With anything and everything design, there are trends. In the 90’s faux finishing was BIG and it meant exactly what the definition tells you it is:

Per Wikipedia- Faux painting or faux finishing are terms used to describe decorative paint finishes that replicate the appearance of materials such as marble, wood or stone.  The term comes from the French word faux, meaning false. 

Want some history?

Sumerians from the southern part of Mesopotamia used lime, clay and sand to decorate their walls and floors over 5,000 years ago- that’s a fun fact that will prove we have been doing faux forever and will continue to do so.    

Fast forward from the Sumerians to the 90’s. In the late 80’s and early 90’s there was a huge surge in faux. In design, we dry brushed columns to look like marble, created stone blocks, and color washed almost everything that wasn’t moving. But that was a time when “old world” was on trend. It also was a time when clients would say……”I kinda want some of that faux painting”. 

Well Today is much different, everything is lighter and brighter, so what does that mean for faux? Well let me tell you!

We have always had our own faux finish department at Lee Douglas Interiors, since day one. What am I going to do, say, “hey guys, looks like old world is trending out, so you’re going need to find a new job?”, nope.  Instead, we stayed current, we invested in product and training and still employ the same faux finish artist. 

So, if you thought faux finish was passé, you haven’t seen our recent work.  In fact, faux is making a resurgence in high end design. Clean ordinary paint is now moving over to make way for wall treatments and paper.

I have often called Mark (our faux artisan) a mad scientist.  We can show him just about anything and you can see the wheels turning and his eyes light up. I gave you some history on Faux in general, let me give you some on Mark. He came to us from the concrete industry but is an actual artist. Below is a self-portrait that he painted. He does amazing work on any backdrop and we are lucky he is part of our crazy family.

 

What Mark does day in and day out currently looks like this:

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Venetian walls polished and high gloss, concrete fireplaces and stove hoods, and accents, concrete walls, decorative coatings, distressing new beams to look old and distressed, metallic modern finishes, brick walls that you would never guess a master mason did not lay themselves, mineral finishes that replicate stucco, murals, troweled on coatings, and the list goes on. 

One of our most recent projects was creating a concrete dimensional wall of waves-pure genius!     

So modern day faux is fresh and full of rich textures, gorgeous surfaces and detail. Honestly it is a new level of luxury.    

The best part about it is it creates a space for you that is 100% unique. It is not reproduced, or mass produced, and every project is different and it is yours and yours alone. The process to get there can be complex and requires skill.  Faux is no longer something that should be approached by the DIYer, because when that goes wrong, the results can be painful and bad! The old days of stamping a rag or a sponge on the wall are gone so if you have that in your home, do us all a favor and get rid of it. 

So, allow us to create a masterpiece for you – exclusively by Lee Douglas Interiors. Let’s connect and schedule a call or visit.