Decorative paint for walls; types and how to apply in your home. Step by step!

Decorative painting on walls

Throughout history, decorative painting has been used to beautify objects and interior design. Nowadays, the effects of wall painting that we can use are impressive!

In wall decoration there are different painting techniques with effects that we can practice. Some are simpler and others more complex… we explain everything in detail!

Types of paints for walls

To decorate walls, there are different types of paint and each one is indicated for a particular use. Here we will discuss the most common ones used at home to achieve suitable decorative finishes:

1.- Plastic or latex paint

It is the most commonly used for interiors to paint the wall, depending on its composition, they can also be used outdoors.

Most plastic or latex paints are washable once dry, as their solvent is water, they need to dry well to appreciate these properties.

Generally, plastic paints can be: acrylic or vinyl and are called emulsion paints. Ideal for all types of walls and ceilings (plaster, drywall, render, cement, stone, distemper,…).

Let’s see the advantages of plastic paint and its types in an infographic:

• Acrylic plastic paint. It is the most resistant type of paint for both interior and exterior and has a greater waterproofing capacity when painting walls (Resistant to mold and the effects of the Sun).
• Vinyl plastic paint. They offer greater versatility. Among its advantages, we can highlight the ease of application, high flexibility, or a faint odor. In addition, high-quality satin finishes with surprising decorative effects can be achieved.

2.- Synthetic enamel paint

These are very strong paints, composed of solvent-based synthetic resins and can have a matte, satin, and glossy finish. They are highly decorative and protective, generally used for painting wood and metals. Although they can be applied to most surfaces.

3.- Acrylic enamel paint

As its name suggests, its base is acrylic resins, in addition to catalysts and pigments. They are water-soluble and odorless, so they are suitable for use in poorly ventilated areas.

They adhere to most surfaces like synthetic enamels, with the advantage that they do not smell, dissolve with water, and are more environmentally friendly. They are widely used for artistic decoration.

4.- Varnishes

The most common varnishes are polyurethane-based and are differentiated by the solvent used: Water, thinner, or turpentine, oil.

They have waterproof properties, are abrasion-resistant, and last for several years. They can be found already mixed with wood color dyes (oak, cedar, mahogany,…) or transparent.

They are used to protect and decorate wood, but also have use in crafts, as their colorless format allows protecting any painting (paintings, crafts, …)

5.- Mineral or silicate paint

They are based on liquid potassium silicate, minerals of natural origin, and inorganic coloring pigments, the most important quality of these paints is that they adhere to the substrate through an insoluble chemical reaction called silicification or petrification, and do not form a surface film.

It is highly breathable or water vapor permeable, ideal for use on walls with moisture problems to practice decorative effects on walls.

It should be remembered that in the article on augmented reality applications for decoration we saw some interesting apps that can help us a lot with good ideas and simplify some tasks like measuring walls.

Comparison of paint characteristics

We leave you a summary table comparing the previous paints. More to be clear about the differences between them and their characteristics:

It is important to mention that specific characteristics may vary depending on the brand and quality of the paint or varnish. It is always advisable to read the product specifications and consult in-store.

Venetian plaster stucco

Venetian stucco is prepared with lime, marble dust, and pigments. Lime has elastic properties, which prevents cracking due to contraction and expansion. It is also waterproof and fungicidal.

In the preparation of stucco, pigments and synthetic compounds are included, in addition to the marble sand that provides shine and hardness. The walls to be stuccoed must be perfectly smooth and free of dirt, mold, dust, or grease.

Types of stucco

• The lime stucco, which has high breathability and presents a discontinuous color surface with a smooth and patinated appearance. In the past, they were finished with fire to give shine. It is suitable for interior and exterior decoration.
• The venetian stucco, which is the modern version, uses acrylic copolymers as a base. With marble imitation finish or the famous marble effect paint, it is more striking than the previous one. It is only applied indoors.

Stucco offers a wide range of applications in interior design, and its lifespan is very long. If you use quality stucco and it does not receive direct sunlight, it maintains its shine and color for more than 10 years or more.

How to apply venetian plaster

First of all, we have to prepare the walls to the millimeter, as stucco is translucent and has a memory effect, so everything the trowel does on the wall will be recorded. And, when giving shine, each layer will be seen, mounted one on top of the other.

Therefore, we will follow the following steps to apply venetian plaster stucco in the following video:

Step-by-Step guide to applying venetian plaster

• Preparation: Cover all holes and cracks with plastic putty. If the wall is uneven or has any defects, fix it before applying the stucco. Lightly sand and clean the entire wall.
• Priming: Apply one or more (depending on the condition of the wall) coats of well-diluted white plastic paint.
• Preview: Once dry, run your hand over the entire wall to detect details that are not visible and repair them. Re-prime where we puttied.
• Base: With a large stainless steel trowel (preferably with rounded tips), apply the first layer of stucco as thick as possible. Once dry, sand the larger details. If the color of the stucco is even, move on to the next step.
• Waters: This is the most important step, I recommend using 12 cm masking tape on stainless steel. You need to be clear about how you will apply the waters and do it uniformly across the wall, without losing reference of where you troweled and where you didn’t.

With very little stucco on the trowel, we apply it to the wall in all possible directions, left, right, up, down, and diagonal. Although you may not see it at the moment, when we give the stucco shine, each trowel stroke becomes visible. Therefore, maintain the same pattern.

The more layers you apply, the better it will look. And since the last layer is the most visible, you will have already gotten the hang of the wrist movement, it should look good. With practice, you can create different patterns in the stucco, highlighting the peculiarities of this pleasant material.

• Shine or burnishing: Just as important as step 5. With the dry trowel, we rub but without scratching all the stucco to heat and burnish it. This way, we will obtain the characteristic shine. As you burnish, you will see how the layers come to life.
• Remember to pass the trowel in all directions, left, right, up, down, and diagonal. Once finished, with a small spatula, we enhance the patterns we like the most, rubbing the spatula against the stucco as much as necessary to leave it as we want.
• Wax: This step is optional. With a cloth, we wax the surface and then polish it. This process will prolong the life of the stucco.

Venetian plaster color chart

The shades and colors of a venetian finish stucco can vary greatly, so it’s best to show a catalog to get an idea:

Remember to see the color of the year according to ElPaís.

Obviously, the prices of a venetian stucco vary mainly depending on its quality. If we decide to stucco the walls of our house, we must ensure that it is of good quality, which will ensure a shiny and durable finish.

Beware of cheap stuccos, we can be excellent stuccoers, but if the stucco does not shine enough or its application is difficult, the result will not be satisfactory. So take note!…

Florentine lands

It should be remembered that to apply Florentine lands on a wall, they have a base of high-quality resins. It has a composition based on special particles, white in color, that contrast with the background color, which is given with a special brand dye.

The more dye we put, the more intense the final color. This gives it clearly differentiated aesthetic characteristics, also making the finish highly washable and highly resistant and durable.

How to paint florentine lands

It has a smooth texture, but with small reliefs. When applying Florentine lands on a surface, it is recommended to use an opaque base or background first, for an optimal finish.

It is widely used with oriental styles as it fits perfectly, especially in Feng Shui decoration and its colors, providing a relaxed atmosphere.

We can avoid buying this by using white plastic paint. The tips for a professional finish with Florentine lands paint are:

1. Load the wall abundantly and evenly, in a cross shape, without going over the same place twice.
2. Let 10 minutes pass before flattening the particles with the plastic spatula.

In some cases, we may hear about a finish with Rodantine lands, which is the same as Florentine lands but with another brand: Washable and breathable decorative coating made with pigment.

Sand effect paint

The decorative sand effect paint, its base is neutral in color, and by adding the essence, we give the color to our liking.

• They can be applied both outdoors and indoors.
• Its dilution and cleaning are done with water as they are acrylic
• Although it is usually applied on smooth surfaces, it can also be applied on stippled surfaces, although the effect will not be as striking.

To better understand it, we leave an excellent video with different tips on how to apply the sand effect on a wall.

Depending on the brand, we also have the multicolor option – different varieties – that come ready to use and cannot be colored. The background or primer, called quartz base, is very important. It is applied with a roller and brush, and it is rough to the touch.

To paint, we will use a synthetic hard-bristle brush, and we will have a bucket of water on hand to slightly wet the brush when very saturated areas of material form and to distribute it more easily. Always maintain the same inclination in the strokes, the best is at 45º.

A good tip in the application is not to divide the walls into sections, neither horizontally nor vertically. The application should be with pendulum movements and start from an upper corner, this way we will ensure that the joints between the different sections are not noticeable.

Faux stucco

The effect of a stuccoed paint on a surface should observe the different trowel strokes in their different directions. The goal is to create a sensation of overlapping layers and volumes. With the faux stucco technique, we try to reproduce those trowel strokes in all directions using a brush or roller.

To create an appropriate rustic and old paint effect, it is necessary to choose the right colors for the stucco that combine well and will be two, preferably not using tones that contrast too much with each other, but rather, two shades of the same range; a lighter base, and the other color that makes the effect darker (Ochres, blues, earths, greens…etc).

How to apply faux stucco on a Wall

• First, we should apply two coats of satin white paint (Remember the drying times between coats according to the manufacturer). It is highly recommended to use a base of white paint to be able to apply any color later to intensify the tone.
• To create the faux stucco, secondly, we will paint the wall with the lighter color.
• Now it’s time to prepare the paint we have chosen darker with the glaze to produce that contrast effect. Approximately 10% should be added. The glaze is a compound of drying retardants and varnish, which may or may not have pigmentation to give it color. This delays the drying time to achieve that effect and at the same time, provides protection and transparency.
• We will apply strokes with this mixture on the wall using the wide brush. The best way is to do it in a fan shape and work in areas of about one square meter.

• With a well-wrung and moistened roller – without paint – make different passes over the paint you just applied on the wall in all directions and overlapping them. Remember that the goal is not to leave all the strokes with the same intensity, so vary your force.

Remember that you should work in areas of about one square meter. The faux stucco paint is rewarding, but you need to have patience and methodology in its application.

Metallic paint

For the metal painting technique, it is much simpler, and we will achieve a luxurious and shiny effect. Currently, we have a rich variety, the main tones are copper, gold, and silver.

Although in metallic paints the color is pleasing to the eye, the reality is that it is advisable to only apply it on a single wall that is not too large or on a part, such as a pillar or, for example, the fireplace area.

It is often combined with the minimalist decoration style as similar tones are combined

We leave you an interesting video from Tintanlux on how to apply metallic paint for walls with some tips.

Rust effect paint

It can be applied in all decoration styles, it is recommended in spaces with an industrial style. Currently, the market already offers rust effect paints like corten steel, which will present an aged and rusted appearance.

We must remember that they are no longer only intended for walls, but can also be used on doors, windows, objects, furniture, or whatever our imagination reaches, and we will find them for both interiors and exteriors.

It is advisable in the application of rusted paint to first paint the walls with a dark or gray base, and then apply the appropriate finish

In the following video, they explain very well how to apply rust effect paint on walls step by step.

Sponged paint

In reality, it is one of the simplest ways to decorate walls with a fairly achieved effect. It involves applying paint with a sponge (the sponge should be vegetable).

For the sponging technique, we should follow the following steps:

• To do it well, we should use two different tones, one will be the base, and the other the tone with which we will color using the sponge (Use similar tones)
• First, apply a layer of paint of the same tone as the base using a roller (It is advisable to choose the lighter one as the base)
• With a vegetable sponge – although some practice it with a cloth -, moisten it with water and apply the paint (Not too much), give light taps and touches irregularly on the surface with the second tone, and we will achieve a perfect finish.

As general practical tips and tricks on the sponging style, smooth paint and light tones should be used to avoid saturating the room or space. It is also advisable to only use it on one wall so that the design looks good.

Gradient paint

Applying the gradient paint technique is not difficult, the only thing is that it has a long painting process, and we must be careful.

The technique consists of using a base color, which will be the darkest, and we add layers of lighter paint to achieve softer tones. Here it is very important to clearly define the areas with masking tape.

Excellent shapes and color combinations to give a vintage touch to the house.

Beware!… We are not applying a continuous blur or gradient to the paint. Gradients in paint are very difficult to achieve and to make them look really good, it takes a lot of effort! Here we separate the tones, allowing the idea of creating geometric shapes with paint in a zigzag, linear, or curved style, or even round.

Chalkboard paint

Although this style is easy to apply, we must keep in mind that it is not recommended to use it on decorative textured paints or stippled surfaces that we already have.

The chalkboard finish paint can be applied to multiple surfaces; smooth walls, ceramics, furniture, or, for example, wooden doors (sand first).

It is often applied in modern kitchen design to give it a touch of originality, we can see some examples of kitchens with colors, distribution, and design HERE to see possibilities.

It is always advisable to apply a water-based sealing primer to prevent the wall or any other material from absorbing too much paint.

For the rest, follow the manufacturer’s instructions indicated on the special chalkboard paint can. Remember that it is true that it is an expensive paint, and when applied to porous surfaces, more paint is absorbed.

It should also be noted that it cannot be diluted as we need to maintain the consistency of the paint and that good drying is necessary. Wait 7 days before painting on the wall for it to become a true chalkboard.

Although we have named a wide classification of effects that we can achieve with paints, every day the market offers new innovations without counting on each one’s imagination. So, let’s paint!

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