| Decorating With Words |
From "Ask DIY"
episode ADI-201 |
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Q: I have a favorite quote I'd like to use as a border on my wall. How do I go about doing this decorating project? A: (Nancy Golden, Ask DIY Decorating & Design Expert) When you incorporate a quote into your decor, it tells a lot about you and personalizes the space. It's fairly easy; in fact, the hardest part is probably choosing the type of lettering or the font that you want to use. Here's how to proceed: Materials: Computer type printout or letters from a style book
Level
Tracing paper
Pencil
Paint marker or paint and paintbrush
- Find books at the public library that include different typefaces, or print out some of the different fonts available on your computer (figure A).
- Determine how big you want the quote to be on the wall you've selected.
- Take the printout of the quote to a copy store and have it enlarged to fit the scale of your wall or the space on the wall where you want it to go.
- Using a level to guide you, draw a straight line with a pencil where you want the quote to go (figure B). You can place the quote anywhere on the wall -- up at the top near the ceiling, at chair-rail height, or smack-dab in the middle of the wall. The quote essentially takes the place of a picture.
- Place a piece of transfer paper (which you can find at a craft or art-supply store) along the line you've drawn, and put the photocopied word on top of the transfer paper. Tape it to the wall with painter's tape. Make sure you're working with transfer paper, which has a carbon below it, not tracing paper. Then trace the letters with a pencil, pressing firmly so the pencil point will leave an outline on the wall. This is a time-consuming process, and for best results you shouldn't hurry through it.
- Once the words are traced, go back in with a paintbrush or paint pens to first outline and then fill in the words. If you like, use metallic pens to highlight the painted words. Or you can choose to make different words different colors for emphasis.
More questions for Nancy: Q: I want to paint a tree on my daughter's bedroom wall. Do you have any instructions on doing this process? A: Try to freehand the project. You can use a pencil and erase as many times as you have to. Go for it! Q: I'm trying to paint bold stripes on my son's bedroom wall. The walls have an orange-peel texture, and after I remove the tape, the stripes have a jagged edge. Is there some way to get a crisp edge? A: Not really. But I wouldn't even want a crisp edge. When you have a textured wall, it's supposed to look messy. It's should look hand-done -- or otherwise you could buy wallpaper. Q: I want to paint my carpet. What kind of paint should I use? A: Don't paint your carpet unless you want to walk on nails. Throw down some area rugs, and you can maybe have the carpet dyed if it's going from a light color to dark. Don't paint it! Web site resources for Decorating with Words: Making a Lamp Out of Books from DIYNET.Com Decorating with Books from HGTV.Com Words to Live By from Find Articles. Com Book: Creative Display Ideas for Your Home
By Betterway Books
ISBN: 1558704698
Betterway Books (1997)
F and W Publications
1507 Dana Ave.
Cincinnati, OH 45207
Phone: 513-531-2690
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