Horizontal and vertical strokes
brushed in wet glaze create a
wall treatment that resembles
fabric.

Chambray Charm

To show off your chic sense of interior design, dress your walls in a fabric-like finish. The process consists of rolling a tinted glaze over a white or cream-color wall, then dragging a weaver brush vertically and horizontally through the wet glaze.

Because pink is the "new black," we chose a preppy pink glaze, but the finish looks equally enticing with glaze colors from pastels to deep shades.

 

• Wide painter's tape
• Ralph Lauren semigloss or satin paint: Stucco White (SW)
• Paint roller for base coat
• Level
• Colored pencil to match glaze
• Yardstick
• Ralph Lauren Faux Technique glaze: Morning Pink BC06 (MP)
• Paint roller for glaze
• Weaver brush
• Damp rag
• Trim brush or narrow sponge brush

 

1. Use wide painter's tape to mask around doors, windows, the ceiling, and the floor.
2. Using a paint roller, base-coat a clean, dry wall with SW; let dry. Apply a second coat if needed and let dry.
3. Using a level and a colored pencil that matches the glaze, divide the wall into vertical sections no more than 42 inches wide (so the glaze won't start to dry before you finish creating the pattern). Tape off every other panel.
4. Working on one section at a time, roll on MP.
5. Working quickly while the glaze is still wet, start at the ceiling line and use the weaver brush to make horizontal lines in the glaze, wiping off the brush tips on a clean, damp rag after every other pass. Continue marking horizontal lines across the glazed portion of the wall until you reach the floor line.
6. Starting at the ceiling line and the left-most section of the panel, make a light vertical pass, above right, wiping off the brush at the end of every pass and repeating until the section is finished.
7. Remove tape and repeat these steps on remaining taped-off panels. Allow the glaze to dry overnight.
8. Tape off all of the remaining panels and repeat rolling on the glaze and making the horizontal lines, then the vertical lines. Allow the finished room to dry overnight before hanging artwork.

• Before applying glaze to a wall, paint a sample board.
• The amount of pressure you apply to the weaver brush and the quantity of glaze you wipe off will affect the result.
• Work with a partner. One person can roll on the glaze; the other can brush it off.
• To ensure corners and other narrow edges get good coverage, use a trim brush or narrow sponge brush to apply the glaze.