Painting is one of the easiest and inexpensive ways to brighten up a room. If you apply a  faux finish you can give a room an elegant appearance and a very rich look. You don’t need to be an artist or a professional to get a great looking faux finish. Below I will explain how you can create a leather faux finish on your walls or ceilings.

1)    Wash the walls down throughly and if they have an enamel finish on them you should sand them lightly to remove the gloss and insure good adhesion of the primer coat.
 

2)    Apply a coat of an oil based primer. Using an oil base primer will block moisture from passing through and insure a good surface to apply the faux finish to.
 

3)     Once the primer is thoroughly dry apply two coats of your base color. Your base color will be the lighter of the three. You can use a latex paint here for easy clean up. Your base coat should be either a semi gloss or satin finish.
 

4)     Once the second coat is dry you’re ready to begin applying the faux finish. To make you first glaze color thoroughly mix one part of the first glaze color to four parts glaze. Apply a liberal coat in a random pattern using your roller to an area approximately 4-6 sq. ft.. Next take a sheet of plastic wrap and crumple it up in a ball. Note: Use a plastic wrap that will hold the creases. Certain garbage bags will work. Now unravel the plastic wrap and lay it on top of the area you just finished. Press it down with palms of your hand being careful not to use your finger tips. They will leave obvious marks. Nest use the stipple brush to flatten out the plastic and don’t worry about the creases. Once finished, peal back the plastic being careful not to touch the paint.
 

5)     Get a ball of cheese cloth and dampen in water. Squeeze out the excess water. Use the cheese clothe to pat any areas you feel that the finish is to thick. This will soften the appearance. Rinse as necessary and repeat till you’re satisfied with results. Repeat steps 4 and 5 till the entire surface is done. If you satisfied with the overall look you can stop here. If you would like to add some depth and take it to another level proceed to step 6.
 

6)      Prepare the second glaze by adding some of a darker color (second glaze color) to the first glaze color and mix with 5 parts glaze this time. Once its thoroughly mixed repeat steps 4 and 5 till finished. Next step back and pat yourself on the back for a job well done and enjoy your new faux finished room.

• Tips:     If your worried about the glaze setting up before your finished you can use an extender.
• Short of letting the plastic wrap stick to the wall there really isn’t a wrong way to do this as long as    your happy with the finish.
• Replace the plastic wrap as needed and provide plenty of ventilation till dry.