Accessories
Jazzing up your room with Wall Art
By: Kelly Goldthorpe
Remember back in high school and college when the only things on your walls were movie posters and music icon pictures. Now that you own your own home you might want to trade in those thumbtack-riddled posters for some classy wall art. Framed copies of famous paintings are not the only choices you have either. While reprints are definitely great forms of home decorating, now you can choose from a wide variety of choices to transform your blank walls.
Wall Sculptures:
Not all sculptures are of people standing up; you can find sculptures that add dimensions through their 3D shape that hang on your walls. These can be dramatic pieces for your bedroom wall art or living room design.
Wall Accent Pieces:
While not technically art, these still fill void spaces on your wall. Things like mirrors, bookcases, and other functional pieces will glam up your room and make it functional. Also known as wall furniture, this is great for home decorating. These work very well with your living room décor.
Murals:
If you have a large, blank space in a themed room you might want to consider contracting out a local artist to create a mural for you. This is unique and completely individualized form of art for your house that will get compliments from all visitors. Make sure you see a proof of the mural before they start painting though!
Photographs:
Incorporate your own memories and family moments with an elegant arrangement of photographs. While black and white look classic, even color photos bring warmth and joy to a room.
Wall Decals:
This is a fairly new form of wall art that has rapidly gained in popularity. Whether you want quotes, words, images, or borders, you can find a wall decal to fit your home decorating needs. These work great in children’s bedrooms.
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Color Schemes for Small Bedrooms
Your bedroom should be a place where you are able to unwind and rest; a sanctuary in your home. But how can you relax in a room that is small and cramped? Never fear, there are many ways to decorate your bedroom that will make it appear larger and more comfortable, the easiest being the color scheme.
The color, or colors, of your bedroom play a huge part in creating the room’s atmosphere, but they can also be used to create the illusion of spaciousness in a smaller room. Many people think that you have to stick to light colors in small rooms, but this is not always the case. While it is true that darker colors will make a room appear smaller, there are other options for smaller rooms than just plain white walls.
Shades of light blue are perfect for small bedrooms due to their tendency to make walls appear to be receding, thus making the room look larger. Other cool colors, such as green and purple, have a similar effect and can be used in the same fashion.
Another trick to make your bedroom seem bigger is to paint one wall a darker, intense color or hue. Employing this optical illusion makes the wall appear to be further away, thus making your bedroom look larger than it really is. This also adds a fun, contemporary style to your bedroom, and is a good way to include some color if you are mainly using a light, neutral palette for the rest of your room.
Another way to avoid using boring white or gray is to instead use two colors of equal intensity. By using colors that are of the same intensity, they will both rest on the same plain; neither will recede nor project forward. You can also utilize a monochromatic color scheme to achieve similar results.
There are many different decorating tips that can also help make your bedroom look bigger, but a color scheme is a good place to start.
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Creative Spaces for Kids
By: Kelly Goldthorpe
Decorating with kids is always an adventure. Bright green walls, a purple ceiling, aqua carpet – you never know what they’re going to come up with next. Although sometimes they might have outlandish requests, allowing your children input when redecorating their bedroom is a great way to foster their creativity. Sometimes incorporating those eccentric requests will add a personal and unique touch to the room that will end up looking cooler than you expected. Plus you can always chalk it up to childhood. So what are the latest trends in kid’s bedroom renovations? Below are some decorating tips and ideas.
- Blackboard Paint – Now your kids can practice their math problems or use their imaginations to create wild drawings on their bedroom walls! That’s right – with blackboard paint you can make a variety of surfaces (wood, metal, etc.) a chalkboard. This paint dries ready for your standard chalk. Paint the whole wall if you’re feeling adventurous so your children can create large-scale murals. Or make a custom size section on a door or wall. Use frames to offset them! The ways of incorporating this are endless and you’ll be delighted to see what your child comes up with next.
- Wall Clings (Stickers) – These have become popular it seems like overnight! Removable stickers apply directly to the walls and add edginess to any room. Zoo animals, princess memorabilia, or sports images – the variety of styles are endless. These are like a cheaper, less hassle, more versatile form of wallpaper.
- Custom Beds – Racecar and princess beds have been around for a while, but they’re definitely not out of style. Nothing will make your child feel cooler than crawling into the driver’s seat when they go to bed. If they are climbing into a tree house bed, chances are they won’t throw a tantrum when it’s bedtime. Custom beds are a great way to tie a theme together and provide another chance for their imaginations to run wild!
- Fun Flooring – Gone are the days of simply carpet. Now you can paint a soccer field on the floor or a brick path to the princess castle on your laminate flooring. Get creative! This takes some time and investment, but if you plan ahead this is an over-the-top way to get the “WOAH! Your parents are awesome” effect from their friends.
Of course you can easily create a cool room by updating the bedding and wall color. These quick changes make a big impact. Be bright, fun, and silly when decorating your child’s room. Let them add their own input and help out with the project! And remember, glow-in-the-dark stars will always be in style.
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Adding Texture to your Walls
By: Kelly Goldthorpe
You’ve got the paint color picked out, but you would like it to have a little more pop. This is a situation where adding texture to your paint could create a more detailed and professional look to the room.
The easiest way to spice up a wall is traditional premixed textured paint. This is essentially a typical can of paint with sand already mixed in; all you have to do is stir. This is an easy and no-mess approach, but does not create the best close-up effects. Premixed textured paint is best used in areas that are viewed from afar, such as a ceiling. A spin-off of this is self-mixing paint, which allows you to add as much or as little sand as you would like, giving you the power to determine the level of texture. The other type of textured paint you can buy at any home improvement store is smooth textured paint. It is very thick and hard to spread, but creates a nice stucco look.
If you would like to go beyond the basic level of texturing and do it yourself, you might be interested in crackle painting or create an “orange peel” style.
Crackle painting creates an antique look to your wall. You begin by putting down a crackle glaze in one direction and finishing by covering with an interior latex paint applied in the opposite direction. For larger cracks, apply a thick glaze.
The “orange peel” style is a bit more difficult, but gives a distinct and unique look. You will need a few tools: an air compressor and hopper, a spray gun with a hose, and aggregate powdered wall texture. The powdered wall texture is essentially mud that you will apply to your walls. It should be thin enough to get through the spray gun yet thick enough to stick to the wall. The mixture goes in the hopper, which is attached to the spray gun, and hooked up to the air compressor. Using these tools, just spray the mixture on. You can look for missed spots by turning on a bright light to see texture differences.
Adding texture to walls makes for a great home improvement project. In just one weekend you can add color and style to your room with this easy renovation.
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How To: Remove Wallpaper
By: Kelly Goldthorpe
Are you sick of the out-dated wallpaper in the kitchen or have your teenagers outgrown the dancing bears lining their room? Removing wallpaper is a simplistic process that does not have many steps. However, be prepared to get a little frustrated with this project because it usually doesn’t turn out as easily as you might hope.
You will first want to asses what type of wallpaper you’re dealing with. Newer wallpaper might be “dry-strippable,” which means that you theoretically will not need any solution to remove it. You should be able to just peel it off. If that is the case, just begin peeling and you’re good to go. The other type of wallpaper will require a chemical solution to loosen the glue for removal. Regardless of what type of wallpaper you have you should have some wallpaper remover solution on hand just in case it doesn’t come off in the desired fashion.
Before your attempt to remove the wallpaper, you will first need to score it, which creates tiny holes. Wallpaper is made to be washable, which means it does not absorb water. Poking holes enhances the absorption potential. You can use a putty knife or utility blade to do this, but it may cut the drywall beneath. Home improvement stores sell wallpaper scoring tools which are worth the small investment.
Once the holes are made, spray wallpaper remover onto the walls. Wait about 30 minutes for the glue to soften. You can make your own wallpaper remover at home by mixing warm water and vinegar.
At this point you should be able to start at a seam, lift the paper, and peel it directly off. Typically it is not that simple and there will be remaining bits and pieces of wallpaper remaining. For these you will have to stay patient, spray them, and then use a putty knife to strip them off.
To finish the project you will need to remove any glue that is still on the walls. Do this by using TSP (tri sodium phosphate) mixed with warm water and applying it to the wall. Then rinse the walls with fresh water to clean off the TSP solution.
Removing wallpaper is a day-long home improvement task that can be stressful. Once you’ve successfully completed a room, step back and appreciate all the hard work you’ve done. You now have a blank canvas for your next creative endeavor!
