2010 Designer Look: Hollywood Regency (inspirations), Accent Pieces, and Easy-to-do Faux Finishes

Interior Design: Look out 2010 here comes the Hollywood Regency style

Home Accents: What accents work with the Hollywood Regency look?
Style How-To: Faux finishes for your walls

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Interior Design: Look out 2010 here comes the Hollywood Regency style

2010 is right around the corner and what better way to welcome a new year than to redecorate your home? One great trend right now is the Hollywood Regency style. It's a bold look that you can easily incorporates accent pieces from all over the world into. Here are some inspirational rooms:

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Home Accents: What accents work with the Hollywood Regency look?

The Hollywood regency style is a fairly simple to create and will work in most any type of home. It is typically dark walls - with patterns (but not always) - in contrast with brighter colors (please see examples above of various rooms). Here are some great everyday home accents to use your in Hollywood Regency styled room. If you are on a budget, check out the local thrift store for these great items:

**WARNING: It is incredibly important to be very careful when purchasing pieces for this look. Do not use too much glass or to many dark colors. It is very easy to end up with a retro 1980s throwback to something that looks dated rather than new. ALWAYS consult a interior designer and real estate agent before redecorating your home in trendy styles.**

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Style How-To: Faux finishes for your walls and accent pieces

One great way to add style to any room on a budget is to look for various ways to create your own faux finishes for walls or home accent pieces. One of these faux finishes that would looks great for a Hollywood Regency styled room is called Verdigris. It is basically creating a imitation look of old or tarnished copper satues or ornamental pieces.

Step 1: This look works best on any item that has carved or recessed areas on it (ex: lamp). Base coat the surface with a couple of coats of black in an acrylic or latex semi gloss paint. This dark value provides a solid background for the copper to be placed over. Sand lightly between coats. Let the base coat thoroughly dry before proceeding. (Copper/Bronze Base Coat - Dark Green Latex - Light Blue - Off White Latex - Raw Umber)

Step 2: Once the basecoat is dry dab (creating a stippling effect) the (in our example) dark green latex all over the item. The use a rag to dab the paint off, but make sure not to remove all the paint. Leave to dry.

Step 3: Paint the whole thing using the light blue color. Next, using a new clean rag dab off the blue (leave a little blue) to show the colors underneath. Now, Let dry.

Step 4: Apply the thinned out white latex (about 30-45% water mixed in with the white latex) to help create a white transparent look. Leave to dry.

Step 5: Use a kitchen scrubber (or metal sponge) and scrape off the paint in random locations to show the copper and green that is beneath the white paint. Areas of low relief take on a light green tone and other parts appear medium green. Because they are most often polished, the ridges of the relief retain a little of the bronze's original goldish color.

Step 6: Done.

This is a great technique that can be applied to anything: walls, furniture, lamps, event window treatments! Just be creative and test ideas out before painting on the final pieces.