Home Decoration Ideas

Painting walls and hanging the wallpaper, are some of the wall decoration ideas for your home, that you can do yourself with a little help and advice from us. Here are some basics for you:
 

Painting:
Remove everything from the room including furniture, floorings and switch covers or move them to the center center of the room. Then clean the walls, windows and trims with soap-water or diluted all-purpose cleaner thoroughly. Paint finishes range from flat to eggshell or matte to satin to semi-gloss, and gloss. All have their pros and cons. Flat paint is difficult to clean but good for hiding away dents in the wall. They are not preferred for kitchens, baths and high traffic areas. Eggshell finish is most suited to bedrooms, satin finish for fantasy décor while semi-gloss is easier to clean and thus, can be used for trims and walls of high traffic areas.

Gloss finish is best to highlight trims and moldings and can be used for windows and doors too, for you can wipe finger marks on them by just swiping them with a rag. Good quality paints require less number of coats, are easier to apply and clean and last longer. For kids' room, you may choose an inexpensive variety for you may have to keep making changes to it according to the age and choices of a child. Use painter's tape to cover baseboards, window and door frames and molding edges before painting. Paint the ceiling first, followed by walls and then the trims and moldings. Holding a small container of paint in one hand makes painting faster.

Do not load the roller or brush with paint too much or it will drip. Use narrow brush for trims and angled brush to fill 'cut-in' edges. Be sure to clean your brushes after work outdoors. Water-soluble latex paint in the brush can be rinsed thoroughly in running water. Blot the water with paper towels and then keep them in a plastic wrap. You may need to use turpentine oil to clean oil or alkyd paints from the brush or roller. You nay also try your hand at faux painting and texture painting such as painting in stucco, suede, leather and other finishes but it needs much more expertise. Simple way to funk up your wall, window, door, cupboards and furniture painting is to use stencil painting.

Hanging Wallpaper:
For wallpaper installation, you need to clean the walls thoroughly including crayon marks, scraping off loose paint and filling cracks and holes with spackling compound and smoothing them by rubbing them with a wallpaper when it is dry. Peel and remove the old wallpaper starting from seams and corners. If they are not removable, paint them with at least one coat of primer. Sand and scrape the adhesive and rinse the wall. Let it dry.

Calculate the dimensions of the wallpaper by measuring the distance from ceiling to floor and allow four inches extra for proper installation. There can be variations in the size of the walls on one room so measure them individually making note of the location of door or window in it. For perfect vertical alignment of wallpaper, it is better to draw lines with a pencil and then place the wallpaper edge along the line, pressing it with your palms or a roller press. Wallpaper with adhesives may need to be dampened with water before installation.

Other Options:
Some other home décor ideas besides painting and wallpapering include giving a character to your fireplace by covering it with the desired stone finish, add wood panels and mouldings, large mirrors to makeup for the lack of windows and tiling the kitchen, baths, entryways and fireplaces. There are handmade tiles that can make your home look entirely different and conform it to a particular theme. Fabrics and upholstery invites elegance, soft and plush look and richness to the room while cork tiles will help you protect your secrets for sneaking neighbors as they are almost soundproof.

Other Categories

Main Categories