Powder Room Faux Marble wall - DIY

I love marble! (Who doesn't?) I have a ton of marble stuff around our home. The natural stones and textures have some inconceivable depth that I just find so addictive.

Having a genuine marble wall would be amazing, but that would not count as art! Also, a genuine marble wall would mean a major expense, and a huge remodel which I don't think everyone has the time for. Being the crazy artsy self, I thought faux marble marble walls would take it to a whole different level, (and give me a large canvas to experiment on!) And I could also argue that repainting a wall in a faux marble finish would give me that classy marble look at a fraction of the cost. (Not sure about what I was up to, but I got a go ahead from hubs. Worst case scenario was that it would look like cobwebs, but we could just paint over it, so gave it a go anyway!)

I know several of you might shudder at the thought, but trust me - achieving the effect requires patience but is moderately easy. You can come up with your own tweaked technique to make up your own unique marble colors, or your design. There is no right or wrong, and the possibilities are endless!


For this project, you’ll need this stuff:

Supplies 

• Soft thick brush for blending - I got this cheapie one from Bunnings
• Thin brush for painting the veins  - Size 1 paint brush would be okay
• Plastic bag (Yes, you read right!)
• Grey wall paint - I used the Dulux Cool Grey I had left over from my other room featured wall project
• White wall paint - I used the Casper White Quarter from Dulux which I used to paint my entire house
• Methylated spirit (optional) - I used this one from Bunnings

Basic Technique

A basic marble faux finishing technique with standard white marble and grey veins begins with a primed and painted white wall. So, I started over this freshly painted wall, masking off the required section. 

The wall paints I was using were water soluble paints. To make different shades of grey, I mixed white. The more the white, the lighter the shade. Blot a light grey onto the wall to create bands of cloudy grey areas with a brush. Crumple the plastic bag to make a ball and then smooth some of that out with white paint. Start with softer colors to build the background first, but you need to be relatively quick to make sure the paint does not dry in the layer.

After you are happy with a base, spray some methylated spirit to add some complexity. Then, use a thin brush dipped in gray and twirl on the wall to create fine veins, which can be softened by blotting with the plastic bag ball.   

 

To recreate the complexity of marble, make as many layers as possible.

Here is how it looks once complete! Notice how the pattern and colors are similar to the tiles on the floor. SCORE!

So, will you be giving it a go? Try it, and share your experience! xo. Divya