One of the best ways to take a room from ordinary to interesting is to finish the walls with something other than paint. Paint has long been the product of choice for finishing indoor walls, but not everybody wants to have such an ordinary look. Today, many finishes change the look of the room and even a wall's texture, from specialty concrete products to high-end panelling, tiles, and bricks. There are many ways to make a space more exciting and unique. Here are some of the most popular choices.
- Coloured and Patterned Concrete Render: Concrete render has been used in homes in warmer climates for many years. In most cases, the concrete was either painted or tiled over. Recently, however, there have been improvements in concrete skim coat products, and now the concrete look has become very fashionable. Today you can by finishing products that require no paint. And there are several choices. You can go with neutral grey tones with subtle patterns, or you can use some of the new color cement from SeeJorakay, which give you almost the same colour choices as paint, but with a long-lasting durable finish that will outlast the paint.
- Decorative Stone: Stone walls have an elegance about them that increases the appeal of any room. Perhaps stone makes us think of castles or fancy mansions. Whatever it is, it is hard to beat stone for beauty. A lot of the stone products available today are manufactured stones. This is good because that ensures a consistency of dimension and colour; it will also be easier to match later in renovations. Stone is typically one of the more expensive wall surfaces.
- Wallpaper: Wallpaper comes and goes as a popular product, it has been around for more than a century, but it became overused in the '60s and '70s and fell out of favour. Then people made a move back to mono-colour paint schemes. Today, with the advent of digital printing and new manufacturing techniques, some incredible wallpaper products will be sure to give a one-of-a-kind interior. Wallpaper is also a straightforward product to apply, and it is commonly used as a DIY product.
- Tile: There are so many varieties of tile available that it would take up too much room to list them. You can almost create any look you want with tiles, including stone, wood, wallpaper, and other textures. Tile can be cheap or expensive, depending on your tastes.
- Wood: Wood panelling is nothing new, and it is possible to have too much wood in a room. But wood as a feature wall is trendy right now, and it is usually a fun project to take on. You can buy many types of wood panelling, or if you are adventurous, you can source your own by finding a supply of new or reclaimed wood. Just be careful it is not a protected species
There is no right or wrong way to do a room; the key is to have a theme and then be consistent. Buy good materials and use expert installers whenever possible. If you open your mind to the opportunities, you will discover a world of choices.