Home & Garden Times Free Press
Saturday, September 20th, 2008
Michelle Simpson says it wasn’t until she quit smoking that she discovered her creativity.
“I needed something to keep my hands busy. I started with beading and candle-making, and that’s when I discovered I was creative,” said the Ringgold, Ga., resident.
She said she burned out on candle-making about the same time she bought her first home. Ms. Simpson said she purchased some do-it-yourself books to start redecorating her new home and thought she’d try her hand at faux finishes.
Six years and several professional training classes later, her home is a showcase of her skill. Walls, furniture, kitchen cabinetry and even accent pieces show the versatility of these eye-deceiving treatments.
Her faux finishes are not the old-school ragged, sponged or string-painted styles. These are complex, multilayer looks applied with professional products unavailable to most do-it-yourselfers.
For her entry foyer, she troweled sheets of contractor’s paper with a thick metallic finish in a shade between bronze and dark champagne. She next added texture to the paper by crumpling it, then smoothing it out. She stained it, then hung it like wallpaper. The metallic finish bounces light from the overhead fixture in an area that receives little natural lighting.
Her home’s kitchen — formerly a country decor of blue floral wallpaper, blue formica countertops and oak floors and cabinets — now has an Old World feel with textured walls in a warm sunset gold contrasted by black cabinetry. Quick shots of color are added in the red hand-blown glass pendant and other jewel-tone lighting fixtures from local glass studio Ignis.
Ms. Simpson said she gave the kitchen walls the look of aged plaster with a troweled compound that she glazed to add depth and highlight the texture of the surface. She painted the cabinets black with a distressed finish so the oak underneath is visible in spots, particularly around the pulls where hands would frequently touch the wood.
The kitchen’s gold hue flows into the adjoining living/dining area, which is filled with dark brown leather furnishings. A yellow side table that she has given an ostrich-skin finish adds a whimsical touch. The main wall of the dining room is finished in a subtle multilayer glaze.
One of her most impressive makeovers is the guest bath.
“When I bought this home in 2004, the bath had a ceramic white tile floor, big oak vanity and the walls were white beadboard on the bottom half with sponged walls above. A nautical border went around the top of the room, and it had a popcorn ceiling,” she said.
Ms. Simpson scraped the popcorn off the ceiling, then troweled on a product that re-creates the look of sandstone to smooth out the ceiling. The compound has crushed walnuts in it that give soft, barely visible streaks of brown to the sandstone finish.
She replaced the tile floor with a pillow-edge Travertine marble floor and used the same marble as a backsplash behind the sink. A conversation piece in itself, the unusual sink is made of tumbled onyx, which shimmers in shades of white and gold. The sink sits atop a black vanity with a sleek, contemporary stainless faucet behind it.
The bath’s walls are a multilayer plaster technique that is troweled and glazed. The room’s overall illusion is one of multiple layers of stone.
Other interesting treatments are found throughout the house, such as a clear glass bowl that she covered in a tortoise-shell faux finish. It sits upon a tabletop that appears to be leather but is actually a treatment involving stained cheesecloth.
Ms. Simpson said a good faux finish passes the test if viewers can’t tell where application began or ended.
Ms. Simpson has transformed the garage of her home into a showroom for clients to see samples of her designs. Her work ranges from $2.50 to $12 per square foot depending on the difficulty of the finish being applied. Her company, Ambiance Creations, may be reached by calling 309-3289.