Interior designers know the quickest and most inexpensive way to
dramatically change a room's style is to attack those boring white
walls. Sure, you could try painting the room a bold new shade, but the
newest design techniques go a step further with drywall, faux painting,
and nontraditional wall coverings.
1. Drywall Textures
 Once
purely functional, drywall techniques are now a designer's trick. Using
drywall techniques to add new architectural or design touches, or simply
retexturing ceilings and walls, can update the overall appearance of a
home with a relatively small investment.
Walls and ceilings can be finished in many different ways. Retexturing
or smoothing walls can freshen and modernize older homes or even return
the original character to period homes that may have been carelessly
remodeled.
Changing up the old-fashioned styles of texture can significantly
freshen and update a 30-year-old home.
On the other hand, covering those styles of texture with a new layer of
hand-troweled (A flat-bladed hand tool for leveling, spreading, or
shaping substances such as cement or mortar) joint compound to resemble
plaster. Custom textures and treatments, such as combining textured
walls with totally smooth ceilings, can give a home a unique look.
Try the Orange Peel Finish: Very popular right now, the orange peel
finish is created by spraying texture compound onto a smooth wall and
then letting it dry paint when ready for a brand new look.
2. Faux Painting
 One
of the most popular ways to create a change in your home today is
through faux painting. Faux painting incorporates decorative and special
paint finishes, as well as techniques that resemble wallpaper, such as
glazing, sponging, ragging, wood graining and even freehand designs.
Although many illusions can be achieved with faux finishing techniques
on flat surfaces, textured products can create three-dimensional
effects. Products applied in layers to walls, fireplaces and ceilings
can look and feel like real stone, crumbling masonry, or peeling paint
for a European country look. Other popular finishes resemble linen,
grass cloth or denim.
With a little skill, a great idea and a new color scheme your home's
interior can resemble an ancient Tuscan building, a marble wall or even
a cloudy day.
Try a suede finish: To warm up a formal room such as a dining
room, library or office, consider a suede finish. Textured paints
containing solid materials like silica can make walls look–and even
feel–like suede.
3. Non-traditional wall coverings
 Wallpaper
has always been a popular alternative to painting a room. But, in
addition to traditional wallpaper, there are many types of wall
coverings that will enliven a room. Bright fabrics, grass cloth, even
cork are becoming popular as unique ways to dramatically change a room's
appearance.
Some non-traditional wall covering options:
Foil can be difficult to work with because it shows imperfections in the
wall surface and because it can get wrinkled easily. But the silver,
reflective surface and the patterns on many foil wallpapers can be
strikingly contemporary.
Cork-faced wall coverings are thicker because they have a surface of
cork. They make for a cozy, dark and woodsy effect and can often be seen
in family rooms or offices.
Paper-backed fabric shows the high quality look of a fabric wall
covering but can be installed with the ease of a vinyl-coated paper. The
backing adds a stiffness that both hides defects in the wall and makes
it easier to manage the fabric.
Try a grass cloth wall covering: Grass cloth is an exotic choice,
evoking the faraway cultures of Asia, but it can be surprisingly easy to
work with because it stays stiff while pasting on the wall. Grass cloth
shouldn't be used in high-traffic areas or where there's high humidity,
however, because it may not wear very well.
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