Sprucing Up Walls

Although the walls of our homes are backdrops for all our indoor activities, too often we simply paint them white and maybe put up a picture or two. So it’s easy to overlook the potential that a relatively simple wall improvement may have to significantly enhance a room’s style, function and livability.

In over the coming days, we’ll look at a variety of simple ways to add interest to walls by using decorative painting and wallpapering techniques, wall trim and mirrors. These home improvement projects require only simple do-it-yourself skills.

Wall Treatments
There are many excellent books that describe basic paint and wall covering techniques; our posts will focus specifically on decorative techniques that can add a creative finishing touch to your walls. They include texture painting, decorative painting, wallpaper borders and upholstered walls. If you’re new to painting or wall papering, start small until you gain confidence and master the basic techniques involved.

Wall Trim
Another relatively easy way to add personality to a dull wall is to install trim, such as a wall frame molding, crown molding or wainscoting. All these wall trim projects require only basic carpentry skills. Wall frame molding is very simple to install and offers an excellent design solution for a large expanse of unadorned wall. Although crown molding can add great character to a room, traditional installation techniques require you to cut tricky compound and angled joints. The project shown here will present a much simpler approach.

Wainscoting
Wainscoting is a covering over the lower part of a wall that has both decorative and practical uses. In addition to adding the warmth of natural wood to a room, it helps protect the wall from wear and tear. Wainscoting is traditionally used in kitchens, baths, dining rooms,
libraries and hallways. Here we will show you two easy and inexpensive styles: pressed-metal
wainscoting (the embossed squares used for tin ceilings) and prefabricated oak veneer library panels. Either of these wainscotings can be installed in a medium-size room in
a weekend.

Mirrors
Mirrors are perhaps the best way to create the illusion of space in a small or cramped room—and compared to other wall options, they're inexpensive and easy to install. Here you’ll learn how to select and place mirrors to create the effect you’re looking for, and how to mount a clean mirror properly. This section will also offer several suggestions for using mirrors in a bathroom or kitchen. In many homes, the bathroom and kitchen are the smallest rooms—which
means they have the most to gain from the space-expanding effect of a well-placed mirror.