How to Apply the Latest Wall Design Trends like a Professional

Plain white walls give your home the feel of a dorm room or hospital quarters. And this year, the latest trends in wall design are textured, painted and personalized walls that give your home a personal touch. But before you hire an expensive personal decorator, consider applying wall design yourself. Professional looking wall design only sounds complicated. With a little time, interest and patience, anyone can decorate their home with professional flair.

Paint

When paired with a little creativity and instruction, paint can do much more than add color to your walls. Millions of homeowners hire professional designers to give their homes a polished look with professionally applied wall design. But what they don't know is that even with limited material, the most basic instruction and just a little more time than a regular paint job, you can use your walls to transform your home into a picturesque living space.

If you're feeling apprehensive about beginning a new project, start simple. A small or easy to master project will build confidence and encourage creative thinking. Once you see what you are capable of, you'll quickly move to other rooms in the house with bigger and more challenging wall design projects. Don't be afraid to experiment and push boundaries. Before trying a new idea, simply purchase a form board or two and try it out before heading over to the wall. Not only does this allow you to perfect your technique before you make it permanent, but it allows you to see what it will look like on the wall before you've made a commitment.

Paint texturing is a typical beginner project because all you need to begin is a coat of paint and a sponge, rag, paintbrush or something similar. Not only is texturing relatively difficult to do incorrectly, but with just a little effort it adds personality and depth to an otherwise flat wall. Similarly, the application of a stencil and a color wash is a relatively straightforward technique that adds a subtle but dimension adding effect to a flat wall and really lives up textured plaster and stucco.

For a more visually exciting and challenging DIY project, try your hand at a faux finish. With the right instruction and materials, you can give your walls the look of marble, wood grain, paneling, bamboo, brick and even limestone. You can even texture sections of your walls with plaster to create illusions of architectural elements. The possibilities are endless and can give any home a richer look by mimicking expensive materials and architectural features.

Once you build your skills, you can even tackle projects reserved for expert DIY painters like murals and "trompe l'oeil"designs that give a three dimensional effect that can create the illusion of domed ceilings, pillared walls and much more.

Wainscoting

This aspect of wall design can be a challenge. But this wall design element has recently re-gained popularity amongst professional decorators. This is because wainscoting is a wonderful way to add architectural elements to a home and give it the custom millwork look of classic mansions and old-world wealth. For those of you unfamiliar with this particular design element, wainscoting is a decorative (traditionally wood) paneling treatment that traditionally covers the lower third, but can reach as high as three fourths of the way up the wall and anywhere in between.

Because traditional wainscoting typically consists of wood panels, stiles, a top and bottom rail and (often) matching casings for doors and windows, this DIY project can be challenging and requires some carpentry skills. However, the "wow factor" it adds to a home and its ability to set a decorative theme makes it well worth the required patience and significant time commitment.

Wainscoting can make smaller spaces look larger by making the ceiling appear farther away. Furthermore, it can define and separate a space and make kitchens and dining rooms appear more elegant.

And the time and monetary investment largely depends on the homeowner. Mahogany wainscoting can be custom fabricated from scratch which requires an extensive time and price commitment even though it is a rewarding and fulfilling project. However, if you're looking to spare your wallet and your schedule, pre-fabricated wood kits are available.

Or, you can forgo wood altogether and purchase wood paneling that can be trimmed to fit, painted and topped with a chair rail. Wainscoting can also be made of Formica, sheet metal, faux rock or any number of elements that can add artistic flair to a traditional design. Wainscoting is traditionally found in kitchens and dining rooms, but any room can be personalized with this flexible design element.

Wallpaper

This wall design element is one of the most versatile decorating techniques, but many DIY decorators shy away from it because, not so long ago, applying it was a real pain and involved extensive soaking, rolling and exhausting work. However, today's wallpaper often comes with paste activator and is much easier to apply although applying it accurately still requires patience and commitment.

Like wainscoting, creatively applied wallpaper has regained popularity as a wall design element because it can be used to manipulate spaces, or even add or eliminate architectural detail. Furthermore, wallpaper can be used to mimic a paint job including any faux-finish or texturing techniques out there. Mural wallpaper can even be applied to give homes artistic flair and beautiful focal points for any (or every) room in the house.

Some professional decorators even creatively use wallpaper to replace wood elements. Wallpaper wainscoting is popular in kitchens as well as dining rooms, and gives an artistic and personalized touch without the carpentry skills, time or monetary investment that traditional wainscoting requires. And by contrasting strips of wallpaper or borders, a paneling look can be achieved that adds architectural interest to flat walls.