The master bath in this 1940s home had potential -- lots of space, good windows, a great floor plan, etc. -- but the mint-green ceramic tiles gave it a dated look (figure A). The tiles were an element of the room that needed to remain, so Nancy Golden had to find a fabric to coordinate with the color while still lessening its impact. Tip: Golden recommends that such an undertaking be approached with the help of a fan deck, a collection of paint chips that you can carry to the fabric and paint stores when you want to match a color. It's much easier than pulling the tiles off the walls!) Golden chose a floral fabric whose print incorporates colors such as seafoam, camel and salmon (figure B). For the wall color she pulled a toffee shade from the fabric and had decorative artist Debbie Persino use a ragging technique on the walls. Materials: Eggshell-finish paint for base
Brush
Glaze
Small roller
Cheesecloth, clean rag or paper
- Apply two coats of base color to walls and allow to dry. It's important to use an eggshell-finish for the base, as this will allow the glaze to be moved around and manipulated more easily.
- Once the base coats are completely dry, and working in small sections, use a roller to apply a coat of glaze.
- Immediately begin dabbing the glaze off with a piece of cheesecloth or some other soft, absorbent material.
- Continue working in small areas until walls are finished (figure C).
Tips: - If you apply a dark glaze over a light background, the effect is richer; a light glaze over a dark ground gives a cloudy, romantic look.
- Removing glaze from the painted wall (with a cloth or other material) is called a negative technique; applying glaze to the painted wall (with a material such as a sponge) is called a positive technique.
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