Sprucing Up Your Walls

The best way to spruce up your walls is with beautiful wall coverings. These pieces of décor come in various types and styles, and they are often composed of all sorts of materials. Simply put, wall coverings are used to cover a certain wall for utilitarian purposes or, more commonly, for decorative purposes. Your choice of wall coverings for your room will vastly affect your room's design and function, which is why you should consider a few things before making your choice. You can follow the guidelines below to ensure you pick the best wall covering.

Budget, Budget, Budget

Wall treatments come in many shapes, sizes, and prices. Because of this, it's easy to spend anywhere from a small amount of money to thousands of dollars on the perfect wall covering. If you are looking to buy a wall covering for your home, you should determine how much you are willing to spend or can afford to spend before starting your shopping trip to redecorate.

Consider Your Room

Before purchasing a wall covering, you should consider your room. Things such as the room's purpose or the design aesthetic of the space should be considered before making a purchase. Your wall covering should mesh or blend well with your room. Walls—made of drywall, paneling, or faux stone—can be functional and decorative. Choosing your coverings for these walls should consider both the functional and decorative aspects.

Walls in a high traffic area need a certain upkeep. For example, light swatches on a high traffic wall tend to show more fingerprints, and dining room walls might receive certain furniture scratches from chair backs. Clean treatments are most preferred for walls that tend to have a lot of action.

To compliment a room's décor, you can use decorative wall coverings. These finishes can also be used to emphasize or downplay architectural elements in the room. To add or diminish size through illusion, you can also use decorative wall finishes.

Think of the Wall Coverings

As mentioned earlier, there are many different wall coverings, and you should choose the right cover that suits your purposes, décor, and even your budget.

The least expensive wall covering is something you might not consider at first. Paint is available in a variety of finishes—such as satin, matte, high gloss, and semi-gloss—and in almost every color available. There is paint for easy clean-up, allowing you to wash your walls. Paint is also a great way to create all sorts of decorative finishes for your walls. These finishes are called faux finishes, and you can use this technique to create faux leather, fauX stonE panels, or even faux marble.

Wallpaper is the next best wall covering. It comes in convenient rolls and has a surface that adheres to your wall. You can buy wallpaper in pre-pasted paper or paper with a special coating to be applied with wallpaper paste during initial installation. The best part about wallpaper is the easy ability to clean and cover flaws in the wall. This mid-priced wall covering also comes in wide varieties of designs, patterns, colors, and textures.

For a hard wall covering, you can use wall tiles, which are often found in bathrooms or kitchens. These tiles are easy to clean as well because of the slick, waterproof surface. You can buy tiles in an array of materials such as marble, porcelain, ceramic, and granite. These wall coverings are typically expensive because it takes more to cover the surface of your wall.

Fabric and wood paneling are other great options for wall coverings. It's quite simple to choose the right materials for your walls, and you can include aesthetic, practical, and budget considerations before deciding entirely. Try making a clear plan before making any purchases.