Dressing Up Your Walls

The walls in our homes each represent a blank canvas on which we can display our vision of beauty, charm, peace, drama, fun or formality. They take up the most square footage in our living spaces, and have a profound effect on how our homes look and feel.

Walls have been treated to every kind of decoration from the first cave drawings to fur and fabric wall hangings. Walls have been built with mud, grass, concrete, wood, and tin, their surfaces plastered, stained, painted and papered. There is no end to the imaginative ways we have discovered to transform the walls that surround us.

There is an exciting array of materials available to fix up plain drywall, which is the common means of building walls today. Paint is the most common and inexpensive way to create a finish.

There are hundreds of colours from which to choose and faux finishing techniques abound that anyone can apply — as the decorating shows, books and magazines inspire us to do. But let’s take a look at some other options for dressing your walls in style.

Papers with Punch

Papering walls is an alternative that is often paired with paint. Wallpaper is a popular choice because it comes in such a variety of colours, patterns and textures.

There are flat papers that have every motif imaginable from flora and fauna to kids’ cartoon characters. You’ll find colourful stripes and geometric shapes as well as patterns that imitate the look of paint effects such as colourwashing and marbling.

Today’s modern approach to serenity in decorating is met with monochromatic textured papers such as grasscloth.

In a space that is light on colour, interest is gained through building up different tactile elements. The matte finish of rough grain in the paper on the walls will balance sleek, shiny tabletops and shelves, a mohair throw or pillows, a hardwood floor and a short pile carpet.

Better quality, thicker papers do cost more, but they can serve a dual purpose. In addition to looking good, they will cover up imperfect walls.

The use of a type of embossed wall covering called Analgypta is a century-old tradition originating in England. It is a wonderful decorative finish for any period setting or if you like a fussier look. You’re meant to paint Anaglypta. Rubbing over the raised pattern with an earthy shade of paint, such as burnt umber, will accentuate the pattern.

The metal look is all the rage today, and you can easily bring your walls to life with metallic papers. Whether you want to continue the gleam of stainless steel appliances onto your kitchen walls or dream of a golden glow in the dining room, these options are now available, sold by the roll and ready to hang.

Quick Trick

Prep your walls with vinyl acrylic wallpaper sizing. It goes on like paint, dries quickly and slightly tacky. This ensures better adherence and down the road when you decide to change the paper, it will peal off the wall easily.
Buy the right paper product for the job. There are special water-resistant and scrubbed papers made for bathrooms and kitchens.
To get clean, precise edges, use a very sharp blade to trim the paper. During the job, replace or sharpen the blade often.

The high price of using solid wood planks as a wall covering puts it into the luxury class.

Oak and mahogany paneled dens and dining rooms are a rare treat these days. But you can create this classic look with less expensive cuts of wood, plywood and wood veneers.

Wainscoting is a familiar sight in country décor. Tongue and groove slats are cut to fit snugly against each other to line a wall, or more commonly, the bottom third of a wall.

Plywood can be cut into panels and adhered to a lower section of wall as well. Simply stain or paint the wood, and the paint or paper the upper section of wall to complement the style.

Trim for around windows and doors as well as chair rails and plate rails were originally always made of wood, but today, man-made plastics, vinyls and medium density fiberboard are often substituted.

These lack the grain of real wood; however, they do come in a variety of widths and cuts, and once painted, they are a practical and good-looking option.

Wood veneer is another alternative. Very thin layers of real wood are pressed onto a plywood base so that you get the natural colour and grain at less cost. Veneers are usually stained to show off their unique markings.

Quick Trick

• When applying stain or paint to wood, always work in the direction of the grain. If there is no grain, move in the direction the board or trim is running.
• Aromatic wood like cedar is a good choice for a bathroom, garden room or inside a closet.
• Use medium-density fiberboard or plywood and stock molding to create custom paneling.

Fabric Fantasies

Panels of heavy woven cloth and finely tooled carpets make a striking adornment for a wall.

Rather than attach the material directly onto the wall, hang it from a wooden dowel or iron rod. This causes less damage to both the wall and the panel.

The result is like having an oversized piece of art on your wall. You can make this the focal point of your design scheme.

A wall of sumptuous silk shimmers luxuriously, cotton or hemp panels dyed in bold shades give a south-seas beat and the jewel tones of a Persian carpet transforms a plain wall into a rich backdrop for period furnishings.

Use fabric panels to create the illusion of walls where none exist. Introduce a tall fabric screen to create privacy in an otherwise open floor plan. Hang drapes from the ceiling and pull open or closed as the situation dictates.

Generally, ceilings aren’t generally a focal point, with the exception of the bedroom. Here, a sheer canopy can be draped above the bed to tumble down the wall creating an airy cocoon to lull you to sleep.

Quick Trick

• Decorating with fabric is fun and easy. Try inventive hanging alternatives such as rings or clips that slip over a wire, drapery swing poles, and decorative rods.
• Hang sheer metallic fabrics in front of solid panels for a glittery wall hanging.
• Choose two fabrics of equal weight and sew a reversible fabric screen.

The prospect of decorating a room is an exhilarating time for some and an overwhelming chore for others. If you are part of the latter group, consider the impact a welcoming home environment will add to your life. And then check out the options that may just spark your imagination and get you going.

Walls do not have to be plain and boring. In fact, they can carry much of the personality of the room. And it’s not just paint anymore. You can dress your walls with a wide variety of wallpapers with whimsical prints, Zen-like grassy textures or embossed borders. Pale and honey-coloured wood paneling works well with contemporary furnishings. And fabrics can cascade from ceiling to floor to add a whole new dimension to your room.

Getting Plastered

There is nothing like the look and feel of a plastered wall. It is cool to the touch and has a quality you can’t get with painted drywall. Plaster, also known as stucco, comes pre-mixed now and is easy to apply.

You decide on how flat or textured you want the final surface. Plaster products also come pre-tinted or you can have them tinted at the paint store, just like paint. Apply two or three colours at the same time and you can create the look of an aged and weathered Mediterranean wall.

Venetian plaster has marble dust in it. Once this plaster is on the wall, you rub or burnish it with the side of a metal spatula and it becomes shiny and silky smooth–quite beautiful.

Entire walls can be treated to a plaster finish, or you may prefer to take on a smaller project such as applying a raised border around the top of your walls. Pick a stencil pattern — classic border stencils are readily available at craft stores. Spread the plaster over the stencil and remove while still wet.

Gesso is an artist’s plaster used to prepare canvas for paint. It is a good product to use for relief work as it won’t crack. Once the plaster border is dry, it can be painted.

Quick Trick

• Apply plaster using a metal trowel or spatula. Load the spatula and then pull it down and across the wall in a cross-hatch motion until it is smooth.
• If you are using tinted plaster, note that plaster dries 50 per cent lighter, so it’s a good idea to do a test patch on a board to check the final colour.
• All plaster is porous. For a durable, easy-to-clean surface, seal with primer and then paint.

Tin Man

Once stainless steel appliances started invading our kitchens, the cool metal took on a whole new life in residential interior design. Steel panels are not just covering refrigerators and stoves. Steel can be cut to fit along the backsplash area, cover a counter or streamline an accent wall.

Tin-tile ceilings are an old decorating trick used to cover up cracks and stains. These tiles come in an assortment of historic patterns and can be left plain or painted. This decorative tin can also be used to cover walls completely, but perhaps it is more striking filling in the lower section of wall space. Paint the upper wall bubble-gum pink or lemon-lime and you have instant fresh country style with an attitude.

For more inspiration, visit your hardware store and see what’s in stock. Metal sheets come with flat and embossed patterns, and also corrugated for a real ripple effect. And don’t forget the warm hues of bronze, brass and copper. Industrial materials do not look so clinical when paired with warm colours, wood or carpet.

Quick Trick

• Cut metal with tin snips and beware of the sharp edges. Wear work gloves and sand the edges for safe handling.
• There are primers specifically made to cover metal, paint that gives a metallic look to plain surfaces and special metal paint designed to go directly over metal.
• For an industrial look, secure the metal to the wall with washers and screws.

Tile and Glass

Ceramic tile is seen most often on bathroom walls. Since tile is impervious to water, steam and heat, it’s also popular behind kitchen sinks counters and stoves.

Tiles are available in an almost endless variety of patterns, motifs and colours, so they complement all design styles from the simplicity of an all-white spa to the complex patterns of a colourful mosaic Turkish bath.

Glass block walls are an alluring alternative and offer privacy while allowing light to filter through. Glass blocks can also be used to demarcate space in a contemporary setting. Stacked to table height, the partition blends well with light wood furnishings, and adds a cool green hint of colour to an otherwise neutral backdrop.

Quick Trick

• Decorative tiles can be expensive, so splurge on a few as accents and fill in the background with stock tile.
• Play with different sizes of glass blocks to create an appealing puzzle of a wall.