Background Decor: The Art of Creating Walls Which Personify Your Style
Walls are the largest surface area in a room. Like a giant canvas, they give you the creative freedom to fashion whatever kind of space you want. You can make your walls subdued, letting them blend into the background, or you can decorate them with patterns and colors designed to make them stand out with bold attitude.
The first thing you have to realize about walls is that they are not a completely blank canvas. They exist within the architectural “bones” of the house, and the style of your interiors design has an influence on everything you do to the walls.
Generally speaking, houses built with a traditional style are going to be large, with few windows and doors. They are also often geometrically even, with straight lines running at predictable right angles throughout the interior. Walls in such a space are enormous, giving you a lot of room to get creative with massive works of art or decorative accessories such as huge antique mirrors.
Contemporary homes have a tendency to contain fewer walls. They also generally break their walls up with windows and doorways a lot more than a traditional design would.
You are free to either design a space according to the architecture which was used in its creation, or you can ignore it and create a home which completely contrasts the “bones” of the house. If you do choose to go against the architecture, try to at least choose colors, patterns, and textures which exist in harmony with the inherent design of the space.
One of the most important things which walls do in your home, are create a sense of unity throughout the space. This is achieved by applying similar colors and patterns to walls in every room of the house.
If you want to be brave you can try to apply different colors to walls in different rooms, or even to walls in the same room. However you have to be careful not to create an ambience of total chaos. Bring it together by adding a single consistent element throughout, such as a single color that you paint all of the molding and baseboards in the house.
It is also important to understand the way that your walls relate to your ceiling and floors. Make sure that the colors used blend harmoniously into one another. In general, colors which are lower on the walls or on the floors should be darker, with them slowly getting lighter as you reach the ceiling. This creates a room which is grounded and solid, and which has the illusion of higher ceiling and more space. However if you have a room which is too big, you can reverse that formula to make the space seem cozier.
Materials
Paint – Probably the least expensive and most versatile materials you can use to decorate your walls, paint is available in almost any color you can imagine. It is relatively easy to apply, and has the magical ability to make old interiors look new again.
Wallpaper – Wallpaper is another way to decorate the background which gives you an immense number of options. You could literally spend days looking at the different wall paper patterns which are available at your local stores.
The great thing about wallpaper is that it lets you instantly add a complex pattern to a space. This can be used as the basis of a decorative scheme, where furnishings are bought in matching colors, to create a uniform feeling throughout. Pattern can also make a room seem larger, if it is intricate and tiny, or smaller if the patterns are large and far apart.
Tile – There are a number of different tiles you can use in your walls. Ceramic tiles can be imprinted with almost any image giving you a huge amount of creative freedom. Natural stone and brick are erratic, powerful materials that look very heavy and can make a space seem cozier. Porcelain and marble by contrast are dainty stones that give a room an airier feel.
Fabrics – Coating an old decrepit wall in elegant velvet, or even an attractive cotton coating, can easily dress up a space. Not a good idea in a kitchen where it can catch fire, or a bathroom where it will be susceptible to moisture and stains, it is an elegant way to make a bedroom seem softer. It also makes a living room feel cozier and more inviting.
Wood – There are a number of different wood paneling you can use in your home, ranging from premium exotic hardwoods, to inexpensive knotty pine. Wood has a rustic, natural feel that gives a room a connection to the outside world.
Walls are the background of our lives. They hold us and protect us; they make up the larger part of our interior worlds.
When decorating them, remember that they are an almost blank canvas, one upon which you can vent your total creative spirit. And, best of all, it is very simple to take down wall décor as soon as you stop liking it.
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