Faux Tin Ceiling

Posted by Kristin Abraham Jul 20, 2006

Well, this latest assignment is a first. I have a very reliable client who wants her kitchen ceiling to look like an old fashioned tin ceiling and yet sort of like a new tin ceiling. She and her designer decided it was a better idea to use wallpaper and have me faux finish it rather than just buy tin ceiling tiles.

I have painted on wallpaper before, faux finished actually. And I want to make it clear that I'm talking about paper that is meant to be treated with paint afterward. I'm totally against slapping a coat of paint on wallpaper when you're just too lazy to remove it. This is a totally different thing and there really is wallpaper that is designed to be painted over.

The wallpaper is very textured and the "puffed out" parts are sort of fuzzy or rough. When you color wash over it the paint stays in the smooth ditches and gets locked into the fibers on the puffy parts. It gives it some great shadows and depth.

The ceiling paper was very similar but it had distinct square shapes meant to replicate the tin ceilings and even unfinished and white it looks pretty sharp on the ceiling. I read that its great for covering up older ceilings with water stains and small cracks and I think that is a great tip for anyone in that situation. Just make sure the water stains aren't part of a current leak and the cracks are small ones.

Now that the paper is up it needs to cure for at least a week and then I'll be applying a 100% acryllic primer. We haven't totally decided on a technique or color scheme but I think we'll go with a tinted primer, perhaps gray or black, and a silver metallic paint glaze as the color wash.

Instead of doing a traditional color wash I'm going to paint the glaze on in a thin even coat. This client prefers flat surfaces or the appearance of flat surfaces and solid colors so I don't want to make the glaze appear too uneven.

And that should finish the ceiling and create a really nice tin tile effect with just wallpaper and paint.

Next, I'm pretty sure she wants me to repaint her kitchen cupboards. Eventually I'll get around to painting my own.