How to Faux Finish Corners Easily

Corners sometimes present a real challenge! Here's how to effectively faux finish your room and have the walls and corners blend perfectly! It's easy!

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I can't tell you the number of times I've either visited someones home or even professional offices where the walls have been beautifully faux finished, except the corners!
In my former dentists office, the walls had been done by a pro no less, but the corners had been left the same white as the former wall color! I shook my head.

Often times, people have a blast doing finishes on their walls but when it comes to those 90 degree corners, they freak out just a bit. The sponge doesn't quite "smoosh" in to that corner very effectively, so with frustration, they give up and just move along with the project in hopes no one will see or be able to tell. Trust me, they CAN tell!

In our home in Idaho, I just finished doing a sandstone faux finish on the back splash below where the upper cupboards will go once they are installed.

For me, I prefer to actually "begin" with the corners! By doing so, the hardest part of the job is over with and I can forge ahead with a smile on my face.

I chose a light sand color and a deeper tone of the same color.

Firstly, drop the sponge and switch to a brush.
I apply the light color by getting just a little of the lpaint on the bristles of my brush then dabbing it in to the corner all the way down. I then use a dry brush to blend the color.

Next, I dab in the darker color randomly and do the same, blending the two colors together with a dry brush.

I then use the sea sponge to blend farther out on to the wall and set the stage for my wall finish.
Wha La! Finished corners!

On this particular finish, once I had applied and blended the two colors, I then used a toothbrush with watered down dark brown paint to flick dark speckles on to the surface. I quickly used the sponge to only slightly blend the spots. The more I did, the more it took on the appearance of stone. Remember to flick your corners with the same density of spots as you do the rest of the surface.

I did the same using my cream colored wall paint. The result appears to be a light sandstone and is the perfect backdrop for the granite that will be delivered next month.

So don't neglect your corners, but rather, do them first, do them with a brush and breathe easy knowing the job you do will look finished and beautiful and there will be nothing to hide!