Creative Faux Panels

We write a lot here about faux brick and stone veneer, but let’s not forget faux wood panels. And while we’re at it, let’s not forget other coordinating faux wood materials like beams and corbels — which you can find at our sister site FauxWoodBeams.com.

Two of our newest panels are Woodland and Raised Grain, and they’re each part of a larger family of faux products. The Woodland family includes custom beams, corbels and mantels. The Raised Grain family includes beams, corbels and scrolled-end beams.
When you combine flat panels with solid beams and accessories in a single project, you can get really amazing results. The photo shows what one of our customers did with Raised Grain panels and beams to transform a high ceiling into an architectural feature that defines the entire room.

So today’s tip is simple: When you’re thinking about using faux panels for your project, think beyond the flat stuff. Think about solid, three-dimensional stuff like beams, corbels and mantels as well.

You remember Rapunzel, right? A wicked witch shut her up in a tower with no stairs or door, and the only way up was to climb her long, braided, golden locks. “Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair!”

Hey, I’m not making this up.

The point is, what would the story of Rapunzel be if there weren’t a fabulous stone window for her to let down her hair from? And the point also is, now you too can have fabulous stone windows that Rapunzel would be proud to call her own. The only witchery involved is using faux keystones, trim blocks, trim strips and ledgers.

Here’s what the blocky pieces look like. There’s the full keystone that goes in the center, the left and right keystones that fit against the center one, and square trim blocks. You buy each piece separately, so you can piece them together as you like. The closeup shows the nice depth and texture.

With these four simple building blocks plus trim and ledger pieces, you can create just about any look you want, from the simple to the fanciful. Here are eight examples (click to enlarge).

But, you may ask, what about that nice arched window Rapunzel is leaning out of in the photo? Not a problem (click to enlarge).

So what are you waiting for? You don’t need a stone tower or even a fair-haired maiden to make this project an enchanting success.

If the retaining wall in your yard is your pride and joy and the envy of all your neighbors, you can skip this tip.

In my case, my old railroad-tie retaining wall was so ugly, I finally had it ripped out and the whole yard re-graded to eliminate the need for it. But if I’d found this idea first, I would have given it serious consideration. I do believe it would have cost a heckofalot less.

The idea is to turn that ugly stack of railroad ties or poured concrete or masonry blocks into a nice faux stone wall. You know faux stone veneer works great outdoors, but you might not have thought of using it on this kind of wall.

The key to the project is not to just stick stone veneer on the front surface but to keep and enhance the look of a solid, thick wall. And you do that with wall caps. They absolutely make the whole project. They come in gray or tan to coordinate with just about any stone veneer you like, and they’re available in two widths for thick or extra-thick walls.

The wall caps are made of polyurethane just like the faux panels are, with all the same advantages of light weight, easy installation, and durable good looks.

The fact is, this is a project that delivers a lot of bang for the buck, and for the time and effort you put into it. You transform ugly into beautiful for a very reasonable investment of time and money, and have a blast doing it. It would even be a great starter project for someone who’s never worked with faux panels before.

Makes me wish I hadn’t torn out that old railroad-tie wall.

Of course you only want to do this to a retaining wall that’s stable and sound to begin with. If yours isn’t, then you may soon have more serious problems than your neighbor’s disapproving eye.

We take all of the comments and suggestions we receive to heart. That being said, we’re happy to bring you a much-requested new style of artificial stone panels called Fieldstone.

Fieldstone (also known as Flagstone) is characterized by its artsy, mosaic style. One very distinct feature of Fieldstone is that it comes to you in pieces made from 4 different molds, resulting in a less uniform and a more randomized, natural look. Flat stones of varying shapes and sizes are arranged organically, like natural puzzle pieces, creating a lovely, old New England feel, indoors or out.

Another important note about Fieldstone is that it is the only one of its style on the market that’s made of polyurethane – not concrete. So you’ll have no problem installing it yourself, no mason needed!

And as usual, we have tons of color options to choose from. Use Desert Sky’s mix of dusty reds and beiges to add warmth to your dining room, or the deeper grays and steels of the Smoke style to build a new fireplace.

As with the rest of our faux wall paneling and siding, you can install these all by yourself—or with a friend—without a mason. And the Fieldstone panels interlock both vertically and horizontally, just like a real tongue-and-groove installation. Check out more details and installation tips here.

Comment below with how you think Fieldstone will work to meet your decorating or remodeling needs, or post a review to help other readers make a choice. We want to hear from you – we really DO listen!

New color “Earth” added to our Regency line