Showing posts with label Wall Decorating. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Wall Decorating. Show all posts

Monday, February 14, 2011

Decorative Plaster for Finishing Your Wall


The special comfort of our home is always what we want to have wherever we may be. To enjoy being in the home, we always think of ways of making it more pleasing not just for us but for the whole family. To make our living and bed room or house, as a whole, a better place to live in, colorful decorations, having the best sofa ever or putting something into our wall like decorative plaster, are just some of the many ways you could ever imagine. In having some improvement, putting up decorative plaster as finishing in our walls is something we can never forget.

How we want our walls to look at to, will depend on how we look life as it is. Decorating your home will look a happy place if you are a happy person. In more than one occasion, bright colors brings out good mood to some people, and thus also some people, have it as colors to their walls. Decorative Plaster comes in different style and colors. The most traditional plaster you can have on your wall is Venetian plaster. It was used already way back then by Egyptian and making it traditional.

Creating something beautiful into your wall needs expertise though. You have to master the color and style combination. Putting up decorative plaster like Venetian plaster by your self is somewhat difficult. To have a better effect, you can make a model for it first like painting your desired design or color that is in your mind. If you already have a mixture for your decorative plaster, maybe you can made sample first before putting something into your wall, one mistake can ruin everything. Installation of your desired Venetian plaster is done after perfecting your sample. Let it dry before applying paint with the color of your choice.

You can also make a textured wall to be more creative in decorating your wall. Textured wall, as your decorative plaster, can be very adventurous. You can have a very different look by using brushes, drywall knife, trowel or a textured paint because these tools can create various designs. Having textured wall as design can be very helpful too because it covers or hides minor cracks or damages. Using your plastering techniques can hide away unnecessary cracks or damages in the wall. Unnecessary damages or cracks can be hidden away using your plastering techniques.

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Wall Decorating Ideas


There are several methods of decorating. Beautiful metal wall art, vinyl wall quotes and wall letters are only but a few of them. It is always important to beautify our rooms because they tell a lot about our houses and homes.

Beautiful metal art is the most recently used form of decoration. The reason behind this is that despite being a modern mode of decoration, it blends well with the customary and contemporary designs. Secondly, they are found in different sizes and shapes thus suitable for use both in and outside our houses. Copper, wrought iron and brass are the elements that make beautiful metal art.

Use of decal stickers is the other method of decorating both at homes and offices. They can be easily installed and removed from the walls without damaging the same. Vinyl wall quotes are preferred to other forms of decorations because of their ability to pass various information and instructions. Some of these information and instructions are used in reminding children of their responsibilities thus suitable for nursery and children rooms. Another great advantage of vinyl wall quotes is that they provide room for one to customize their own sayings.

Wall letters are alphabetical letters, numbers or shapes used in decorating our houses. The letters can either be painted or not depending on how one wants it to be. They are usually used for craft projects or for decorating rooms for our families, children and businesses.

Wall decorations are in a way related since letters can be used to form vinyl wall quotes which in turn can be mounted on any beautiful metal wall art. It is always good to decorate our premises or homes as this not only makes our rooms attractive but also describes who we are.

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Wall Decoration in Your Home


The variations of wall decoration in the market allow you to choose which decoration will fit your design as well. This is good news for all people who want to have a room with certain theme. As we know that having theme for a room is quite difficult since you need to choose and select which decoration will fit your best.

You can try to get the proper wall decoration if you have carefully looking at your room. The things that you need to look are the room size, the condition such as mildew and moisture, and your preferable design.

You can start it from your room size. Is the room large or small? If you have small room, it would be better to design your room to look larger. In order to make the look, you can place mirror on the wall. You should also choose the right color. Dark paint will make your room looks smaller. This paint will be the best option for large room.

The next thing that you need to think is the electricity. You need to look and count how many electrical outlets in the room. This step is very important. If you do not count the electrical outlets, it will be hard to place and install wall decorations that need to use the electrical source. By counting the outlets, you will be able to make a correct and right wall decoration for your home.

The other thing that needs to be considered is the furniture. The furniture is closely related to the home interior. Some people choose certain furniture since it has the same theme as their interior. You need to place wall decoration that will blend with the entire design especially if the decoration is integrated with the entire house. For the people who live in an apartment, they have kitchen which is integrated with the whole room. The theme of the kitchen should also have the same theme with the other room. It will be good if you use light paint to make your apartment looks bigger.

The last thing is the condition. The condition is seen form the mildew and moisture. You are unable to see it directly with your eyes but you will catch the effect. It will make your furniture broken easily. In some cases it will also damage your wood floor. It will be better if you control the temperature. One of the solutions is air conditioning. You can control the temperature of the air conditioner as you need which also control the temperature in the room so you will be able to avoid mildew.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Wall Water Fountain in Your Home


The best way to augment the interiors of your workplace or your residence is to install a Wall Water Fountain. These wall water springs are the perfect ones for you. They do not consume much quantity of space and are reasonably priced. These cascades can be built up against a wall with ease. These water sources can be put up indoor as well as, outdoors. Wall fountains are available in numerous sorts of constituent materials like slate, granite, marble, metal or stone. The water flows relaxingly over the stony base thereby, lulling you into a tranquil mental state.

Horizontal as well as vertical wall fountains are available in the market. You can pick from a variety of shades to go well, with your furnishings. Numerous big corporate organizations have their spouts customized to exhibit their company insignia. These products highlight their brand.

The Iris Wall Water Fountain- A Highly Demanded Watery Piece

This Iris spout perfectly matches the blooming flower patch in your backyard. This typical metallic artifact features a soft golden backdrop that is adorned with a blooming Iris, inhabited by a petty butterfly. The body is finely sculptured, displaying fine details. Water floods out from a small faucet, into the saucer-like reservoir below. The poignant waters add a comforting sound to outdoor area.

Features
  1. The body texture features a parchment brown polish on a heavy base carved in fiberglass.
  2. The fountain is electrically operated. It runs on a silent submersible pump.
  3. Dimensions: This beautiful fountain is approximately 31.7 inches tall and 18.9 inches wide. It weighs only 13.6 pounds.
  4. It is easily portable due to its light weight.
  5. The water cascade is easy to install and, is reasonably priced, at a cut-rate maintenance charge.
  6. These light-weighted fountains are mounted against any kind of facade, with the help of a sturdy hook, nail or a screw.

Benefits of The Simulated Water Origin
  1. These bubbling springs create a calming environment inside our house.
  2. They serve as a graceful piece of art that greets your visitors in a harmonious manner.
  3. The freely flowing water jets reduce external noises thereby reducing the effects of noise and air pollution.
  4. While the water flows over your wall, a quantity of it disperses into the atmosphere. It preserves the amount of moisture in the air. This cool humid environment is good for your hair, nails, eyes and skin.
  5. It also ensures effortless breathing and enables you to have a sound sleep.
  6. Water features go in accordance with astrology, in order to bring the balancing forces of nature inside your home.

If get a wall water spring for your abode or your workplace, it would surely impress your clients and guests. Countless folks waste a great deal of money in purchasing expensive decorative items just to beautify their interiors. So, why not expend on a beautiful Water Fountain. It will calm down your senses and reduce your mental stress after a long tiring day!

Monday, April 5, 2010

Decorating Your Wall by Using Belgian Tapestry


The empty walls in your home can be brought to life by the vibrant colors of Belgian tapestry. Renowned worldwide as fascinatingly colorful and with its historic elegance, the Belgian tapestries are quite frankly the center of attraction. The history of tapestry in Belgium goes back many centuries. Heavily influenced by French weaving, it also includes a myriad mix of European and Medieval art and craft movement; it brings out breathtaking colors and finely detailed patterns. So if you are thinking about Belgian tapestry you have come to the right place. We will give you the complete guide on everything you will need to know that will help you make your decision.

The rich history of Belgian tapestry is attributed to the wide variety of designs, exciting and vibrant colors. Almost anywhere in tapestry showrooms you will find Belgian tapestry displaying the beautiful landscapes, historical moments, old country markets and of course the traditional country life of Belgium. In fact you can even find hunting scenes as part of the country life montage as a design. The weaving is done by the most creative artisans who have been trained in the art and crafts. In fact it shows the true craftsmanship of an artisan on recreating Belgian tapestries in perfect detail. The thread is used from high quality fabric which brings out those exciting colors which signifies Belgian tapestry.

There are various categories of tapestries from Belgium. The three most widely popular ones are mentioned below:
  • Landscape and Lake Tapestry: Capturing the magnificence of the country side of Belgium with the breathtaking natural beauty which takes you on a journey
  • Nobles and Knights: perhaps the most intricate in its design of nobles and knights in all their regal clothes
  • Unicorn: Completely influenced and inspired from the French iconic Lady and the Unicorn

The elegance and grace of the Belgian tapestries adds a lot of class to your home decor ideas. Over the years these designs have grown in stature due to its creative appeal. The tapestry comes in many sizes and it entirely depends on your requirement. It is quite obvious that the sheer beauty of the Belgian tapestry design becomes the center of attraction. You might have to look into arranging some of your furniture to ensure the tapestry does find its rightful place as a central character to your home decor theme.

For the office use as well, Belgian tapestry designs such as the nobles and knights leave an inspirational and encouraging environment for the people. It is full of positive energy and sophistication

We sometimes forget the nitty-gritty aspects of things how to fix a wall hanging tapestry. What we advice is that you buy a rod which is specifically meant for tapestries. The rods hold the entire wall hanging together. Depending upon the fabric used it is also important to check at the time of buying how the tapestry can be cleaned in normal cases like dust accumulation.

Thursday, March 11, 2010

How to Choose the Suitable Wall Clock for Your Room

Like it or not, nearly everyone's lives are ruled by time. We need to know when and where, and no body can get by without a clock. Sure, there are clocks everywhere... on the microwave, the stove, the TV, but they don't exactly drip style!

A well chosen clock should complement your space, and will be a pleasure to look at as well as being just functional.

Here are a few key pointers.

  1. Is it big enough? If you need to put your glasses on to read the time, maybe you should look for big bold characters. It can still be elegant, just look for a large wall clock with black on white numbers. Also look for solid easy to see hands that you can see across the room.
  2. Color. In my experience decorating, it is best to stick to traditional colors for traditional objects. Plain colors or natural tones are generally safe, or otherwise ensure that at least one color area of the clock matches one of the dominant colors in the room (i.e. white walls will blend smoothly with a white face, even if the clock surround is another color).
  3. The tick. No, I'm not being silly here. Does it tick? how loud? An amazing number of people have complained to me that they had to get rid of their new clock because the tick drove them mad! Have a careful listen, and actually tip the clock onto its side, the way it will hang on the wall. It sounds trivial but the weight of the hands and mechanism can make the tick a lot more pronounced when side loaded.
  4. Style. I make no apologies for being conservative... but I have yet to come across a room where a plain, conservative wall clock would be out of place, provided its color didn't clash with the room. If in doubt, simply stick to old fashioned round face with plain digits. Then again if you want to be adventurous here is the chance - do a quick search online and you will find hundreds of clocks to suit any theme from nautical to horror movie memorabilia.

Monday, January 4, 2010

Decorate Your Wall by Using Wood Candle Wall Sconces

Wood candle wall sconces are great and economical way to do a variety of things in your home. Though you may be concerned about using wood near a lit flame, rest assured that following a few safety guidelines you and your home will be completely safe using these often handmade artistic pieces. You will want to make sure to follow a few simple guidelines when picking out wooden candle sconces so that they make a proper fit in your home.

Wooden sconces can be used to create mood lighting, for reading purposes, or as standalone featured items. You can use several at once in order to create mood lighting. Candle light puts off considerably less light than an electric bulb. As such, using several of these particularly near the corners of your room, will create a warm glowing atmosphere. Candle light is also good for reading purposes provided the light is coming from behind you while you are reading so that the light reflects directly off the pages. If you find a sconce that is large enough or that has enough detail, you can use one as a stand-alone piece in the center of a wall in order to attract attention.

Fire safety is always a concern when using candles. Sconces traditionally use tea lights or candles as a light source. When using any type of open flame, be certain to place the wooden candle holder in an area that is unlikely to cause the sconce to get bumped into. You will want to set them at least had level or above. Be sure to avoid using lit candles and rooms occupied by adolescents. Other than that, you may want to make sure to pay attention to the fact that wax drips and can do a wonderful job of creating headaches if you have bare carpet directly underneath a candle. The same applies for candles that are placed too close to a wall or that dangerously lean in.

Saturday, October 31, 2009

Decorative Painting Techniques to Jazz up Your Space


Tired of plain, boring walls? Faux finishes are a great way to jazz up your space with little cost or effort. Here are a few of the most popular finishes.

Sponging: Of all faux finish techniques, sponging is the easiest, even children can do a somewhat messy reproduction of this technique. In order to sponge, you must first paint the entire area one base color. After this coat dries, then you can take a sponge or even a plastic bag, dip it in paint, and apply the paint randomly to the walls. Although this is a random process, you want to be careful not to get any one area of the wall extremely dark or leave it extremely light or your eye will be drawn to that spot immediately. Sponging is very easy, and for all supplies usually costs between $50-$100, which may also include classes if you want to learn from the professionals.

Combing: Combing is a little more difficult. When combing, you use a squeegee with teeth to comb through the top layer of paint. As with sponging, you want to have a bottom layer so that when you comb there will be a matching layer beneath it. Using a combing technique is also very inexpensive, and you can use the squeegee to make wavy, zigzags, and other designs on the wall.
Glazing: Glazing is actually the product that you put over your first coat of paint. In order to glaze your walls correctly, you should take a class. You may be able to find a home improvement store that offers glazing classes or you may need to talk to a local interior decorator about classes, although these will likely be very expensive. Glazing places a transparent coat over the base coat of paint, making the wall look a bit shiny and transparent. You can use as many coats of glaze as you want to get the desired look.

Trompe-L'oeil: Trompe-L'oeil is French for "fool the eye." This finish fools the eye into thinking that the wall has a marble or granite finish. This is probably the most difficult finish to accomplish on your own. For creating the marble finish, you use a technique very much like sponging, but this one takes a bit more talent. Visit local stores to see if they have classes or tips on achieving this style.

These are the four primary types of faux finishes. The first two are fairly easy, while the latter two are significantly harder. Before attempting any of these, plan well so that you can estimate the cost, and visit your local hardware or design store for classes or helpful hints. Having a buddy to take classes with you or practice with you will make the experience more fun. You can even do one room in your house and then decorate a room in your buddy's house; the fun never ends!

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Wall Mural in Your Child’s Room


All children have fantasy characters and times and places that they adore. Whether they are a boy or a girl, kids are going to love having a wall mural on their room. This mural can portray anything your child is interested in. They are going to feel like they are in another world when they have a mural to look at and enjoy right in their own room.

There are many artists who have dedicated their art careers on doing wall murals in homes. One of the most popular rooms to have a wall mural painted on is the children's room. Children just love having these life size paintings on their wall.

If your child loves medieval times, you can have a castle and some knights and dragons as the theme for the mural. You can go two ways with this. You can make it look like it is a cartoon, or you can have it painted to look realistic and true to life.

Some children have favorite video games that they like to play. You can have a scene from their video games as the main topic of the mural. You can even have them painted into the scene wearing their favorite characters clothes and made to look like a cross between the character and your child.

There is no end to the ways a wall mural can transport your child to another time, continent or even places not of this world. The only limitation is your or your child's imagination.

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Decorative Plates on Your Walls


Decorative plates are often overlooked when decorating a home. Yet, it's the details that really make the elements of a room come together—and decorative plates are a detail present in most rooms. While there are decorative plates that are solely functional in purpose, most have the potential to add to the ambiance of a room. Think about the following wall plate options:

Cover your decorative plates in wallpaper that matches your wall for an understated elegance. You can also use this method to hide outlets on walls that display art.

Wood decorative plates are perfect for a room with a country or colonial flair.

Metal decorative plates come in a variety of textures and materials. Metal wall plates enhance contemporary, Victorian, and rustic decor.

Porcelain decorative plates complement shabby chic, bathrooms, and some Victorian design.

Mirror decorative plates can be used on mirrors, mirrored walls, or even as an eclectic detail in a uniquely decorated room.

Match your decorative plates with cabinets, doorknobs, and furniture hardware. With the wide variety available, you can also tailor them to table lamps and other light fixtures. Since wall plates come in all shapes and sizes, you can match them to the curves of your furniture placement. Matching will cleverly enhance featured pieces in a room without distracting from their appeal.

In addition to decorative plate style, you may want to consider changing the switch itself. Dimmer switches are available as dials, slides, touch pads, and combination of each. The ability to adjust lighting in each room of your home provides you a way to highlight specific room features or set the appropriate mood.

Decorative plates, often taken for granted, are a versatile design element. They can be romantic, sophisticated, sleek, or fun. First decide what you need your decorative plate to do for a room, and then shop for it as seriously as you would shop for furniture, wall coverings, or carpet.

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Techniques to Paint Your Wall


Do your walls seem dull and uninviting? Do you long for a cozy, welcoming room? Consider decorative wall painting techniques, such as sponging, ragging, stenciling or stamping. Even if you have no experience, you can brighten even the dullest room quickly and cheaply with one of these easy decorative wall painting techniques.

Before painting your room, pick out a color scheme for your walls. When you chose your paint, remember that many painting techniques use two shades of one color. If you are using one of the techniques that does use two shades of color, you can pick a darker color than you normally would chose for your base color, since the lighter top color will make the final result much lighter.

To sponge or rag a wall, paint on your base color and let it dry thoroughly. Then, dip your sponge or rag into the lighter paint color and sponge or drag the lighter color over the base coat until you are satisfied with the effect. If you are unhappy with your final result, you can repaint any areas that you don’t like with the base coat. Once the repainted area is dry, repeat the faux painting technique.

If you are considering using a decorative painting technique such as stenciling or stamping, you may just want to create a wallpaper effect by stamping or stenciling a simple design over your base coat. However, you may want to go a step further with your project and use stencils or stamps to create a faux brick or stone wall. You don’t need to be an artist to create one of these faux finishes. Just follow these simple steps. First, paint the walls with the color you chose for the mortar between the bricks or stones. Once the base coat is dry, stamp or stencil your bricks or stones over the base coat. Once the brick or stonework is dry, spatter a bit of the darker color over your faux art to give it depth and make it appear more realistic.

Creating faux effects such as making your walls look like they are made of plaster or suede can also really make your room stand out. You can easily learn how to create these seemingly difficult finishes at your local paint store. Paint bases that automatically give a suede or textured effect to the walls are a shortcut that even artists use to create fun finishes.

Finally, no matter which decorative wall painting technique you choose, remember that it is just a few layers of paint. You can always redo the finish on your walls as you learn more about the art of decorative painting.

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Wall Pictures can Lengthen, Broaden, Heighten Any Room

The Basic Role of Pictures
Wall art plays an important role in interior design as it helps create the ambience of a room. By cleverly placing wall pictures in certain ways, you can change and create a new look and feel in a room.

The role wall pictures play in interior design are:-
  • pictures, mirrors or other ornamental accessories on walls help make the room look 'lived in' and they also inject your personality into the room;
  • color pictures and prints help connect with the rooms accent;
  • pictures help absorb noise in a room, otherwise a room with totally bare walls will sound empty and will have an echo;
  • pictures and prints can help enhance or change a room's 'look and feel'.

How to Lengthen a Room
If you have a small room in your house, you can easily achieve the illusion of length. This can be done in two ways. If you like bold statements then simply paint a couple of horizontal lines in a bold color across the middle of the wall in which you want to lengthen. These lines then naturally create the illusion of increased length in the room. An alternative way to do this, and a more subtle way, is to use pictures.

By strategically placing art pictures or photographs with any kind of strong horizontal line in the print, can accomplish the illusion of length. For example, if you chose two or three long rectangular pictures with horizontal panoramic prints such as ocean & beach pictures, fields, or scenic mountain pictures, then this will help extend the length of the room naturally.

Two, three or more of these horizontal landscape pictures will give the maximum impact you are looking for to help lengthen a small room. Also bear in mind not to overdo the room with furniture. Too much clutter makes a room appear smaller.

How to Broaden a Narrow Room
If you have a room which is a bit on the narrow side, there is a simple strategy to make the room appear broader. All you need is a tin of paint, a wall mirror and a large colorful wall picture.

Get your tin of paint, which should preferably be a darker contrasting color to your other walls, and paint one of the walls with this darker paint. Find a colorful and lively large painting and hang it on the wall you have just painted - colorful flower pictures are ideal for this.

On the wall adjacent to your picture, hang a decorative large mirror. What has happened here is that the mirror reflects on the large picture, and the additional darker color on the wall has immediately given the room some much-needed depth. This combination will then make the room appear wider.

By adding these simple additions to your narrow room, you have instantly created a balance in the room's dimensions giving the sensation of additional space.

How to Heighten a Low Ceiling
Rooms with low ceilings give an oppressive feeling, whereas rooms with a high ceiling give a light and airy feel with a large amount of space. To overcome the problem of a low ceiling, there are a couple of interior design strategies to use.

First of all put down a darker floor covering, whether it be a wooden floor, carpet or lino. Paint the walls with a lighter color than the floor, or use light colored wallpaper. If you can, use white paint for the ceiling as this always gives the room maximum light and instantly draws the eyes upwards.

Hang up wall pictures with strong vertical lines as this then gives the impression of height. Use portrait prints such as vertical landscapes, i.e. lighthouses, trees, cityscapes, or floral prints such as flowers in a vertical vase or tall long stem roses. Therefore, by combining the dark floor, light walls and ceiling and portraits prints, all adds to the sense of height in a room.

Summary
Art pictures and prints play an important role in home decorating for several reasons. They do not only reflect and put your own personality into the room, but they can also help as a solution to change the look and feel of a room by giving the illusion of height, width and length. This can easily be achieved by combining wall pictures, contrasting colors and decorative mirrors.

Monday, September 28, 2009

Decorating Walls using Stencils


Painting walls in various colors is a quick and easy way to decorate any room in your home. But when you're looking for something a bit more artistic and unique, you might try your hand at stenciling.

Stencils come in a variety of forms: Simple geometric shapes to elaborate scenery. Really good stencils can actually reproduce famous paintings and designs too.

A simple room decoration stencil pattern to start with is borders. Stenciling borders can be done in addition to existing wallpaper, or as a replacement. Stenciled borders can be repeated geometric designs, or more detailed repeating patterns such as vines, flowers or leaves. Borders can also be placed at the top of a wall, the bottom, or in dead center for variating effects and design influences.

Stencils allow you to create friezes as well. This is done simply by starting with a strong contrasting color at the top, and carried downward through gradually fading tints until they are lost in the general color of the wall.

There once was a pink and silver room belonging to a young girl, where the salmon-pink walls were deepened in color at the top into almost a tint of vermilion which had in it a trace of green. It was, in fact, an addition of spring green dropped into the vermilion and carelessly stirred, so that it should be mixed but not incorporated. Over this shaded and mixed color for the space of three feet was stencilled a fountain-like pattern in cream-white, the arches of the pattern rilled in with almost a lace-work of design. The whole upper part had an effect like carved alabaster and was indescribably light and graceful.

This is an example of very delicate and truly artistic treatment of stencil-work, and one can easily see how it can be used either in simple or elaborate fashion with great effect.

Irregularly placed floating forms of Persian or Arabic design are often admirably stencilled in color upon a painted wall; but in this case the colors should be varied and not too strong. A group of forms floating away from a window-frame or cornice can be done in two shades of the wall color, one of which is positively darker and one lighter than the ground. If to these two shades some delicately contrasting color is occasionally added the effect is not only pleasing, but belongs to a thoroughly good style.

One seldom tires of a good stencilled wall; probably because it is intrinsic, and not applied in the sense of paper or textiles. It carries an air of permanency which discourages change or experiment, but it may take a bit of practice to do well.

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Decorating Your Space with Wall Pictures

How to Decorate your Space with Wall Pictures
If a room in your house lacks character, by simply placing some fine art prints on the walls can actually make quite an impact. Wall pictures are a necessary accessory in your home and are great to tie in with the room's style and color accent. Before you go off to buy some new pictures for your walls there are a few things you need to plan and decide upon. Here is a home interior design guide on how to decorate your space with wall art.

Shop for Wall Art by Room
The kind of home you have and the mood, ambience and style of decor you create, should be perfectly designed to suit your lifestyle. Deciding on a style for your room should be determined by the lifestyle you choose and not by what's the latest home interior design trend.

Whichever room you want to decorate, whether it is your bedroom, living area, kitchen or office space, you need to decide what you want to get out of that space. For example:
• Do you want to hold dinner parties or entertain?
• Do you want a quiet retreat to get away from the hustle and bustle?
• Is this an area for the kids to play in?
• Is this a room for your hobby?

Once you have decided what you want to use the room for, you can now choose a color theme to suit the function of the room. For example, mellow greens and neutrals for your 'quiet retreat room', lively yellow for the kid’s room, or pale tranquil blue for your office space.

So far we have established the function and color of the room in question, this then gives us the basis on choosing the right art prints for the area. For example:
• bright colorful cartoon pictures for the kids room
• mellow pastel floral pictures for your quiet retreat area, or
• tranquil landscape and scenic pictures for your office space

Choose your Style
Like paint color, artwork can immediately establish or change a room's mood. Not only can it pull the room together, but you can use it to create a style uniquely your own.
• traditional & classic
• modern
• contemporary
• fun & entertaining
• casual
• romantic

The style of the room is totally dependent on your own personal taste and this is the time when you can inject your own personality into the room through artwork and textured accessories.
Suggested art picture styles:

Fun & Entertaining: Pictures can include bright colors both in the print and on the frame. Fun and entertaining pictures can include kittens and puppies, or comedian actors such as the Three Stooges or Laurel & Hardy.
Modern: With the strong black accents in the framed iron-work and the tapestries, striking black and white photos are a natural choice for a modern and sophisticated look.
Calm Retreat: To reinforce the mood of a nestled, cozy retreat, use artwork with neutral, earthy colors and a horizontal landscape subject.

You can even mix and match different styles to create a unique style of your own. For example, frame traditional black and white photo prints in a modern black iron frame.

Arranging and Hanging your Pictures
In order to get the maximum effect of your wall pictures in terms of adding character and a focal point to the room, you need to decide where and how you want to hang them.

Here are some suggestions to help you decide how to get the best effects from your pictures:
Modern Gallery Look: To create a modern art gallery feel, particularly nice in hallways, lobbies and stairwells, give each piece ample breathing room. Stand at the center of the first piece and take one swift, or two small steps along the wall. This is a good center for the next piece.
Above a Sofa: When placing art above furniture such as a sofa, you need to hang the picture about six to nine inches above the sofa, or at eye level.
Cluster Arrangements: Tightly group an even number of pictures together to give a statement or a focal point. This works on either large or small wall spaces, depending on the look you want.
In a row: By placing an odd number of pictures in a horizontal line to each other gives balance and the sense of space. This works well in hallways or stairwells.

By deciding where and how to hang your pictures, whether it be a tight cluster or a single print above a sofa, you can then determine the size and shape of the pictures you need to buy.

When you have decided on the room's function, color and style, you are in a much better position to go shopping for wall pictures that fit in with the overall theme.

Summary
Wall pictures are an underestimated home interior design accessory. This is probably because most people do not know what to do with their pictures in order to get the maximum effect in a room. Before you go hanging up your pictures make sure you plan ahead what you want to get out of that room. Decide on the function, style and color of the room first before you buy your artwork. By doing this you are in a much better position to buy the right type of art picture to fit in with the theme and color accent of your room.