5 Ways to Fake Interesting Architectural Details With Paint When Your Home Is Just a Boring, Featureless Box

If there's one design tool that doesn't get half as much credit as it deserves, it's paint. We all know that color can completely transform a room, but used with intention, it can also have some miraculous illusory effects. From creating the impression of height to mimicking architectural features that aren't really there, the right paint treatment can completely transform how we read a space.

White walls are usually the default — and no one's denying their timeless, versatile staying power — but they can sometimes leave a home feeling bland. That's especially true when your home lacks period features or other distinctive architectural details, as is often the case in new builds or former social housing. The good news? By playing around with contrast, color, and clever paint finishes, you can fake them.

To find out how, we spoke to color consultant Joa Studholme — who also works as the color curator at Farrow & Ball — to round up some of her most transformative paint ideas.

And if you want to learn what other tricks Joa has up her sleeve, she's holding two talks during Livingetc Unlocked, our two-day event running across 10-11 September, where we'll be showcasing some of the best London homes and hosting talks with leading designers. Tickets are on sale now.

1. Use a Darker Shade or a Gloss Finish to Fake Architectural Depth

One the easiest paint tricks is creating the optical illusion of architectural depth. Darker, receding colors are often best for this — especially in small spaces — since they make a wall or feature look further away than it is.

Although an excellent paint trick for smaller rooms, it doesn't simply apply to larger surfaces like walls. Joa Studholme often opts for a darker shade on any woodwork and in door or window reveals to create definition.

A contrast of paint finishes can have a similar effect. This is because matt finishes visually recede since its non-reflective surface absorbs light, rather than bouncing it back. Gloss, on the other hand, works in the opposite way.

You can use the two together to visually divide a wall and create the illusion of architectural panelling, for example. "Use a high gloss finish on the bottom meter of a wall and skirting boards, with the same color in a matt finish above it," says Joa.

2. Use Two-Tone Walls to Mimic Moldings

Most modern homes don't have molding details like corning, skirting, or picture and dado rails. Of course, you can retro fit these features, but you can also fake them pretty well with paint alone (plus they double up as excellent ideas for leftover paint).

"If you take the ceiling color around 12 inches down the wall, it creates a modern interpretation of cornicing and makes a room feel super cozy," says Joa. "A simple split of color on a wall (without a dado rail) also has huge impact on a space, making it feel bigger and lighter, especially if you use a strong color on the bottom and a more delicate shade above." For extra impact, you can also extend the lower color around doors and windows, as pictured above.

Joa Studholme

Joa is the Colour Curator at Farrow & Ball, a brand she has worked with for 25 years. In that time, she’s developed colour ranges and consulted on design projects all over the world, as well as helping countless colour consultancy customers to transform their homes.

3. Use a Contrastive Color to Create a Focal Point

We often fail to recognize archway reveals, skylight shafts, or chimney breasts as architectural features. They might not be as decorative as period details or decorative plasterwork, but with a lick of paint, they can still become a striking visual part of your home's design.

These areas are also great places to make use small amounts of paint if you have sample pots lying around you're not sure what to do with. "Look for non obvious areas where you can use small amounts of color to distract from the walls," Joa advises, noting that the interior of skylights work really well.

Although it will require more paint, another overlooked area that's often overlooked is the floor. "Painting floors has a magical effect," Joa explains. "Use pattern if you want a substitute architectural feature or a plain color if you want to make spaces feel bigger." It will take some commitment, but paint can be used to mimic borders, faux parquet, and checkerboard tiles on a floor, for example.

4. Use Color to Define and Divide Open-Plan Spaces

Modern, open concept homes often lack distinct zones, but paint can play a great part in visually carving out separate areas. To zone a room with color, Joa recommends drawing attention to any feature that distinguishes one area from another. "For example, a strongly colored accent on an architrave or opening can really help to divide spaces, as can defining lines on the edges of doors," she says.

You can use paint to create the illusion of a miniature room in an open plan layout, too. "Always seek out the darker areas with no natural light and then lean into it with strong color, making the lighter spaces feel light and the darker dark," Joa explains. "This is such an easy way to divide a space."

5. Blur Sharp Corners by Color-Drenching

One of the downfalls of new builds and ex social housing is how basic and utilitarian they feel. They typically feature boxy rooms devoid of architectural details, with sharp, sterile corners that feel soulless. Fortunately, color-drenching offers a great way to blur those hard edges and make a featureless room feel architecturally softer.

"Color drenching can works miracles in featureless spaces because you can't read the confines of the room, meaning that the sharp corners disappear," Joa explains. When committing to a painted ceiling, however, the color choice is vital. Darker shades — or those with a smoky undertone — are often more effective, adding depth and dimension to your ceiling line which will change throughout the day with the natural light.

You don't need to retrofit architectural moldings or carve out alcoves to give your home more character. With a little imagination — and a willingness to experiment with color, contrast, and finish — paint can do far more than simply decorate your walls. From fake cornicing and dado rails to creating focal points, these clever tricks can give even the most featureless room a sense of depth, detail, and personality.

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