Hung Up On Your Walls?

A beautiful cornice molding can help liven a boring wall.

When you stare at your walls, do they stare back at you reprovingly? Maybe your walls are boring. Or they may be lumpy, disfigured or damp. Perhaps you have a problem hanging things (because your walls are brick, stone, metal, or your landlord won't allow it). Or you might be unsure about where, how or what to hang.

Here's help. 1. Are Your Walls Dull? If your uninteresting wall is in generally good condition, try these tips to liven it up. — Treat it to a first-class paint job. Several skim coats of plaster, plus expert sanding and priming, may be necessary to make your wall buttery smooth. — Add depth to your wall by putting one color glaze over another, using a faux finish technique. — Take a good look at the window and door trim. Replace it if it's damaged; then paint it in a brilliant white or a radical new color. A chair rail breaks the monotony of big boring wall. Cover each half separately; for example, wallpaper one, faux-paint panel the other. — Rip out any puny baseboard molding. Replace it with baseboard trim that's at least 5 ½ inches high (use a 1 by 6 board). — Add a beautiful cornice molding. If your room is low, paint the cornice in the same color as the walls to give the appearance of height. If your room has height to spare, paint the cornice in a distinct color or glossy white. You can even use several pieces of trim, leaving a horizontal gap between the strips, which you can paint with a faux finish or fill with wallpaper. — Create a stenciled or faux-painted cornice. Or use a wallpaper border around the top of your walls. — Install a chair rail or plate rail to divide a long, dull wall into more interesting separate parts. Treat the subdivisions differently. Wallpaper or panel one, paint the other. Picture shelves are not only decorative, but also practical. They can be neatly aligned as shown, stacked in a pyramid shape or staggered. — Add a display shelf or series of shelves. 2. Are your walls in bad shape? Painting or wallpapering a hopelessly lumpy wall will only highlight its defects. Instead, try these techniques. — Wainscoting hides a bad foundation and gives an old-fashioned country look to a kitchen, dining room, bedroom or bathroom. — Real wood paneling gives a clubby look to a library or den. — Gathered fabric gives a soft, feminine look to a bedroom. — Mirrored panels can expand a lobby or bathroom. Hide a bad wall behind gathered fabric for a feminine look. — Hiding a bad wall behind a bookcase, cabinet or closet can be practical, as well as aesthetically pleasing. Opt for a simple bookshelf or a combination of bookshelves and cupboards. Add a pull-down desk, cubbyholes or wine rack, as budget permits. — If you have damp walls, finding and curing the source is the only long-term solution. Scrub mildew stains with a mixture of one part bleach/three parts water, rinse thoroughly and apply a stain sealer before recovering the walls. 3. No hang-ups? Pictures and wall hangings don't have to be hung. — For a calculatedly casual look, prop pictures or other items against the wall on the floor, on a bench, on top of a window or door frame or on an easel. — If you have a wall that's difficult to drill into, consider fastening a picture rail to it. Once you install the picture rail, you never need to drill into the wall again. Once the rail is installed, you can vary picture arrangements by simply adjusting the lengths of their cords. — Or forget pictures and wall hangings altogether. Instead, place a console table in front of a wall and set tall objects on top of it. A substantial table lamp, stack of art books and towering arrangement of flowers/leaves/twigs can fill a wall. 4. Do you need help hanging? Most modern walls are made of painted or spackled plasterboard (Sheetrock) and are hollow between the studs to which they're attached. Try to hang anything moderately heavy directly on top of a stud or onto a piece of trim attached to a stud. At minimum, use a toggle bolt (which spreads wings that clutch the wall), or a picture hook capable of withstanding the weight. When arranging artwork, think of your walls as a vertical version of your floor. When you position an area rug, you automatically center it on the floor or around a fixture or piece of furniture. So: — Imagine a space on your wall that is equivalent to an area rug. — Fill that space with one picture or a group of pictures.   — Pick objects, pictures and frames that are similar in style, subject matter, shape, color or texture to the objects, colors and materials that define your room. Note: Before doing anything decorative or structural, make sure you have the necessary permits, permissions and understanding of your structure's suitability.