Plastique is a faux painting technique that provides rich, mottled texture to enhance any room.

Faux painting techniques, like this double-process burlap strie, can add grace and sophistication to any room.

The technique of faux painting adds grace and sophistication to any room. Striped effects create rich textures and handmade detail that cannot be matched by wallpaper patterns, and they make a room with a low ceiling appear taller.

Ragging is a faux painting technique that provides both warmth and texture to any room.

Single-process vertical strie is a faux painting technique that creates the illusion of height in a room.

The finishing touches are being added to the interior of the home in St Petersburg. The appliances are being delivered and installed. The home features an open plan with a modern design. The kitchen, dining, and living rooms are all one open space. This provides a free-flowing atmosphere where everyone can see each other. The space is made up of two containers and the space between the two containers has conventional framing, which creates a bigger space with a higher ceiling for the living area. Off the central hall are four bedrooms, including a master bedroom with its own dedicated bathroom. There are three additional bedrooms and a spacious bathroom at the end of the hall. Drywall was placed on the metal furring strips and then a wood frame was put in place for the windows. Construction adhesive was used to secure the wood baseboards. The interior walls are faced with DensArmor Plus fiberglass wallboard from Georgia Pacific. When building in a humid environment like Florida, it's very important to use material that is resistant to mildew and mold. DensArmor uses a fiberglass mat instead of an organic face. The fiberglass does not provide a surface for mold to grow. The ceiling has a knockdown texture painted with semigloss paint. The interior walls have a satin finish with an orange-peel texture.

Bob and Ryley install the restored door hardware. Greg Rochlin (project architect) had the lacquer coated brass hardware intricately removed and numbered to insure its proper placement in the finished house. Rochlin polished the hardware with jewelers rouge to return it to its polished brass original finish. Ryley stresses the importance of organizing the pieces as they are removed and demonstrates their installation process. With the lacquer removed the knobs will need to be polished a couple times a year. Bob introduces a piece of furniture he has had in his home for a number of years. This period piece features Flame Mahogany veneers and Tiger Maple. This piece is the inspiration for the faux finished mantle in the den. Kim Sweet, the project artist, uses layer upon layer of colors and finishes to recreate the antique wood finish.

Ryley installs the built-in vanity from Crown Point Cabinetry in the downstairs master bath. The first step is to attach the three cabinet units together. Ryley uses a cabinet clamp to draw the stiles together and hold the faces flush while he screws the stiles together. He attaches spacer blocks at the back of the cabinets to solidify the unit. Next Ryley measures the location of the holes for the lavatory waste pipes and then drills the holes with a hole cutter. Then, having marked the studs, he attaches the unit to the wall with three inch screws. Bob admires the satin finish of the cherry doors and the chrome hinges, so appropriate for a bathroom, that come on and off easily with a Phillips head screwdriver. He also notes the drawers' dovetail construction and bottom-mount sliders.

Tom Sullivan of Bellawood is in one of the four Mashpee affordable homes where they have donated hardwood flooring for the living room, dining room, and kitchen of each house. This 3 1/4 inch natural Maple flooring has color variations, tight knots, and more visual wood character than a select grade. Like the select and rustic grades, this Maple flooring is 12 percent harder than a Red Oak floor and will last a lifetime. Sullivan shows Bob a prefinished, micro-beveled plank that comes ready to install with a variety of lengths ranging from one to six feet. Bellawood provides a 50-year finish warranty on its flooring, which has eight coats of an aluminum-oxide based semigloss finish. Bob notes how the crew has positioned the pieces in advance to avoid lining up seams and to ensure an aesthetically pleasing layout. Sullivan points out that they have put rosin paper over the plywood subfloor and under the hardwood installation to combat squeaking.

Bob is back in the penthouse apartment, this time in the main hallway that has the Marmorino wall finish that flows into the lavatory, which features a thyme green semi-gloss paint from the Bob Vila Signature Collection. The warm green walls highlight the stark white plumbing fixtures from Toto USA's Mercer collection. Bob takes a quick jaunt up to the ipe wood roof deck.