Textured Coverings Are Ready to Climb Your Walls

(Squares wallcover from Graham and Brown)

Janet Ramin - Are you tired of looking at wall paint? Do you wish your walls could be livelier, more exciting, more in your face? If you’re not afraid of shaking things up, then take a look at these paintable, textured wall coverings.

Graham and Brown offers their paintable Squares and Pure wallpapers. Squares shows off a dynamic geometric pattern that can be left white or painted in fun colors as seen behind the bookcase above. Pure wallpaper is a curvaceous choice that creates an elegant background. 

(Pure wallcover from Graham and Brown)(Architect Wall Flat from Inhabit)For an even more dimensional wallcover, we have the wall flat series from Inhabit. Above is the Architect wallcover which is made from bagasse, a fibrous matter left over after sugarcane stalks have been crushed. It's lightweight and recyclable. Below is the Drift wallcover, a design that hints at slender tree limbs. 

(Drift Wall Flat from Inhabit)Besides providing visual punch to your walls, these wallcovers are perfect for covering flawed walls. If you have uneven walls and you don't want to replaster them – a process that can take several days of application – then these textured wallcovers will hide the imperfections. 

 

Reprinted with permission of Sheffield School. Are you interested in learning more about furniture and home design? Take a look at Sheffield School's Complete Course in Interior Design. At Sheffield, you'll learn how to transform a space, create color schemes, and select furniture, lighting, and accessories.  

DIY Alert - 3 Products to Help Repair Cracked Walls

Irwin Weiner ASID - I confess to the guilty pleasure of enjoying a do-it-yourself read now and then, and one of my DIY go-to guides is The Family Handyman. FH is loaded with great projects and what-works-for-me tips from their readers. I was recently impressed with their article on simplifying wall repair. Here are a few of their products and tips.

Good-Bye Cracks - imagine a spray can that works miracles on cracked walls, particularly those walls that keep getting hairline cracks! Try spraying it on both wide and hairline cracks, although it's primarily recommended for the little guys. Clean the loose material out of all cracks, filling them with joint compound. Then spray on two or three coats of G-BC (make sure you're spraying on a nice, even coat as this isn't a surface you can sand). When completely dry, prime and paint it.

Step Saver Stress Crack Tape - the directions say that you just stick this tape over the crack and you can paint over it, but experts advise that you skim over it with some joint compound so that you don't see the edges of the tape repair area.

Wall Liner - when your walls are so badly cracked that you don't know where to start and how to finish ... and you don't want to install new drywall ... many homeowners use heavy-duty wall liner; this extra-thick paintable wallpaper functions like a huge patch over the cracks. Look for the best solution for your wall texture as you can find rolls at home supply centers that are textured, patterned, and smooth. (You can also use wall liner to cover cinderblock and other wall surfaces so you have a completely different look when you're done.)

Now back to The Family Handyman; you might want to follow their advice on How to Repair a Drywall Crack - click on the link for an easy step-by-step guide.

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White Decor Adds Winter Wonder to Interiors

Jessica Ackerman - If you think that white is one of the more boring colors to decorate with, think again. White can actually be used in many exciting and creative ways throughout the home to add a dash of decorating excitement. Because it can be combined with practically any other shade, white is also extremely versatile and easy to work with. Although white can be used to great advantage in your decorating scheme year-round, it can be especially fun to use during the winter months to create a "winter wonderland" look. In fact, what better way to celebrate the beauty of the snow outdoors than to use white to re-create the look indoors? If you'd like to freshen up the look of your home with white this winter, here are some great decorating tips to help get you get started.           

White Walls for a Clean Slate

White walls can provide the perfect backdrop for a myriad of other decorating options. It's important to remember that if you'd like your other decorating accents to really "pop," you have to make sure that the room's wall color isn't too overpowering. If you walk into a room and the wall color is the first thing you notice, chances are the rest of the room's decor isn't receiving the attention it deserves. For example, a beautiful piece of wood wall decor could serve as an eye-catching accent piece when hung on a white wall. However, if hung on a darker colored wall, it could blend in too much.

White walls can also provide a nice visual contrast to other darker colored decorating pieces throughout a room. For instance, if your furniture pieces are dark, white walls could provide the perfect backdrop. The same is true for dark woodwork, dark cabinets, or dark flooring.

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Splash Pop Comic Art on Your Walls

Irwin Weiner ASID - Only in New York: your waiter turns out to be an actor, an artist, or someone far-and-away something else besides a waiter. It happened to us recently in a favorite Italian restaurant near my office. Our server learned that I was an interior designer, and knew that I admired the artwork in the restaurant. They turned out to be his pieces - bright, pop art taken straight from the pages of comic books and vintage cartoons. Check out Filippo's Pop Comic Art blog and his Etsy store ... and next time you're in a restaurant, you just might run into the next Picasso, DeNiro, or Einstein!

 
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