Faux Finishes | Chicago & Chicagoland
Walls that look like poured concrete, aged stone, or hand-troweled plaster. Not wallpaper. Not a sponge trick from a kit. Real materials, carefully layered by hand to create depth, texture, and a one-of-a-kind finish.
The Brutal Truth
Let me ask you a question. Have you ever walked into a room, seen a wall that stopped you where you stood, and had no idea what it was actually made of? Stone? Concrete? Something poured? That is what a real faux finish does to a room. Nobody can name it. They just want to put a hand on it.
Here is the problem. Call ten painters in Chicago and ask about faux painting walls, and nine of them will show up with a sea sponge, a rag, and a bucket of tinted glaze. You get a blotchy, streaky wall that reads as dated inside a year. That is a paint effect. It is not a finish. Every guest who walks past it senses something is off, even if they could never tell you what.
"A sponge and a bucket of glaze is a paint trick. A faux finish is a material, built up in layers, by hand."
Real faux finish painting is a different trade. It is layered material, pulled across the wall with a trowel or laid in with a brush, built up coat over coat until the surface has depth that shifts as the light moves through the room. Concrete look. Aged stone. Soft suede. Weathered metal. Old world plaster. Done properly, nobody guesses it is a finish.
The kicker: the charcoal wall in the photos on this page is not stone, not concrete, and not wallpaper. It is a hand-applied finish on ordinary drywall.
Plain English
A faux finish is a decorative wall treatment that makes one surface look and feel like another. Drywall that reads as poured concrete. A hallway that reads as old Tuscan plaster. A dining wall with the soft grain of suede or the cool grey of raw steel.
It is done with real material, not printed paper. Plasters, mineral washes and tinted glazes are applied in thin layers and worked while they are open, which is what gives the wall its movement. Because every wall is mixed and worked by hand, no two are ever identical. That is the whole point. You are not picking a pattern off a shelf. You are getting one wall that exists nowhere else.
Why Just Art Studio
Every project is personally completed by Justyna, with close attention to color, texture, and detail.
Years of experience in art and mural painting, complemented by a growing specialization in masonry staining and decorative finishes. Every surface is carefully crafted by hand to achieve a distinctive, one-of-a-kind result.
Color, sheen, and texture are built for your room and your light. You will not find your wall in anyone else's house.
You see and touch the finish in your actual space, in your actual light, before we commit to a single square foot.
Chicago homeowners and businesses rate us 5.0 on Google. Clean site, clean edges, clean finish.
The Looks
Three directions our Chicago clients ask for most. Every one is mixed to your room, so treat these as starting points.
Deep, smoky, modern. The look of poured concrete with soft clouding that moves with the light.
A deep, soft surface with quiet movement in it. Calm in daylight, warmer under lamplight.
Bring a photo, a fabric, or a stone slab. We mix to it and hand you a sample board to live with.
Here Is The Thing
Nobody talks about what happens when a faux finish goes wrong, so let us be honest about it. A failed finish does not just wash off. The wall has to be scraped back, skim coated, sanded, primed, and started again. That is the same room torn up a second time, the same furniture moved a second time, the same dust through your house a second time.
And that is the smaller half of the cost. The bigger half is that you were excited about this room. You pictured how it would feel walking in. Now it is the wall you avoid looking at, in the house you have to live in every day, for years.
"You are not really paying for a wall finish. You are paying for the one room in the house that makes people stop talking mid-sentence."
So we take the guesswork out of it completely.
You get a sample applied to your actual wall before we begin. You look at it in morning light and at night with the lamps on. You approve it, or we mix again until you do. Then we protect the space, prep the surface properly, apply the finish, and clean up behind ourselves. Zero work on your end, and no surprises on the wall.
Where It Works
One wall is usually enough. Here is where our Chicago clients put it.
Most jobs start as a single wall. If you have been searching for an accent wall painter in Chicago and what you really want is a finish mixed and worked by hand rather than a color rolled on from a chart, that is exactly what this is. Not sure which wall? That is the first thing we settle on the walkthrough.
Portfolio
A powder room in a custom dark finish, and a floor to ceiling fireplace wall in soft grey plaster. Both hand-applied, both our own work.
Meet the Artist
Justyna has more than 15 years of experience in art, mural painting, and creative craftsmanship. For the past three years, she has expanded her work to include brick and stone staining and decorative finishes.
Her background in murals and fine art brings a strong eye for color, detail, and composition to every surface. Each finish is carefully created by hand for a distinctive, one-of-a-kind result.
How We Work
Clear, clean, and done right. Here is exactly what to expect.
We see the room, the light, and the pieces already in it, then narrow the look down to two or three real options.
Color, sheen, and texture are mixed by hand to your space. Bring a photo, a fabric, or a stone slab and we match to it.
You live with the sample for a day or two, in daylight and lamplight, before you approve anything.
Floors and furniture covered, edges taped, surface repaired and primed so the finish bonds and stays put.
Coat over coat, worked while the material is open. This is where the depth and the movement come from.
Protected where it needs protecting, and the room handed back cleaner than we found it.
The Dirty Secret
Paint and paper both cover a wall. A faux finish gives it a surface. Here is what you actually live with.
Service Area
Based in Elmwood Park, we bring custom faux finishes to homes and businesses across Chicago and the surrounding suburbs.
Not sure if we cover your area? Just ask. We travel across the Chicago metro.
Social Proof
★★★★★
Real reviews from Just Art Studio clients.
"Justyna is amazing and very talented. Her work is unique, and it's a real pleasure to collaborate with her. I just share the topic and my vision, and she comes up with something creative without any problem. I highly recommend her work, she has an incredible talent."
Magdalena Wojcik"Justyna is very honest and reliable. Her work is impeccable and is great with working with clients. She has a thorough understanding in Brick Staining and Color Tinting. I highly recommend her for murals, color matching and specialty paints."
Anna Sarah"Justyna did an outstanding job staining our original brick fireplace with a schmeer. We couldn't be happier with the results! She brought a truly artistic eye to the project and worked closely with my wife to achieve the exact tint and patina we wanted. Justyna listened to all our preferences and made sure every detail matched our vision. The final look is beautiful and really transformed our space. Highly recommend Justyna for anyone looking for meticulous, creative, and high-quality work!"
Chris RovansekLet's Talk
Send the room, the look you are after, and a photo if you have one. Justyna comes out, walks the space, and puts a sample on your actual wall. No pressure and no obligation to book.
Prefer to talk it through?
☎ (773) 698-5142Or email justartchicago@gmail.com or use the contact page.
Good to Know
It is a hand-applied wall treatment that makes one surface look like another. Drywall that reads as concrete, stone, suede, or old plaster. Real material in thin layers, not printed paper and not a single coat of paint.
It comes down to the square footage, the finish you pick, and how much prep the wall needs. Since every room is different, we give you a clear written quote after we have seen the space in person. Reach out and we will walk you through it.
Yes, and it is our favorite part of the job. Send a photo, hand us a fabric swatch, or point at the quartzite on your vanity. We mix to it by hand and give you a sample board plus a sample on your wall before anything is committed.
Yes. Most of our work is on ordinary drywall and previously painted walls. The wall gets repaired, sanded, and primed first so the material bonds correctly. That prep is a large part of what separates a finish that lasts from one that fails.
A single accent wall is usually a day or two including prep and drying between coats. A full room or a multi-layer finish takes longer. You get a firm timeline with your quote, and we work around your schedule.
They solve different problems. Wallpaper gives you a repeating pattern that anyone can buy, with seams that can lift over time. A faux finish gives you a one-off surface with no seams, mixed for your room. If you want the wall nobody else has, the finish wins.
Faux finish is the umbrella term for any hand-applied decorative wall treatment. Limewash is one specific type of it, a soft, chalky mineral wash that soaks into the surface. A faux finish can go much further than that, copying concrete, stone, suede, or old plaster, and it is mixed for the room it is going in rather than picked off a chart.
We work out of Elmwood Park and cover Chicago and the surrounding suburbs, including Oak Park, River Forest, Park Ridge, Norridge, Skokie, Evanston, Oak Brook, Hinsdale, and Naperville. If you are anywhere in the Chicago metro, send us the room and we will confirm.
One Wall Changes The Room
Send us the room and the look you have in your head. We will show you exactly what a hand-applied finish can do with it. No pressure, just honest guidance and a free quote.
Explore More
New to all this? Start with our guide to limewash walls or the brick fireplace makeovers we have done around Chicago.