Tag Archives: accent walls

Little Changes, Big Impact: ABC Blocks on the Wall

Posted on

OK, for the last little bit, we’ve been talking about small projects you can tackle in your home that will have a big impact on your decorating.  We understand that the idea of repainting a couple rooms in the home isn’t always the most exciting thought to everybody out there. Some of us just don’t feel like going nuts on a paint job–we don’t have the time or the energy right now.

Others of us like the color of our rooms already.  We think they look nice, but still feel they’re missing something.  They’re a little plain or boring and we’re not sure what we can do to spruce them up, to infuse some life into them, without completely overhauling them.

That’s been the point for the last few entries: small projects that will hopefully  infuse some life into your home without giving you a project that’s going to take you weeks to accomplish.

Well, today I’ve got one that’s really suited for a kids room  or maybe a back entry–some small room where you can branch away from the norm for a little bit without throwing off the decorating scheme of your whole home. Anyway, if you’ve got a room like that, think about this: what if you’d paint some shapes onto the wall?

Now, I know (I know, I know) that sounds boring.  But I’m not just talking about basic squares or circles or geometric shapes.  I’m talking about being a little more creative than that (though I’d still argue that geometric shapes on walls can be tremendously creative and interesting if done right!)

Anyway, even though those basic shapes can be creative, that’s not exactly what I’m talking about today.  See, I’ve never had the right room to do this in, but I’ve imagined a cool kids rooms where you take some stencils of letters and combine them with some square shapes to create letter blocks on the wall–you know those little wood ABC blocks kids play with and chew on? Anyway, paint the blocks in a corner–make them large (1-2 foot square)–and stack them. Stagger the stack or paint them in a tumbled heap in a corner. You could spell out ABC’s on the letters or a child’s name. You could craft some other message:  Family or Faith or pretty much anything you want.

All it takes is a little time, a small amount of paint, and a helping of creativity.

Little Changes, Big Impact: Wall Shapes

Posted on

If you’re looking for simple ways to give a room in your home some appeal, what about painting some shapes onto the walls?  Now, you could accomplish this by painting just a few geometrical shapes all over the walls, randomly placing squares and circles, but don’t limit yourself to that.

For example, think about your laundry room.  What if you’d paint the walls a sky blue color and then paint a clothesline on one wall?  And don’t quit there, go ahead and paint some “cartoony” clothes on that line.  You could use bright colors in the clothes you “hang” on that line and those bright colors would infuse your room with a sense of fun and interest without overpowering it.

If you’re looking for a twist on this idea, go ahead and hang a “real” clothesline on your wall and fill it with “clothes” that you cut out of extra wallpaper that you may have lying around.

This is a simple project and a fun way to use up excess wallpaper.  Just glue two sheets of wallpaper together (same pattern on the front and back or different patterns–it doesn’t matter).  Glue the two sheets together and, when they’re dry, cut shirt, dress and pants shapes out.  Then, using real clothes pins, hang these items on your line.

Whether you paint the clothes shapes onto the wall or cut them out of wallpaper, this is a great way to infuse your room with color and interest (and a sense of whimsical fun) without having to completely overhaul the entire space.

Little Changes, Big Impact: Paint Behind a Vase

Posted on

You don’t always need to completely overhaul a room to infuse some interest and excitement into your decorating. Sometimes you can make a huge impact with less than a quart of paint and in less than 20 minutes.

In this little blog-series, we’ll explore some simple ways you can add some “pop” to your decorating without taking a “hit” in your bank account.

Today, we’re going to talk about a simple concept: painting behind vases, pots or other art pieces you might have sitting in a corner or against a wall. These items sit in our rooms day in and day out and they usually add some color and some visual interest. However, over time, they fade into the background.

Well, an easy way to bring them back into the foreground is to paint an area behind them. Simply mimic the shape of the art piece, or paint a simple oval behind it in a complimentary or coordinating color.

It’s a quick project, will take you no more than a few “brush-fulls” of paint, and will usually take you all of 20 minutes (including clean-up!). But the impact and visual appeal it brings to your home is boundless.

Get creative . . . start thinking outside the box . . . and see what you can come up with. Next time, we’ll talk about another quick project.