Dress Up Your Walls

4 trendy ways to give your walls a new look without dragging out the paint cans and tarps.

By Cynthia Dermody

From Reader's Digest

More on:

• Walls
• Decorating
• Painting

• Bands A cool, modern take on wall borders. Dip the bands in water and sponge the wall horizontally, vertically or diagonally for a contemporary look. Easy to take off with no damage (wallbands.com; $56 per one 15'x13'' band).



• Letters The new monogram collection from wonderfulgraffiti.com includes 16 styles of press-on letters for names, words or phrases for walls, doors or furniture ($15-$300).



• Murals Actors Julianne Moore and Woody Harrelson have them. Choose images of a Tuscan villa or seaside, or order a custom piece, like a photo or child's artwork, in sizes 4'x6' and up. Hang it like wallpaper (muralsyourway.com; $7.95 per square foot stock, $8.95 custom).



• Wallpaper-by-Numbers Hang it normally, then color the designs, including pineapples and daisies, with paint, pencil or pen. Use suggested colors, pick your own, or leave it unpainted (2jane.com; $95 per 11-yard, 20.5'' roll).

From Reader's Digest - September 2006

• Knock-Down Ceiling Texture
• Spray ceiling texture to add visual interest and hide imperfections.
• 
• Photo Gallery: Stylish Decorating Ideas
• Does your home give you the blahs? Try these simple nips and tucks to add instant style and elegance to dull rooms.
• 
• Simple Wall Stenciling
• How to stencil a decorative border at the top of your walls.
• 
• A Simplified Guide to Taping Drywall
• A color-coded guide to flat, smooth, perfect walls.
• 
• Hanging Prepasted Wallpaper
• Successfully wallpaper a room even if you've never done it before.
• 

See More Jokes

My younger brother, I explained to a friend, had quite a temper as a boy. Our parents had tried extra love, attention and patience on him, with little success. Then, in the middle of one of his tantrums, they simply handed him a shovel, pointed to the backyard and instructed him to go out and dig and not come back until he had control of his anger.

"Apparently," I said, "the therapy worked, because he's turned out very nicely."

"What does he do for a living?" my friend asked.

"He builds in-ground swimming pools."

-- Lesley Luth

“ To think is to differ. ”

— Clarence Darrow

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