Faux-Finish Walls Skim-Coated and Painted White

Sponged and Venetian faux-finish walls across a main level skim-coated smooth, primed and painted bright white — great room, kitchen, entry and arches — with furniture wrapped in place.

Location: Twin Cities, MN
Completed: May 2017
Setting: Occupied home

Before: Great room toward the stair: sponged faux finish to smooth bright white — Great room toward the stair: sponged faux finish to smooth bright white

After: Great room toward the stair: sponged faux finish to smooth bright white — Great room toward the stair: sponged faux finish to smooth bright white

Drag the handle to compare before and after.

About this project

Sponged and Venetian-plaster faux finishes were everywhere in the early 2000s, and they do not paint over well: their texture and sheen show straight through a new coat. On this main level we skim-coated the faux-finish walls smooth, sanded them, primed and painted a bright white — the great room, the kitchen, the entry hall and every arched opening between them.

The furniture stayed in the house, wrapped in plastic in the middle of each room while we worked around it. Removing a faux finish is mostly drywall work before it is painting work, which is why we price and schedule the skim coat as its own step.