Creative Faux Panels

A few years ago I took a trip to Arizona with my family. Since there wasn’t much to do in that part of Arizona other than golf, my sister and I left the boys and the links behind to hang at the pool.

I’ve been to my fair share of hotel pools, but this one ranked in the top five. One side was flanked by an enormous stone wall built into a natural formation of massive boulders. My favorite part was the waterfall cascading down the wall into the pool. I’m not sure what about it appealed to me so – maybe I was having a Blue Lagoon fantasy moment or maybe it was just the soothing sound of water trickling down. Either way, if I could transplant this wall into my backyard, there’d be no need for boring golf vacations.

Then this customer’s project caught my eye. Paul M. created his own backyard water wall waterfall with light tan stacked stone faux panels. He ingeniously installed the wall and then hooked up a sprinkler system with water from his canal, recycling the water back down the canal so there was no harm to the environment.

I loved this idea – especially since it would be fairly easy for anyone to implement in their own yard or garden. Although I may have to rethink the whole Brooke Shields bathing suit made out of palm leaves thing…

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Many of us are looking forward to leaving the doldrums of winter behind and lifting our faces up to the promise of spring. With the new season comes inspiration for new design projects. What place is better to start than your own home?

Norwich Colorado Stacked Stone Desert Sand

The list of remodeling ideas in your mind’s eye can sometimes be overwhelming. Should we rescue the kitchen from its tacky 1970’s wallpaper and formica? Does the fireplace look crumbly and uninspired? How can I make the patio be more inviting for my guests?

We’re excited for spring’s arrival and to see all the new ideas and projects our customers come up with. To help them on their quest, we’ve stocked up on some new panel styles from the Norwich line. As we’ve said before, seeing homeowners’ final results with our paneling is the best part of the job.

We have samples of all the Norwich styles and colors to help pick out the best one for you. Go get some spring in your step…and your walls.

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One of FauxPanel’s recent customers converted their attic into a romantic getaway using light tan stacked stone faux panels to cover the gas fireplace they installed. Take a look at their before & after pictures and get inspired!

“Beautifully realistic. We converted our attic into a romantic loft hideaway, and the gas fireplace is the crown jewel of our remodeling job. We used the ledgestone faux panels to cover the fireplace with spectacular results. Everyone comments on how beautiful the stone is and they’re always surprised to learn it’s faux paneling. It was the perfect solution in terms of beauty, cost, weight and ease of installation. I highly recommend faux panels!” –
Terry Hare, Grand Rapids, MI – October 2008.

Is your attic space a catch-all for those things you only use once a year or just can’t bear to part with?

Like Terry, consider affordably adding another usable room to your house by converting the attic – especially if you have a garage or basement that can house all your must-keep items.

A converted attic can serve as a guest bedroom, a playroom for the kids, a cool office space – the sky’s the limit. This can relieve the burden of having your kid’s toys strewn all over the living room, your spouse’s computer cables and paperwork populating the kitchen table, or your visiting in-laws camping out on the sofa.

The best part about converting an attic is that most do-it-yourselfers can complete most or all of the work themselves, relatively quickly and inexpensively in comparison to adding a room to your own from scratch.

Some issues to consider before you start are local building department codes/permits needed, wiring requirements, heating and cooling, insulation and stair access. You also want to ensure that the roof framing allows for enough usable space, and that the existing floor is strong enough to hold furniture and people.

While you’ll need to do some further research before you begin your attic remodeling project, here are a few tips to help you along the way:

• Choose flooring that is really easy to clean, such as a nice-looking laminate. This is especially important if the attic will be serving as a playroom – the last thing you want is to be dragging that big vacuum up the attic stairs every day.

• Make sure the attic is well insulated. This will keep it warm in the winter and prevent it from becoming sweltering in the summer. This is important not only for the attic itself but for the whole house. The attic is one of the house’s biggest culprits for energy loss.

• Buy some unfinished bookshelves to install within the eaves. This will save you loads of storage space and will look cool too!

• Install a couple of skylights. They’ll let a lot of light into your dark attic and will also help warm the room on sunny days. Add a small portable space heater for those really cold days.

• If you want the attic to double as a guest room and a playroom – try putting in a trundle bed. This will save space and can act both as a bed and a sofa for the kids to sit on.

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Did you catch us on the recent episode of Curb Appeal, the home remodeling show on HGTV? It featured the home of John and Leann Rambeau, who chose to remodel their garage with our faux brick paneling.

We drove the panels down to Bethesda, MD, from our warehouse on Long Island, NY. (Road trip!) Producer David Sibila and the production crew were great. The host, Bill Duggan, wasn’t actually there for the taping - maybe that’s why I got a little camera time. In the video you can see me offloading the panels and showing Leann how they look up on the wall.

So why did they choose FauxPanels.com? The show lets the homeowners select the materials they want for the project. Leann found us on the internet and picked out our red faux brick paneling. They decided to paint it white to match their house – although these days we have a white brick panel available.

The interesting thing about the homeowner’s garage was that it was only 6-8 feet deep, so it couldn’t actually fit a car. They removed the garage door to make it into a nice outdoor alcove. They wanted it to blend in with the rest of house’s white brick exterior – hence the painted faux paneling.

After a long day of filming and paneling, I headed home with my empty van – leaving the homeowners happy and excited about their new converted alcove. Of course, it then took over a year for the episode to air on TV – but the best faux things in life are worth waiting for.

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