Faux finishes

Graining, wood graining, or faux bois (French for "fake wood") is often used to imitate exotic or hard-to-find wood varieties.

Trompe l'oeil, "trick the eye" in French, is a realistic painting technique often used in murals, and to create architectural details.

Venetian plaster is a smooth and often shiny plaster design that appears textured but is smooth to the touch. Venetian plaster is one of the most popular and traditional plaster decorations.

Color wash is a free-form finish that creates subtle variations of color using multiple hues of glaze blended together with a paint brush.

Strié, from the French for 'stripe' or 'streak', is a glazing technique that creates soft thin streaks of color using a paint brush. It is a technique often used to simulate fabrics such as linen and denim.

Rag painting or ragging is a glazing technique using twisted or bunched up rags to create a textural pattern.

Marbleizing or faux marbling is used to make walls and furniture look like real marble. This can be done using either plaster or glaze techniques.