As the designer of Prairieside Suites Luxury Bed & Breakfast, our Guests often ask me about the beautiful blue “Faux Finish” walls in our Southern Mansion. These regal blue walls have stood the test of time.  I painted them this color in 2001, making them older than some of your children!  Even though we have made significant changes to this room three times.  These walls still make a bold design statement as well as providing a lovely soft textured feel.

This texture has made the walls easy to touch up over the years.  In this wall technique I brushed two colors on the wall [actually applying the paint heavy enough that it was dripping down the wall].  Dripping is the preferred method because it allows you more time and enough paint to cover the entire wall space.  You will blend the two colors by pouncing “The Wooly” lambswool tool [actually a pad with a handle] to mix your paint wet on the wall and create this wonderful texture and depth.  This technique can be done by one person…but it is a perfect girl friend project.  Three people can effortlessly paint a room in an afternoon.  It’s definitely best if no “wine” is drank during this paint process. The key to mixing the same color is to use a tool to apply your colors the same distance apart.   Watch this short video for more information.

Not everyone is an interior designer or perfect colorist.  So I’ll share the exact colors that I used to create these walls.  I used Duron Galaxy Blue AC075N & Duron Paradox #7025D.  You can get a better look at these and  order on a site called My Perfect Color.

It may be interesting to know; that while I may have a general idea of what color I want to use on the walls.  I always choose the fabric I’m using, in my room, first.

It’s much harder to find a pattern that will reflect the style you want to portray in your room.  Such as;

• traditional
• contemporary
• urban
• cottage
• shabby chic

One that will nurture you in the new space your creating.  With thousands of colors to choose paint is easy to choose from.  In our Southern Mansion Spa room [with whirlpool for two] at our bed and breakfast in Grandville, MI our faux finish allowed me to create a “one of a kind” color.  For bedrooms I look for what I want to use for my bed comforter and curtains.  In a living room I would choose furniture upholstery, area rug, curtains and passementaries [like rope, braiding, fringe- basically elaborate trimmings or edgings].  After all this chosen; then it’s time pick the main color that I’ll use on the walls.  In this case the vibrant blue and an accent color.  In this room I chose Duron Sweet Olive #7683M as the accent color.

See how we used this green on the couch pillows, chairs, curtains, bathroom paint and you may have guessed.  It’s our favorite color sheets too.  This room is surely a charmer with the large oversized whirlpool tub for two.

The lavish crystal chandelier, over the whirlpool, once hung in the window of the Herpolsheimer’s Department store.   It was awesome, when this lovely store was mentioned in the movie “The Polar Express”.   It actually made reference to one of it’s characters living in Grand Rapids.