It has come to my attention that more people, in the past few years, are using wall paneling when remodeling their homes. This is an easy solution for many home owners who have several types of wall imperfections and cover up is the only solution. So now let’s explore some of the typical scenarios in which you would choose to panel a wall in your home to cover up imperfections.

I got a call from friends of mine, a married couple, whose names are Tom and Nancy. These two have always had an interest in purchasing an older bungalow in North Carolina with all the decorative wood trim throughout the house. After searching for quite some time they found the home of their dreams.

This was a four bedroom, two full baths, 2760 square feet set on three quarters of an acre was built in 1923. With hardwood floors throughout and beautifully finished moldings, baseboards and doorways, this house has the charm of old world craftsmen.

With a lot of updates that took place in the mid 1980’s, there was more room for improvement. The plaster walls in the bathrooms, dining room and stairway leading to the second floor had several hairline cracks.

Tom and Nancy had thought about tearing the walls down and replacing them with drywall, but before they made their final decision the got in touch with me.

After they explained to me their wall situation at their new home, I suggested to them that wall paneling would be the perfect solution to their problem walls.

They e-mailed me photos of the two bathrooms, dining room and stairway so I could get a good idea of what their house looked like. After studying the photos I came up with some suggestions.

For the master bathroom I suggested that they go with Aquatile. This is wall paneling that has the look and feel of ceramic tile, but without the maintenance of cleaning grout that come with real ceramic tile. This embossed tileboard is moisture proof and comes in varying tile shapes and sizes and truly has the look of ceramic tile.

In fact, I suggested they go with this same wall paneling in their second bathroom, only go with a different style that the master bath.

For Tom and Nancy’s dining room I suggested that they go with designer paneling, wainscoting about one third of the way up the wall. This would be an off-white beadboard in a style called sculptured stripe. Above that, all the way up to the moldings would be a soft light gray marble looking wall paneling called Winterhaven II.

For the inner wall of the stairway (and hallway) leading to the bedrooms upstairs, I suggested beaded panel wainscoting. Above the wainscoting I suggested Terrace Stone wall paneling. This will end up being a stunning mixture of wood and stone wall paneling with extremely low maintenance.

With the variety of wall paneling available today, the possibilities are wide open that you will find a style to match your style. Take you time and research all that is available and you will find that beauty and convenience can be achieved.

Faux painting, a decorative hand-created painting technique, has become very popular in interior designs. It captures warmth of textiles, depth, texture and blends of light and color to create one of a kind wall treatments for your home or office. There are numerous techniques, but we will look at five trendy styles.

Glazing: First we have one of the most common types of faux painting, Glazing. This free form finish is known for its subtle variations of color and natural, soft glow. Supremely versatile, it can be adapted to any living environment from modern to traditional. It imparts a peaceful, tranquil feeling that adds to the comfort of any room of you home or where ever you decide. Glazing techniques color washing, combing and ragging are among the most popular.

Aging:, This technique adds a beautiful worn elegant look to cabinetry, wood paneling, moldings and furniture. Today with the help of superior products aging techniques seem almost magical in its simplicity. Within minutes you can duplicate the effects of years of natural weathering. For example, Antiquing: sanding down trim or molding, using a knife to shave edges or using a knife or nail to create little worm wholes in wood. Also taking a fine point black marker and create a few specks on the legs or arms of a piece of furniture.

Stenciling: Stenciling is an easy way to add a custom pattern to your walls. It is widely used in living rooms, floors, bathrooms and furniture. Inspiration can be found in your home by looking at repeat patterns in wallpapers, rugs, fabrics and tiles. Designed to work well with different floral prints, stenciling traces its roots as far back as ancient Egyptian times. I find stencils great over a texture background such as ragging or sponging or color washes.

Marbleizing: Marbleizing is a timeless decorative finish that adds boldness and grandeur to any space. It can be used successfully in either modern or traditional environments. When marbleizing, choose a surface that might realistically be made of marble such as baseboards, molding, panels, fireplace mantels, columns or tabletops. It also helps to have a piece of marble that you like to use as a guide for the base and top colors. It works great to add a glaze sealer over your piece. With a little practice, anyone can create this beautiful finish.

Wood Graining: Also known as “Faux Bois”, wood graining is a timeless decorative finish that adds warmth and beauty to any space. It can be utilized in almost any style of décor from a Mahogany Gentlemen’s Pub to a bleached oak farmhouse dining room. When wood graining, choose surfaces that are realistically made of wood, such as baseboards, moldings, panels, mantels, columns or tabletops. I would like to be very clear on this, Wood graining is one of the most difficult faux finishes and requires some practice. It is best to first try on a piece of spare wood or card board.

Deciding between wallpaper and paint can be a hard decision because both options offer different advantages and disadvantages. This article lists the advantages and disadvantages of wallpaper and the advantages of paint.

Wallpaper Advantages

Wall paper offers a wide variety of patterns, textures and colours. There are thousands of patterns, colours and textures that your Oxford decorating company can offer. There are lots of different textures that can be used as well, these can allow you to create a mood in your room. For example textured wallpaper gives a modern and funky feel to the room.

Wallpaper Cons

Wallpaper is hard to clean and maintain – Once your lavish wallpaper has been applied by your Oxford painter and decorator, the main problem you would encounter is keeping dirt off it and removing it. If a child draws on the wallpaper it’s very hard to remove without damaging the wallpaper itself. It can also tear easily, if you have one tear you will have to rip down that piece completely and start again, this can become costly.

Wallpaper can easily fade when exposed to the sun. They also fade quicker when exposed to sunlight and wind. So a room with a wide veranda, balcony or large windows might not be suited to use wallpapers on the walls.

Paint Pros

Paint is a low maintenance wall treatment after it’s been applied by your Oxford painters. Having painted walls means that you need not be worried about maintaining and cleaning your walls. Most kinds of dirt and stains can easily be cleaned of a painted wall or when the stain does not come off completely, you can easily paint that area in the wall the same colour to cover up the stain. The paint can chip but this is easily solved by adding a new coat over the chip.

Paint can last several years – Because painted walls applied by Oxford painters and decorators are easier to maintain, they also tend to last longer than wallpaper. The colours of paint would also take a long, long time before they show signs of fading and peeling even when constantly exposed to sunlight and wind. They also last longer than wallpaper in humid and moist conditions. This makes paint a much more cost effective method than wallpaper.