I painted these faux stone walls on the exterior of a conservatory in a home in West Yorkshire. The clients contacted me as the original stone effect, which had been done some 15yrs previously, was now looking very faded and had worn badly in places (see photo below).

As with most of my faux work some sort of preparatory base painting was required before I started and this was undertaken by the clients usual painter and decorator. For this project he filled and repaired all the areas that needed attention and then applied 3 coats of a smooth Dulux Weathershield in a light yellow ochre colour. This gave me the perfect non porous base on which to work. The original old effect had been done over textured masonry paint so I suggested that the decorator leave this and not sand it back so that I could incorporate and use the texture when creating my effect.

Undertaking faux work outside in England can be a challenge as the weather is nothing if not ‘changeable’. I was going to need scaffolding for this project so I asked the client if they could arrange some sort of  tarpaulin that would protect any painted areas if it rained. This was going to be vital as the glazes stay wet for around 16hrs. I have to say the clients went above and beyond and this is what I arrived to see on my first day! My very own chrysalis 🙂

It really was a wonderful environment to work in with the chrysalis letting enough light in whist keeping me and the paint free from rain – of which there was a lot! Although the project was done in summer there were some seriously massive storms with torrential rain but whilst it blew a gale outside I was safe and dry inside my little chrysalis. I think the project would still be unfinished if it wasn’t for the tarp!

The effect itself was created using 6 different tinted glazes and blending them with a variety of brushes, cloths and other tools. I applied two layers of glaze to build up the colour and the patination of the faux stone effect.

I even created the illusion of mildew around the drainpipes and on some of the edges and corners just add a little more authenticity to the effect. As you can see from the photos below the effect I achieved was very realistic and blended very well with the real stone on the areas below the window sills.

Once the effect had been created I varnished it with two coats of Osmo oil varnish which has an anti UV component so that the finish wouldn’t fade like the original.

All in all this was a wonderful and slightly surreal environment to work in but I was really happy with the results, as were the clients. I think you’d be hard pressed to notice that this wasn’t a real stone conservatory.

Thanks for reading!

Lee works as a specialist decorator throughout Yorkshire and UK and is within easy reach for faux stone projects in Harrogate, Leeds, York, Wetherby, Ilkley, Otley, Wakefield, Halifax, and all the surrounding areas.