Ah, a freshly painted wall.  What a warm and cozy sensation a finished surface brings to the room.  You’ve chosen a great color, the perfect backdrop to some beautiful wall art that will complete the mood of the room you’re looking for.  Then you notice some marks on the wall that you didn’t put there….is that a crayon drawing????

I have a 3-year-old who fancies herself a budding artist.  (Hmmm….  I wonder who she could have inherited that gene from?)  And while I’m a big believer in encouraging kids to be creative, I don’t like it to be on my walls that aren’t covered with blackboard paint.

Whether or not you have small children, there will inevitably be dirt or markings of some sort on your walls.  There are several products that you can use to remove them, but it all depends on what kind of paint you have used, and what kind of mark was made.

First, let’s talk about the surface of your wall.  The general rule of thumb is the glosier your finish, the easier it is to clean.  There are essentially 5 finishes to choose from:

• Flat or Matte Finish.  While this is usually the least expensive and great at hiding imperfections on a wall, it does not stand up to cleaning well.  Save this finish for the ceiling, closets, and any area of the house that doesn’t get much traffic.
• Flat Enamel.  This finish has the flat or matte sheen but can withstand some cleaning.  I have not found it to be a good choice for kids’ areas, but have used it in living rooms and dining rooms.
• Eggshell.  With more of a shine than flat enamel,  imperfections are a barely more noticeable, but the sheen does make it much easier to clean those scuff marks, crayon drawings and possibly even the occasional washable marker.
• Satin.  My favorite finish for kids’ rooms, the kitchen and bath, it can stand up frequent cleaning and even light scrubbing.  It’s also great for trim around doors and windows.
• Semi-gloss.  Ideal for trim work and shelving and really shouldn’t be used for walls at all unless you’re trying to acheive a certain faux effect (more about that in a future post!).  It is well-suited for cabinets and other furniture.
• Gloss.  Again, use for trim only.  I recommend it for furniture, especially furniture for kids, as it stands up to heavy-duty cleaning.  It can give a high-style quality to almost any piece of furniture, especially your more formal pieces.  But be sure to prepare the surface ahead of time since every imperfection will be magnified.

I’ll go more into wall preparations at another date.  Until then, I think I’ll go paint some shelves for the boys’ room!

  One of my main goals is to be ultra-organized.  Who can blame me with a houseful of people?  But trying to create a place for everything and putting everything in its place is an ongoing challenge.

  A problem area in my house is where to keep all of the small outdoor accessories for the kids…. gloves, hats and scarves in the winter, sunglasses and hats in the summer.  The very small coat closet is already filled to capacity and offers no room for extra storage.  I thought I had solved the problem with hanging baskets on the wall opposite the coat closet.  And while I still think this is the solution, I need to fine tune some of the details.

   My first suggestion:  DO NOT BUY CHEAP BASKETS!  I purchased eight baskets from Michael’s when they were on sale for 40% off.  The final price of each basket was a little over $4, perfect for a low-budget project.  But the handles break very easily, and I have replaced each one at least once already.  So what started out as inexpensive has already doubled in price.  Oh, it wasn’t just the kids who broke the handles either!  Better to buy a quality basket so it withstands the constant use (and abuse).

   My second suggestion:  try to place them in a low-traffic area.  This isn’t always possible because you need to have them close to the coat closet or they will never be used.  But if you have a wall near the closet that won’t be bumped into, hit with a wayward ball that shouldn’t have been in the house in the first place, or less likely to be the scene of a slam dunk with the mittens, defiitely pick that wall.

   My third suggestion:  make the wall fun!  This is one thing I did do right.  I had each of my kids make crazy faces and took their picture, framing each one in a 3″ x 5″ burgundy frame.  Their pictures are black and white so the area looks cohesive.  And the cost?  The pictures are from Walmart at $.09 each, and the frames were $3 each from A.C. Moore. 

   This week I am on a quest to find the perfect baskets, but I think I’ll buy just 1 or 2 before committing to 9.  And I need to reconfigure the wall to fit 9 baskets, and some new pictures!  I’ll let you know what I find!

  This is one of my favorite questions when people come to our house for the first time.  Upon entering the front door, you are flanked by the living room and dining room.  The dining room has wallpaper on the upper section.  The living room has painted stripes, but uses colors inspired by the wallpaper. 

   Whenever you browse through wallpaper books, there are always complimentary patterns grouped together.  I certainly considered buying a pattern for the living room that would go well with the paisley in the dining room.  But I didn’t see exactly what I wanted, and I was already towards the top end of my budget with the paper I already purchased.  So, there was only one solution left – paint!

  Now, if you plan to paint stripes in any room, buy a ton of blue painter’s tape.  I went through 6 rolls of 2 inch tape, so stock up.   You will also need a level — I used a 4 foot one – and a pencil.  Oh, and lots of patience, good background music, and you might want to have dinner already made before you start.  Trust me, it will help!

   First paint the entire room the lighter of the 2 colors.  If you’re brave enough to be doing more than 2 stripes, pick the lightest color of the lot.  Let the paint dry for at least 4 hours before measuring and marking.  Next decide how wide you want your stripes to be.  I chose 3″ plum stripes spaced 8″ apart.  I used a ruler to make very light pencil marks where I wanted to place my stripes, then came back with the level to draw the stripes along the entire wall, again taking care to keep the pencil marks as light as possible.  Allow the paint to dry a full 24 hours before applying the tape.

   Next, the taping begins.  Be sure to tape on the side of your line not to be painted your second color.  If your stripes are different sizes, it will be easy to keep track, but if your stripes are the same size, you might want to write an “X” on the stripe to be painted.  Once the taping is done, run the edge of your ruler along the entire length of each strip of tape so the contrasting color will not bleed through.  This will give you a clean, straight line along your stripes.

  Apply at least 2 coats of paint for your stripes and let it dry for at least 4 hours.  When you remove the tape, do it slowly.  I went a little too quickly with one of my stripes, which is easy to do when you’re anxious to see the results.  Some of the plum paint did pull off, but if that happens you can touch it up with a very thin paint brush. 

   If you decide to tackle this technique, please let us know and include some pictures for the rest of us to enjoy!

  As a teenager, I was constantly rearranging my bedroom, changing what I hung on my walls.  I would choose a layout for my twin beds, desk and dresser, and live with it for several months.  Then I would tire of it and try something new.  My mother was a very patient woman.  Or maybe she tolerated it because every change would force me to clean the room as well — even teenagers don’t want huge dustbunnies on the open floor. What I learned from this was that it didn’t have to cost anything to change the look of a room. 

   Now as an adult, I don’t move furniture around very often… except to clean up those dust bunnies.  But I do try to decorate as inexpensively as possible.  I’m a firm believer in creating a warm, welcoming environment that is also functional without breaking the bank.  I will share my ideas with you as I have them, and let you know what has worked in the past… as well as what has been a disaster and recommend you never do (yes, I’ve had many of those moments as well!).

   Now, for a little about me.  I’m a stay-at-home mom of 9 kids (yes, gasp, nine) who are 12 and under, and I’m spoiled by a wonderful husband named John.  Yes, they are all ours, both mine and John’s, we all own shoes, and we own a TV (these seem to be the most common questions we get from people meeting us for the first time).  As I’ve already said, I love to decorate, my favorite TV shows are almost everything on HGTV, especially Mission Organization and Design on A Dime.  Every now and then I’ll turn on CNN, get depressed by the bad news and remember why I only put it on every now and then.

  And I enjoy exchanging ideas on how to organize and decorate a home.  Hence, the birth of the Design My Wall blog.  The thought of decorating a whole room (paint colors, flooring options, window treatments, furniture selections, and wall hangings/art) can be overwhelming.  So we’ll focus on what we put on our walls, because, that is where we can truly express our own individual style.

  I look forward to blogging with you!