Paint Finish Ideas

The trick to re-creating this gingham pattern is to pull a potter's rib (into which teeth have been cut) through yellow glazes, first vertically and then horizontally.

An embossed-paint rocker and a combing tool, dragged through a green glaze, leave a faux-bois (wood-grain) imprint.

The sharp bristles of a horsehair flogger, drawn through a tinted glaze, create the illusion of fine linen.

It may shine like raw silk, but this soft-blue wall with subtle stripes is produced by a pad of steel wool drawn through an iridescent glaze.

Made by passing the teeth of a craft tool through a coat of tinted glaze, combed tiles give dimension to a home-office wall. Alternating the directions of the lines creates a sense of movement. The squares can be any size.

The faux marble tabletop was fashioned from three glazes applied with a cotton rag.

A midcentury-modern icon has a brush with tradition in this homage to herringbone, applied by dragging a combing tool across the chair diagonally -- first in one direction, then the other.

This Swedish-style bureau is painted in colors inspired by the Gustavian period. A glaze was rubbed with steel wool to enhance the overall patina of the piece.

Creating the look of raw linen on a wooden headboard requires nothing more than a paintbrush and tinted glaze. Oil paint was used to tint the glaze, creating an especially rich, deep shade of blue.

A home office is the ideal spot for a family planner. Six weeks' worth of squares in a variety of shades can accommodate several schedules. The entire wall is also coated with chalkboard paint for more memos.

Mask run-of-the-mill storage with a little trompe l'oeil magic. We transformed a boxy, unfinished dresser into a dressier rococo masterpiece by painting it and decoupaging the front with blown-up clip art.