Glossary of Surface Designs
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All-over Damask Hand Painted and Stenciled Wall Finish Pattern: A stencil paint finish where the pattern is repeated across an entire wall. Traditionally painted in contrasting sheens and resembles damask fabric. |
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Aluminum Leaf Used as an alternative to silver leaf for its excellent luminosity, beauty and cost effectiveness. |
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American Clay Much like Venetian Plaster, American Clay is a troweled on natural, stone-like veneer made from natural clay, sand and organically sourced pigments.
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Antiqued Also referred to as "aged". A technique intended to give the appearance of age or wear. |
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Brocade Stencil A highly decorative stencil is applied in flat sheen paint over a broken color finish in a satin sheen. The stencil is repeated in a pattern, giving the walls the appearance of “brocade” fabric |
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Bronze Metallic Paint Finish A bronze metallic paint finish to mimic the look of bronze. Click here to read our blog: "Enhancing Interior Design With Bronze Metallic Paint" |
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Burnished Venetian Plaster A decorative Venetian plaster that when burnished creates a polished stone surface. Click here to read our blog: "Enhancing Hospitality Interior Design With Burnished Venetian Plaster" |
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Canopy or Tent Ceiling Mural A trompe l’oeil painting on ceilings depicting the inside of a canopy or striped tent. Click here to read our blog: "How To Elevate Your Space With A Canopy Ceiling Mural" |
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Ceiling Mural A mural hand painted on a ceiling with a customized theme such as a map, sky, decorative motifs, cherubs and text. A ceiling mural creates visual interest, draws the eye upward and enhances the overall aesthetic, as well as making a space feel larger and more open. Click here to read our blog: "How To Enhance Your Interior Design With A Custom Ceiling Mural" |
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Celtic Mural Murals inspired by Celtic traditional art and design |
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Cement Plaster Finish A faux finish using Venetian plaster to achieve the look of cement. Click here to read our blog: "Custom Cement Plaster Finishes: Transforming Interior Design" |
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Chevron Pattern A variation to the zigzag pattern, having the shape of a V or inverted V, made of flowing stripes that peak on opposite sides of the line of symmetry. |
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Children's Murals Baby nurseries and children’s rooms are perfect places to apply murals, either on the walls, ceilings or floors. Themes can vary from a circus tent, African Savannah, and the stands of Fenway Park to a fantasy mural with castles and fairies. |
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Chinoiserie Mural Painting A stylized mural painting usually depicting a garden reflecting Asian decorative arts, motifs, qualities and techniques. Click here to read our blog: "The Allure of Hand Painted Chinoiserie Murals in Inteior Design" |
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Color Blocking The use of usually bold and bright blocks of solid color in order to make a bold statement. |
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Color Wash This paint finish creates the illusion of an old Tuscan plaster lightly mottled effect. By applying multiple layers we can create depth and movement and a hint of drama. |
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Combing A technique of pulling a toothed “comb” through wet paint. The comb can be made of a material such as: rubber, metal, leather, plastic or cardboard. |
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Concrete Painted Finish A faux finish using paint to create the look of concrete. |
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Conservatory Style Mural A mural, often times on a ceiling, depicting an iron trompe l’oeil conservatory framework with a sky mural background. |
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Copper Verdigris Faux Finish Layers of various paint colors are used to create the illusion of oxidized copper. Verdigris, a French term meaning green-gray, is used to describe a copper surface that has oxidized from exposure to the elements. |
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Corroded Metal Faux Finish A faux paint finish to give the appearance of rusted and corroded metal. |
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Cross Hatch A technique of dragging a toothed “comb” through wet paint in both vertical and horizontal directions to achieve a “basket weave” appearance. |
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Damask Hand Painted and Stenciled Wall Finish A stencil paint finish similar to “Brocade” in that a stencil is repeated over a broken finish background. Damask also has contrasting sheen's. Usually the background is applied with a metallic paint and the stencil pattern is applied in a flat sheen paint, or vice-versa. |
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Decorative Finishes Decorative finishes, also referred to as faux finishes, spans a wide variety of hand applied surface designs on walls and floors, ceilings and furniture, using paint and other art mediums. |
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Design A sketch drawn to scale on grid paper, representing the final layout of mural composition. |
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Distressed A term used to describe a decorative paint finish that gives the appearance of age and wear. |
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Distressed & Weathered A finish where various techniques are used to create a faux distressed and weathered look. |
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Etched Stone A Venetian plaster artistic finish that Arteriors created, with a distinct, organically etched appearance. |
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Exterior Sign Painting We specialize in signs for both interior and exterior spaces using hand painting and stencils. Licensed and insured for scissor and boom lifts, no job is too high! |
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Factory-Worn Paint Finish A faux weathered and distressed paint finish used to create the look of time worn factory floors. |
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Fantasy Mural Painting
Murals depicting non-realistic images and themes.
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Faux Bronze Metallic Paint Finish Door
A bronze metallic paint finish to mimic the look of bronze.
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Faux Finish
A French word meaning “fake or false”. Technically, woodgraining, marbleizing, or other painted finishes that are replicating a natural material are faux finishes. However, this term has become an umbrella name to describe all painted decorative finishes.
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Faux Fresco
An ancient mural technique using wet pigments as paint on un-cured plaster. Faux fresco is a mural technique that gives the appearance of an aged and weathered fresco using contemporary paint products.
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Faux Marble Paint Finish
A traditional decorative arts painting technique that creates the illusion of marble.
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Faux Stone Wall
This is a trompe l’oeil technique giving the painted surface the appearance of a stone wall.
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Faux Tortoise Shell
A faux finish used to replicate the distinctive pattern and rich colors of real tortoise shell.
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Faux Wood Grain
Also called “Faux Bois”, faux wood grain is a paint technique that replicates various wood grains, such as oak, walnut, mahogany or even weathered barn board.
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Garland Border
A traditional style hand painted and stenciled depicting a three dimensional garland border design. Often used to accent a window, doorway or an architectural feature.
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Gilding & Metallic Paint Finishes
We are experts in silver, gold and palladium leaf application for both interiors and exteriors. Our many metallic paint finishes create glamour and elegance to custom designs and architectural features.
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Glazed Finish
The process of applying a tinted, but transparent paint over a base coat to create a softly modulated, watercolor effect. The darkness of the base coat and the number of layers of glaze applied can create a rich saturated appearance and works well in dark reds, blues and greens.
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Grisaille Stenciled and Hand Painted Decorative Panels
A traditional decorative painting technique for architectural trompe l’oeil painting done in monochromatic colors suggesting solid form, perspective or decorative plasters motifs.
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Harlequin
Harlequin diamonds are painted in a pattern in either subtly contrasting colors or sheen's and can also be applied in a subtractive paint finish, creating a classic and elegant appearance.
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Hospitality Design
Interior design for hospitality venues such as restaurants, hotels, casinos and event spaces.
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Hudson River School Style Mural
Landscape murals inspired by paintings done by Hudson River School artists- a term used to group these artists together. Featuring Hudson River area painted landscapes of New England, the Berkshires, Hudson River Valley area and then later branched into the Western Rockies.
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Industrial Chic
An interior design style that incorporates industrial like surfaces such as cement, rusted and corroded metal and other various finishes.
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Interior Sign Murals
Traditional painted signs for interior spaces, using hand painting and stencils.
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Landscape Mural Painting
A custom hand painted mural or wallpaper that depicts the outside environment including the sky, the foreground and distant horizon line between the land or sea and sky.
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Limewash Finish
A centuries old, 100% natural mineral finish and substitute for paint that is used to create a matte look with a chalky suede-like texture. |
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Map Mural
Hand painted murals depicting any kind of map.
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Metallic Finishes
Decorative finishes that use metallic paint in various techniques over other painted finishes. Golds, silvers and bronzes are used over different colored base coats to create the appearance of antique gold, burnished bronze or shimmering silver.
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Metallic Wax
Metallic wax finishes are used over various Venetian plaster layers to create an iridescent sheen.
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Mica Infused Marmorino Plaster
A natural Venetian plaster surface that is porous and has an organic feel, which is infused with mica, flecks of sparkling stone.
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Mirror Gilding
Metallic leaf gilding that is adhered to the surface of mirrored glass.
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Monochromatic Landscape Mural Painting
A traditional landscape mural style in which the imagery is depicted within one color family and uses shades of the color to create highlight, shadow and dimension.
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Mural Painting
A mural is defined as a painted picture on a wall or ceiling.
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Ombre Finish
A wall finish that gradually changes in shade from dark to light or vice versa.
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Oxidized
A thin greenish layer that forms on copper or copper alloys, such as bronze, as a result of long exposure to the elements and often valued aesthetically for its color. It gives a surface appearance of something grown beautiful with age or use.
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Patina
A thin dark glaze that is added to a finish on woodwork or painted furniture to lend the appearance of age.
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Pigments
Material mixed into paint bases to create paint colors.
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Poured Cement Finish
Involves the application of pigmented plaster to create the look and feel of poured cement.
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Rustic Glam
An interior design style that mixes rustic surfaces like barn wood, cement and weathered finishes with textural and modern color accents such as faux fur, brass and crystal.
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Sample
The decorative finishes or Venetian plaster samples that are to be applied on the walls or ceiling is also applied on a section of wall or on a board to show the client what the final outcome of the finish will be. |
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Silvered Barnwood
A faux woodgrain technique that is slightly 3D and is applied with paint. The top surface is dragged with a silver metallic glaze.
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Sketch
Preliminary drawing of proposed mural painting.
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Sky Mural
A mural that depicts mainly a sky.
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Stencil
A tool used to apply a repeated image or pattern by dabbing paint on a commercial sponge or stippling brush over the negative space cut out of a sheet of mylar or stiff oak tag.
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Stencil-Custom Pattern
Custom designed motifs made into stencils used to create hand painted surface pattern designs |
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Strie
A technique used for achieving a subtle mix of fine stripes (or brush strokes) by pulling a dry, stiff bristled brush or rubber comb through wet paint.
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Texture
The appearance of texture created with various techniques such as broken application of Venetian plaster, scumbled paint finishes and subtractive techniques. Texture can either be 2 dimensional or slightly 3D, as in this artistic Venetian plaster finish.
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Trompe L'Oeil
A French expression meaning, “To deceive the eye”. A painting technique in which an illusion of depth and reality is created by emphasizing highlights and shadows. In art, trompe l’oeil is defined as a ‘still life deception’, a painting able to make the viewer believe that an object actually exists in 3D space, in relief. It also means illusion, a deceptive appearance, eyewash or camouflage, in short ‘Fool the eye’!
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Venetian Plaster This finish involves the application of pigmented limestone and marble dust to create the look and feel of authentic stone. |
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Venetian Plaster Samples Venetian plaster samples that are to be applied on the walls or ceiling is also applied on a section of wall or on a board to show the client what the final outcome of the finish will be. These plaster samples can also include burnished and polished Venetian plaster with high gloss or metallic waxes. Click here to read our blog: "Venetian Plaster Samples: Important Tools For Interior Design" |
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Veneziano Plaster
Veneziano Plaster - A refined decorative Venetian plaster that when burnished creates a polished stone surface.
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Weathered
Weathered Finish - A finish having the appearance of abusive exposure to the elements.
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Whimsical Mural
A mural design that is more connected to imagination than reality and creates a lighthearted imaginative world that can be realistic but beyond the tangible world.
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