Project - faux tile

It's Monday so I thought I would share a weekend project with you.  This project is from several years ago, but it still resides in my house.  I'll apologize now for the photos of the project.  This was years ago when a "good" camera had 3 megapixels and I had very little photography experience.

When we bought our home in 1998, the fireplace was a bit lackluster.  With white painted brick and small white shelves surrounding it, the fireplace vanished.  So much so that many people didn't even know we had a fireplace.  I knew I wanted to do something to make it stand out more.  I gathered a few ideas and everything was leaning toward a tile surround with some chunkier shelves on either side.  At that point I had only ventured into tile one time for an outdoor table and it was not a good outcome.  I was very hesitant to spend the money on tile and worried that it wouldn't come out like I imagined.

This is a photo of the fireplace after a little demolition.

So, just like I do with so many things, I thought about how I could get the look of tile without using tile.  I decided that I could paint faux tile.  I figured the worst case scenario was that I would have to come up with a new idea and I'd have a sheet of MDF board to use for another project.  

Here is my supplies list:

paint for basecolor (this will be your "grout" color)

paint for "tiles" (see my notes on selecting colors)

antiquing glaze or diluted brown acrylic paint

painter's tape

MDF board or wall

brushes, sponges, rags

When picking the colors for your "tiles", here are a few notes....

• If you want to do a single color for your tiles, choose that color, but also choose one shade lighter and one shade darker.  This will allow you to add accents and highlights.
• If you choose to do multiple colors, look at an item in the room where the tile will be.  Maybe you have a pillow or painting that pulls the room together.  you can select your colors from there.
• I used acrylic paints because they are easy to find in craft stores, are relatively inexpensive and come in so many colors.  You could also try latex paint if you have some left over.

First you will need to cut your board to the desired size.  If you are painting straight onto a wall, you may want to tape off around the area you wish to tile. Then you can paint your base color.  Let it dry a day before continuing onto the next step.

Now you can decide the width of your grout lines.  Some home improvement stores carry a wide variety of painter's tape, so you may find the width you want.  At the time I did this project, I couldn't find tape the size I wanted, so I cut down one inch tape using a utility knife.  I marked to roll of tape with a marker and then used the utility knife on the roll to cut through multiple layers at one time.

Once you have your tape, you can decide on the layout of your tile.  Find the center of your board or wall and tape off your first tile, using a level to make sure you are starting straight.Continue adding tape lines out from the center until you cover the entire area.

 Once you have the tape where you want it, I recommend rubbing over the tape with a credit card to seal the tape down.  Be careful near the tape intersections so you don't peel back the tape going the opposite direction.  

Now it's time to paint.  Make sure that the area you are working in is well-ventilated.  If you are using multiple colors, you may want to mark where you want each color.  I used three contrasting colors and I wanted the red color to just be an accent.  I marked which tiles I wanted red so it wouldn't be an overwhelming color.  Then I used a small foam brush to apply two coats of each color ( Depending on the colors you select, you may need more than 2 coats).  I tried to stay within the lines as much as I could.  This will make it easier when you are adding your highlights and shading. 

Once the tile color was dry, you can add your highlights and lowlights.  This will make the tile have some dimension, so it doesn't look like you painted a board.  If you used a single color for the tiles, use the lighter shade in the center for a highlight.  Apply a small amount to a damp sea sponge and dab in the center of the tiles.  Use the sponge to move the color around and blend it.  I used the antiquing glaze around the edges of each tile.  I also applied this with a damp sponge.  You could also use a shade darker than the tile paint color to accent the edges of the tile.  Just be sure to blend the colors so they appear natural.  Let this dry overnight.  You can go back and add more highlight or accent later if you aren't satisfied with the results.

Now for the fun part!  Time to remove the tape.  Start slowly at one side, keeping your hand close to the painted surface.  If the tape appears to be sticking, you can warm it a little with a blowdryer to make it easier to remove.  After all of the tape is removed I recommend applying 1-2 coats of a polyurethane (such as Polycrylic).

For my project, I created a fireplace surround and a hearth.  I mounted these directly to the old brick and hearth using construction adhesive.  Then my husband and I built a new mantel, columns and surrounding bookshelves.  We also add a faux chimney box from the mantel to the ceiling to give the fireplace a little more weight in the room.  Since our fireplace is a non-working one, we also created a box for inside of the fireplace and attached a mirror to the back wall.

This is still one of my favorite projects because it made such a difference in our living room.  Look around and see if there is anywhere you would like to have some faux tile.