ABC’s of Fine Design

I usually don’t recommend using wallpaper in homes, but this light up wallpaper is really cool and has to be mentioned as a great suggestion for any room where you either want to impress your guest or have fun with your kids. I could see it used in almost any room. I would love to have it in my bedroom as I love any type of interesting lighting in there.

The best part about this wallpaper is that when you turn the light behind it off it looks like regular wallpaper! It comes in a few colors from the pictures I have seen. Unfortunately the website is still a work in progress and I can not find anywhere to buy it yet, trust me I will as I’m sure this will be a very hot interior design product.

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I came across this very cool site today called Wall Glamour and they have very cool products for your walls. They refer to them as wall stickers, but I think wall tattoo is catchier. They have many different designs, a few have shown in this post and many of them you can choose your own colors. They also tell you on the website how to apply them and everything.

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Good design is not just about the furniture or the colors, but the added extras like tile that can make a room seem special or unique. Most people are familiar with Backsplash tile in a kitchen or bathroom, but did you know that you can do so much more with tile.

One way I love to see tile used is by making Tile murals, these can be put almost anywhere. You can have them in a shower area, along a wall in your garden or in your kitchen or entry way. Tile murals add style and can help to create a focal point in a room that may not have one. If your looking for a place to get backsplash tile or tile for a mural you should really check out Jerusalempottery.com. They are a family owned studio and have been in operation in Jerusalem since 1922. All of the tiles are hand panted which makes them very unique. As you can see from the picture to the left these tiles can create some amazing pictures.

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When painting many people forget that they should use a primer before they start painting. Of course some people know that you should but don’t know why, so they skip it. There are a few reasons you want to use primer. The first one is because if you already have a painted wall you don’t have to scrap off anything, you can prime it and paint over it. If you don’t use primer the paint color you have tried to hide may just start to show through the new color.

The next reason you should use primer is because drywall will absorb most of your paint. This will make it so you have to use more coats and more paint. Primer will prevent this by creating a barrier between the drywall and the paint so that you won’t have to do as many coats and you will use less paint.

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Some people hate texture they want plan smooth walls that look pretty. This is not always a good thing as it can make a room dull and create an echo in a large room. There is a reason for that cottage cheese ceiling.

Using texture can make a tall room look smaller. It also helps to keep the noise down in a large room, that way you don’t hear yourself talking. there are many ways to bring texture into a room. Fabric and other hard surfaces like concrete do the job nicely. Today though I am going to talk about a few ways of using texture on your walls.

There are a few ways to do this, you can use a rough unfinished wood to create a cabin feel for your home. This is easy to do as all you really need is the unfinished wood paneling and some stain. Another way to do this is to create a stucco look by using plaster or even a textured wall paper and painting over it.

The simplest way and the most inexpensive way to create a textured look on a wall is to use paint. The following are methods used to texture with paint. Try them out and see which one you like.

Sponging- Apply paint with a sponge over a base cote. This will give you a blotchy texture. Use different colored paint for a dramatic look or use different hues of the same color for a more subdued look.

Spattering- paint a base coat then through the paint on the wall using your brush. This will give a speckled appearance to the wall.

Color washing- Use a coat of thinned paint or a glaze over a base coat of another color.

Glazing- Start with a base coat and layer one or more transparent colors on top of it. This will give your wall the illusion of having different depths on the wall.

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One mistake that some do it yourselfer’s make is that they don’t cover there old paint with primer. Why is this a good idea? Well think of primer as coating for your wall, kind of like skin care products are a coating for your skin. They protects against damage and aging right? So does primer. Primer hides that old paint color so that you don’t use as much of the new paint. It also makes the new color brighter and last much longer.

Primer is also going to keep that paint from fading. It will eventually but with primer it will take much longer to fade. Primer also helps with mold and mildew which most homeowners know can be a huge mess to clean up sometimes and it can be costly. It also blocks stains from coming through the new paint, trust me they are there even if you can not see them.

Another great benefit of primer is that it helps the paint stick, this prevents pealing and bubbling paint. This is very important when you only want to spend so much on a paint job or you have a time limit and can not repaint. It’s also just nice not to have to worry so much.  So next time you paint use a primer and make your job easier and look better.

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Have you ever thought about how your newly designed bedroom would look when you turn the lights out? I know your thinking black, dark, duh! Well guess what it doesn’t have to be anymore. I recently stumbled across a man who does Night Sky Murals for homes.

Now your thinking right? Well not only can these be put in your bedroom so you can sleep under the stars, but there also great for home theaters and entry ways. Think about it, it’s nighttime and your guest walk into your home, only to look up and see the stars! Nice idea right?

Another great thing about this is that they can paint the constellations on your ceiling, perfect for children who need to learn them right? Plus most kids just like the idea of sleeping under the stars, and these murals actually look real not like those plastic glow in the dark stars you buy at the store.

If you would like to see some great photos of the work done by this man and his company check out there website Night Sky Murals. The photos are really amazing and I’m sure you will want to check them out.

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