Glazed Over

Matt and I are having lots of fun with glazes. We used to be pretty much paint-only people, but with the variations that glazes offer, we're sorry we waited so long to jump on the bandwagon. One marvelous glaze effect is creating the illusion of fabric.

Materials and Tools:

interior latex semi-gloss paint
acrylic glaze
1/8" roller cover
roller frame
roller tray/plastic tray
window squeegee
blue masking tape
long level
pencil

Steps:

1. The base coat is a semi-gloss latex paint, because it allows the squeegee to flow smoothly. Pick your color and paint all the walls and allow to dry for 48 hours before applying the glaze coat.

2. To create the look of a fabric wall, divide the wall into 3-foot sections. Use a level and mark a light pencil line from the ceiling to the floor. Use masking tape and mask off a section, making sure you press the edges down using a thumbnail. You will notice that you have to skip every other section, or you'll be taping where you're glazing. While you're at it, mask off the ceiling and any trim or baseboards to keep them glaze-free.

3. To create the combing tool, use a sharp pair of scissors and cut "saw-like" teeth across the squeegee. The teeth should be pointed to create the effect of small strings.

4. Using a short nap roller, roll the glaze into the first 3-foot panel, just like you would paint a wall. To cut in the edges, use the roller's edge and roll along the taped baseboard and ceiling. This is tricky, so if you have trouble, go ahead and use a paintbrush, but roll over the cut-in quickly.

5. Once the section is rolled on, start from the ceiling and pull the squeegee through the glaze down to the baseboard, creating vertical stripes. Work left to right until you have finished the whole section. As you work, keep a supply of paper towels with you to wipe the squeegee clean after every complete pull.

6. Next, start at the ceiling and create your horizontal stripes, keeping them as straight as possible, continuing to the baseboards. For our technique, we did go through the glaze several times, so that the threads appeared more realistic. Keep in mind, you only have 20 minutes of working time before the glaze starts to set up, so don't admire your work too much. When a section is complete, remove all the tape so the glaze doesn't dry and peel off the wall with the tape.

7. Continue to do every other section until you have gone around the room once. Allow those sections to dry (overnight would be great, but at least four hours), and continue to glaze the unfinished sections repeating all the above steps.

Extra Tip: For small areas (near a switch plate or areas where trim is close together), cut a small squeegee out of cardboard that will fit in between.

OK, now you can step back and admire your new fabric walls. Oh, if we only had a dollar for every time someone asked, "Is that fabric?"