it gave an added dimension to the color.
Or, you can forego the walls and do the black on the trim and/or under the chair rail as we did here.
When it came time to tackle my own master bedroom, my husband requested “black somewhere”. I used Ebony LusterStone as the base and then handpainted bamboo stems and used with variegated gold leaf as the leaves. LusterStone is a shimmery plaster in which you roll on the first layer and then trowel the rest of the layers (as many as you wish). Here is a during pic — I haven’t yet finished the room.
Finally, ceilings are also a good area to try black as well. My master bathroom has a black ceiling (to compliment the black accent wall in the bedroom) and it works quite well. You can see another ceiling with black as the base here. I’ve provided a close-up (right pic) of the same area so you can see a bit more of the finish detail.
Barbara Leone, a fantastic designer I work with, also has an interesting idea to consider. Check out the third picture in the Portfolio section of her company’s website, Leone Interiors. You can see that the walls have a neutral finish but she has a large piece of art used as a headboard — and it is primarily black. Great concept! You can also check the Garay Artisans Gallery for other color and/or finish ideas.
Please note that metallic black is available exclusively through Star Scenic in Orlando and the Ebony LusterStone is available through Faux Effects but I order it through my Sarasota source. I hope you liked the question this month — thanks Kristen. If you have a question about faux or design, please send it in. I’m here to help (and plus you may find it in our blog’s mailbag)! Have a great day!
March 3rd, 2008 at 1:44 pm
I’m in a tizzy, as usual. I’ve silver leafed the ceiling in my guest bathroom…WHEW, what an experience, but can’t decide on a color for the walls. Blues and greens are not options, and I’ve used every shade of yellow & raw sienna (my favorite colors) to the max throughout the house. I’d like to use veneziano on at least one wall and maybe paint the others a complimentary color. The floor is a pretty, tannish color tile; no vanity or other accessories at the moment; the shower door surround is that yukky silver looking stuff; and floor to almost ceiling white tile on shower walls. Please make suggestions. Thanks a bunch.
March 25th, 2008 at 5:50 pm
OMG, Jo — I’m sorry for the late response! You can probably consider burnt sienna as the third color. It will go well with your tan tiles, definitely compliment both the yellow and raw sienna and work well with the white tiles. Maybe try a burnt sienna veneziano and then wax it with a clear wax tinted with raw sienna powders. BTW, the silver leaf sounds yummy — maybe if you need it to compliment the veneziano color more you can apply some tinted shellac to give a bit of color but not enough to take away the beauty of the silver. How does that sound?
April 24th, 2008 at 3:29 am
Regina, I am soooooo appreciative of your willingness to share and the vast array of information available on your web site. Your site is the best I’ve seen, and I’ve scoped many. I had completed the bathroom prior to receiving your response and was blown away by your suggestions, especially since burnt sienna is the base color (I think) of the rust, burnt orange veneziano that I used on all walls - no paint. Didn’t wax because seemingly I read somewhere that it’s best not to do so in bathrooms. (Maybe that relates to this manufacturer’s product). (Covered a small table top with black veneaiano and silver wax recently. Stunned myself). Love the idea of tinted shellac over the silver leaf and might use it if it’s okay to do so over the water based finish that I’ve used. Here’s hoping the ceiling, shower surround, faucet- chrome or brushed nickel, etc. will all tie together for an acceptable appearance. This DIY biz is not for the faint of heart.
BTW, I’ve recently completed my first two paid projects - one white veneziano family room, and a small taupe entryway. Clients were elated! Mentioned to a paint store assistant manager today that I do venetian plastering, showed samples that I happened to have had in my car (one was the crackle that you shared w/me several months ago) and he wants to display them in the store. I didn’t commit because I’m not sure that I’m ready to handle what just might happen if I did, but his response certainly did wonders for my confidence. Actually, I’m many years past 25, 35, 45… and though I’d love to pursue this as a full time, all the time venture, it isn’t practical for me to do so…but I love it, love it, love it. I know that I’m being a bit chatty, but my experience might be helpful to someone. First saw venetian plaster in a showcase house approximately 13 yrs. ago; designer would tell me only that it was venetian plaster; searched for it for more than a year- paint stores/no one had a clue; finally, via the internet, found a distrubitor, took their one-day class in the stock room of a paint store; fell in love with the textures; did nothing for about a year; forgot everything that I thought I’d learned; had a private session for a few hours with the owner of the distributorship; completed my master bath with veneziano (injured my rotator cup); used marmorino (still trying to get a handle on how to work best with this one) in the bathrooms of two of my rental units; covered practice board after practice board; studied every related web site that I could find; experimented w/products from various manufacturers (have a couple of favorites); continued to practice on walls of my home; visitors, friends, repairmen, painters, began to notice, question, and request my service including training; eventually decided to take that leap of faith and accept a (2)project(s). The reward(s)- having pleased the client, having produced a work of beauty, and having received substantial monetary award (one client paid 200. more than charged, plus wrote a tear-jerking note)- were amazing. Other projects are waiting in the wings, though not a word of advertising has been done. So, to those who, like me, never held a trowel before, the sky is the limit.