How To Paint Faux Marble On A Table Top
I have a love affair with carrara marble, and would love to have my kitchen covered in it, or at least a stone with a similar pattern. I thought I would share with you how to paint faux marble with a tutorial. It’s much easier than you think to get a marble effect, and I love how it looks.
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Use A Marble Slab Or Image For Reference
A good tip to start out with is to use a real marble slab for reference…even an inexpensive floor tile. This is a baking slab I’ve had for years. I use it all the time, and I know sometimes the wear and tear marble can show really bothers some people, but personally, I love all of the patina from use. It helps because it shows how there is a variation in the marble between heavy lines, lighter and darker coloring and where to add feathering. When you have a reference, it’s easier to get to closer to what you are going for.
Supplies For Painting A Faux Marble Finish
-Thin paint brush,
-An angled 2′ paint brush
,
(Or a Marble Paint kit)
-Non-yellowing sealer with a sheen of satin finish (this is for non-food surfaces)
=Natural sponge
-Toothbrush
Base Coat The Surface In White Paint
Starts with a base coating the surface in white paint. We are painting an island tabletop. I used an indoor/outdoor paint for durability since there will be no direct food contact. It’s best to work while the final coat of paint is still wet, you actually get better blending and feathering.
Start By Painting A Thin Line in Light Gray Paint
Paint a thin line of gray paint on the white paint. You want to kind of meander your diagonal line along, intersecting with other lines. Keep your wrist loose
Once you have a wet line, use your angled brush bristles to feather the line out and soften it. You can see the video how I did that technique. To feather you can also use a light pouncing motion to create a diffuse line. The idea is there should be very few hard lines. A toothbrush can also be used to create softer lines.
Once you have a wet line, use your angled brush to feather the line out and soften it. I do have video coming of how I did that technique. Then continue to add lines in two different shades of gray, overlapping and intertwining.
I copied many of the patterns in my baking slab. I knew I wanted it lighter, so I used lighter shades of gray, instead of the dark veining my baking slab has. Also feel free to mix the two grays with white to lighten them even more.
Once it’s dry, you want to seal it with a non-yellowing sealer. This can be a brush on or spray on finish. For a honed-marble look, use a satin and for a polished marble look, use a gloss finish. My baking slab is going to go over the top for actual prep, so I wasn’t worried about food safety. If you are going to use this on counter-tops, make sure every product you use is food safe. If you love the look of stone, try making this agate geode-inspired paint poured serving tray.
Once it’s dried, it holds up fairly well. You can see my baking slab on top of the painted surface from my fall home tour. I like how bright and clean it looks compared to my home last year, and it was really inexpensive to do! I hope if you have a surface like a table you want to change up, you try out this how to paint faux marble tutorial and let me know what you think!
Modern bohemian jewelry on-line course starts Nov 1st!! Make sure to grab your spot!! You can see the supplies for class here.
 This post is for entertainment purposes only.