Painting Ideas Anyone?

[chopper33]

Hello,
I am just finishing drywalling my basement and am thinking ahead to painting. Does anyone have any ideas on how to make my basement walls look different than the same old painting techniques most people use (one color)? I want it to be easy to do (not too time consuming). Would a textured paint work on walls? Or would it attract dirt and dust? I was kind of thinking textured paint with a colored tint to it? This would help in hiding any blemishes in my drywall job (you know how that is trying to make the mud 100% smooth). Any ideas would be appreciated! :mask:

[Annette]

i think what you're wanting is a faux painting technique (using 2 or more colors of paint). as anyone around here knows, i highly recommend the Woolie paint roller. it's super easy for a novice, it's fast, and you end up with a nice, mottled, textured look. another method with similar results would be ragging or sponging.

textured paint will only give you a gritty texture. probably not what you're wanting. for a truly textured wall, you need to use joint compound and actually trowell it on and create a 3D texture. then paint that. but doing a faux paint method will be quicker & easier.

[savvysosh]

Annette is definitely right, pick a faux finishing technique you like, it will be much faster. You can also always add something fun over the top of it like stenciling, clear glaze stripes, etc. if you want more dynamics. I have recently fell in love with Lascaux, a Swiss made paint that you can use indoors or outdoors. They have a line called Perlacryl that is one of the best iridescent paints I have yet found on the market, and they make a bunch of cool mediums (all acrylic, water-based. found it in an art store, go figure!). When coming to basements, be sure not to keep it too dark, basements tend to lack direct light. I would do a light colored faux finish for the walls and then use some Lascaux Modeling Paste and your favorite color of Perlacryl to do some nice textured stencil work as a border around the ceiling, or as a pattern down the wall. Good luck!