Decorative coating compositions

A coated substrate comprising:

• a substrate;
• a decorative layer disposed over the substrate, the decorative layer including:
• a resin;
• a plurality of flakes having a maximum dimension less than 0.05 inches dispersed within the resin;
• and
• a plurality of inorganic fibers dispersed within the resin wherein the decorative layer is not over-coated with any other resinous layer and wherein the decorative layer is formed by applying a coating composition to the substrate, the coating composition comprising:
• a plurality of flakes present in an amount of 10 to 40 weight percent, the plurality of flakes having a maximum dimension less than 0.05 inches;
• a plurality of inorganic fibers present in an amount from about 0.5 to 5 weight percent;
• a thixotropic suspending agent present in an amount from about 0.2 to 4 weight percent, the thixotropic suspending agent being insoluble in water;
• and
• a resin present in an amount from 10 to 25 weight percent with the balance of the coating composition being water.