Hillcrest Cottage Entry Walls: A Tutorial

 When I am home alone, things at Hillcrest Cottage can get wild. It all began with an inspiration photo from one of my favorite magazines.

Inspirational Photo from "Country Living" magazine

Before I was left alone, my front hallway was beyond needing a new look. I had never really meant to keep it this way for so long. Originally, this hallway was a two-part paint treatment where the second coat go lost somewhere between carpooling and a baseball game. That was years ago... maybe even ten.

Before

The new treatment is like this. I love it so much! I wish the pictures would do it more justice. In person, it is incredible.

After

The base coat needs to be the darker color. The next coat is paint mixed with glaze. Take newspaper and smooth the paper onto the wet paint. It is best to crinkle the paper first so it will produce a wrinkly effect. Peel the paper off and some of the second coat will be removed.

This  technique produces a broken-down Italian villa look which ages any wall and gives an old world feeling. My walls are old... 90 years old in 2013... so this technique works well with the unevenness of the plaster.

***love***

On another part of the wall, below a chair railing which goes up one side of my front staircase, I used another technique where I applied different colors of paint onto the wall with a trowel.

The Effect is Very Playful & Fun

I am enjoying the way the wall turned out. It brightened my entryway more than I imagined that it would.

Hillcrest Cottage's Front Stairway

This whole project was  risky, but I am not afraid to experiment. I realize this look is not for everyone, but I love being different. 

"Blessing" is Our Word for the Year

Mission Accomplished!