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About This ProjectWall And Trim MakeoverGive any room a face-lift with two simple projects: Venetian plaster wall texture and urethane moldings. Maybe you've decided that red bedroom walls just aren’t you. Maybe you think your 2-year-old could have sponge-painted better than the previous owners. Whatever the case, if you're ready for a new look in your bedroom, bath, dining room-or just about any other room in the house—we'll show you how to redo it in a weekend with two simple projects. The first is a new decorative wall technique called Venetian plaster. Once a difficult project tackled only by pros, Venetian plaster is now easy to apply in a simple multistep process. With this solid-color product in a can, you can add a rich visual texture with highlights and shadows. It's as simple as patching and painting walls, and inexpensive, too. For a project like ours in an average-size bedroom, you'll spend $30 for the plaster and $10 on basic tools.
The second project is an easy-to-install urethane molding that you can cut with a handsaw (no power miter box necessary) and then glue and nail to the walls. The molding is a durable product with the crisp details and shapes you'd expect from solid wood, but it's a lot easier to work with. For an average-size bedroom, figure on spending about $75 for chair railing. If you plan to trim the windows and doors with moldings similar to those shown, add $80 per unit. For more information on the plaster and moldings.
Part One: Venetian Plast
Getting Started
Before you start, choose a color from the brochure available at your home center (or go to the company's Web site if the product isn't available locally). The supplier will mix and blend the colored plaster just like ordinary paint so it’s ready to use right out of the can. Don't be fooled when you open the can and see just a solid color. The subtle color differences you see in the final job are part of the process of applying, sanding and tooling the plaster.
Prep the room just as you would for any paint job by cleaning walls and filling holes. Mask the areas you don't want painted such as around windows, doors and baseboards. You can plaster over any paint that's sound, but if the paint is glossy or semigloss, wipe it down with a deglosser (available at paint stores).
You can create a two-color wall like ours or use the Venetian plaster product from floor to ceiling with dramatic effects. If you want two colors, paint the top first and allow it to dry so you won't drip paint on the Venetian plaster below. When figuring the proportions for a wainscot, keep in mind that it'll look best about one-third of the way up from the floor to the ceiling. You can go a bit higher up the wall, but keep from going as far as halfway up. This will divide the room into a distinct top and bottom and look odd.
With the room prepped, mask off the wall just above where you'll be plastering. Measure up from the floor in several locations and mark a level line with a straightedge. Use a 2-to 3-in. wide strip of tape so you can stroke freely and not be tempted to make smaller strokes at the top. Also, open a window in the room. Although this product has very low odor, adequate ventilation is necessary until it dries.
Trowel It On
When you're at the home center, pick up a drywall mud pan like the one shown in Photo 2 to hold the colored plaster while you're spreading it on the wall. The long top edges have a sharp rim to wipe your drywall knife clean. Also buy a 5-in. flexible drywall knife to spread the product on the walls. You could use a 4-1/2 in. or a 6-in. knife instead, with slightly different effects. I found it helpful to practice on a scrap of painted drywall to get the hang of it. Your home center paint department may also have small boards available to practice on.
Before you start, sand the corners of the drywall knife to round them slightly to keep the tool from leaving sharp ridges and digging into the wall. Start applying the plaster to the wall in a corner and work your way along the wall. Don't try to do the whole wall in one coat. You'll find it easiest to trowel an even coat on a 3-to 4-ft. section with your knife at a sharp 15-to 20-degree angle and then go back and do random strokes with the knife, alternating left to right and right to left. You'll see the original color of the wall show through on the first coat but this is good. If you don't see some of the wall beneath, you’re putting the plaster on too thick. After each 6-ft. section, stop and examine the wall. Tool any section with heavy ridges and even it with a clean trowel before it dries, then move along.
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