Sponge painting can be a beautiful faux finish for any room whether you accent a few areas of a wall or sponge the whole room. Sponging can change the entire mood of a room with very little effort. I’ll go over some easy tips to remember when doing this simple project.
First you need to plan exactly what you are sponge painting and how much paint to get and what colors and the supplies of sponges and cloths and rags. Design what you want it to look like and plan for the kinds of colors, any stencils you may need and painter’s tape to protect any edges you don’t want painted. Using a water-based latex paint is probably the best.
Determine what kinds of sponges you need. This, aside from picking a design and the colors, is probably the most important step. If you want a big, entire wall design then you should probably get big sponges with handles on them and a paint tin in which to pour your paint. If it’s a small project, go for smaller sponges and we could forego the paint tin and just take paint directly from the can.
Then you need to completely clean the surface that is going to be painted. Whatever the surface, it needs to already have a finish on it, preferably paint. Clean the surface to be painted with a cloth and warm water and let it completely dry.
Cover any areas you don’t want paint on whether it be edges or countertops or floors. If you are sponging an entire wall it might be a good idea to cover the floor or counter entirely.
Start by dampening your sponge with water and then dipping it in paint. Start from the hardest to reach place (up high or in a corner) and work your way out. That way the hardest task is done first.
Vary your sponge strokes so the pattern changes and it looks like a pattern on the surface. It doesn’t have to be uniform or match, but even strokes as you turn will make it look better and not so random and yet still be a neat design.
Clean your sponge frequently with water to avoid splotches on the wall unless that is the effect you’re going for. Keep a bucket of warm water handy and clean the water often when it gets too murky otherwise you may as well not even clean the sponge. Replace the sponge if it starts to fall apart and things get flaky.
One coat of paint should be plenty. Let that layer dry completely for 24 hours before you begin a second layer of different colors.
Start your second layer and vary the pattern a little. Off-center your strokes so it doesn’t completely cover your work from before otherwise you just wasted sponging the first layer and the second will blot out the first.
Let the second layer dry completely and then go over any bare areas you may have missed.
Whatever pattern of sponge painting you choose, it is a great way to change the colors of the room and alter the mood of whatever surface you decorate.
http://www.doityourself.com/stry/spongepainting
