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What is Faux?

Answer:
Faux, from the French word for ‘false’

or ‘fake’, is sometimes in the broader sense is used to describe anything false, but it is generally used in English to denote or describe a material used to imitate another, such as faux fur or a faux finish on a wall or furniture.

Faux materials may be made to deliberately show they are imitations. Faux fur, for instance, is often made to only generally imitate real fur in coloring but not texture as well as color and pattern combinations not found in nature, such as pink ocelot. On the other hand, faux finishes on furniture and other surfaces are generally made to realistically imitate a more expensive material, such as marble or wood.

Faux finishes are produced by a variety of methods, depending to a great extent on the material from which they are made and the effect desired. Molded or cast materials such as terrazzo and scagliola are generally made with a thick layer or solid body of plaster or resin mixed with marble chips and, once set, are polished to resemble marble mosaic. While these materials are generally used to surface architectural forms such as walls, columns and floors, they may also be cast in manageable units, then cut and turned like natural stone to make smaller objects before polishing, glazing, or both.

Walls are often painted to imitate marble, porphyry and various rare woods, then given clear or colored glazes to enrich the colors and reinforce the illusion; these finishes may be either smooth or textured. The paint may be applied by a variety of techniques from simple brushing and spatter using the end of a brush to sponging and feather-streaking on gesso or already-painted surfaces. While realism and precision of effect have drawn high praise throughout history – and high commissions for professional faux finishers – many painting and glazing techniques are simple enough for a beginner to create attractive effects with minimal instruction and some practice to get a feel for the technique.


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