 Decorative Painting
Friend or Faux?
By Priscilla Kohutek
Photography by Robert French
Bring it on: The latest trends, the newest decor and top-drawer style! We are greedy and demanding in our quest to have the best of the best. After all, this is Texas, and we have big appetites. If a little is good, more is better.
Or is it?
Our current passion is everything faux — that is, faux finishes, decorative arts and trompe l’oeil techniques that create the illusion of authenticity. Paint provides such a practical way to get the look of a special finish (be it marble, leather, suede and more) without the expense and permanence of the real thing. The beauty of this concept is the flexibility it offers. When you tire of stone arches, faux marble and ancient plaster walls, simply paint over it. You can turn a Tuscan-style villa into a Montana hunting lodge without making any structural changes. All that’s needed is a lot of paint, pretty glazes and a talented artist to pull it off.
Yes, you need to hire an artist. If you think these are do-it-yourself projects that you, too, can achieve with a few quickie courses, you’ve been watching too much HGTV. Decorative paint has moved far beyond sponging, ragging and dragging.
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