How to Paint a Fake Stone Wall

Paint your wall to look like real stone.

A stone wall adds drama and elegance to your room. The problem with stone installation is that it is messy and expensive. You can achieve a similar look with paint. Painting a faux stone wall involves a lot of detail work and some patience. You can’t just slap up a coat of paint with a roller and call it a day. You will have to spend some time on the project to get it just right. But paint will cost you a lot less money than real stone and will be considerably less messy than stone installation.

Things You'll Need

• Base color paint Paint roller Accent colors (4) Glaze Rag Newspaper or cardboard Scissors Pencil or chalk Paint brush Paint sponge Sea sponge Small artist’s brush

Instructions

1. Paint your entire wall with the base color. Roll on the paint with a 1/4-inch nap roller. Apply two coats of the paint, allowing the first coat to dry to the touch before applying the second. Let the second coat cure for two to three days.

2. Mix a darker color of paint with glaze according to the glaze instructions. Dip a rag into the glaze and apply lightly to the entire wall, creating a faux stone texture. Let the glaze dry.

3. Cut out a stone template from newspaper or cardboard. Choose a random stone pattern or squares of similar shape and size.

4. Hold the pattern to the wall and trace the template with a pencil or chalk. Arrange your stones any way that you like to achieve the type of stone you want. Cover the entire wall with your drawing.

5. Add detail work by dipping a sea sponge into the various colors and adding more paint to the stones. This will create depth and color variation. Keep applying layers of color until you get a look that you like.

6. Dip a small artist's brush into your fourth color. Choose a color that would most resemble grout. Trace each stone with paint to create grout lines.

Tips & Warnings

• Choose paint colors that are all within the same color family. This will create variation in color that most resembles natural stone. Paint the color on a piece of scrap drywall before painting your wall to make sure that the colors are right.

References

• Better Homes and Gardens: Faux Stone Wall
• Better Homes and Gardens: Aged Tuscan Wall Finish