Design Your Dream With Decorative Painting

by Janette Mae Philipps
(Houston, Texas)

You are very much an individual with your own personal taste. Perhaps conventional ideas for decorating your home do not appeal to you, and you would like to express your tastes in your own way. One of the greatest ways to do this is through decorative painting.

Decorative painting involves a variety of designs and painting techniques with differing results. The choices that you make depend on the kind of room that you want to decorate, the effect you want to create, and your own abilities to carry this out.

Here are some great examples of decorative painting techniques:

• Faux Finishes - This is effectively painting a wall to look like another type of surface, such as marble, wood, leather, parchment, or even faux gold or pewter. This takes a certain amount of ingenuity and creativity. Mix your colors carefully and don’t be afraid to try a couple of times to see if you can achieve the desired effect. With the right kind of technique, you can make your living room look as if it was painted in Italy or like a wooden country cabin.
• Spattering - You and your kids could have a lot of fun with this. Simply flick different colors onto the wall and the spots of paint will form interesting patterns and shades. This is normally done in children’s rooms, but if you like to be a little unconventional this could look very good anywhere.
• Color Washing - A color wash is very easy to do. This is the application of a thin layer of paint over an existing color. This can create a distinctive and interesting shade and also breathe new life into your walls. It would be a good idea, however, to experiment first to make sure that this is the shade that you really want.
• You don’t need to paint your walls in one uniform color. If you want some variety and you also don’t want to paint the entire surface, think about painting patterns onto the walls using stencils. You could use simple models, such as diamonds, squares, and circles, or you could find more sophisticated patterns. If you do this well, you will be the envy of your friends and neighbors, and no one will be able to copy your originality exactly as this was your own, specific homemade design.
• Why use a paintbrush? Maybe you would like to apply the paint with sea sponges, which would create an unusual and rather beautiful finish.

So how do you make up your mind?

Look at the room. Do you want it to look larger or smaller? Do you want a loud, eccentric design, or something a little more subdued? What kind of furniture do you have? What are the colors of the decor?

Once you have answered those questions, you may want to take a look at some style books to get some better ideas of what would suit your room best. When you have worked this out, you can start painting.

Have fun – Decorative painting can be very enjoyable and the end product is usually very much worth the effort.

Janette likes to spruce up her cooking area and using kitchen corner cabinets or alternatively wall kitchen cabinets is something that she most certainly advises for your new look.