Home Improvement

By Hunter Pyle

One of the newest trends might surprise people until they see just how great they look. Wall murals are back in, as far as home dcor goes. The new style of wall murals isnt like you might remember from decades ago. The new trend is much more detailed and crisp looking. Walls covered in this returning style are full of depth and detail and can make a room look like one wall is a picture window overlooking something dazzling like the Las Vegas Strip or a flower filled meadow with a realistic looking running brook. You could do your sons room with an outer space mural or your daughters room could look like a majestic sky. Your den could look stylish and smart with a mural of a library or map of the world. There are gorgeous styles with skylines and beaches, underwater aquatic scenes and color combinations that are modern and chic looking.

This isnt something just designed for a playroom or a familys basement recreation room. The wall murals out today are nice enough for your great room or master bedroom. Wallpaper styles left the design books for a while in favor of paint but many new styles and returning old favorites are emerging with a new twist.

Are wall murals difficult to install?

One of the benefits of wallpaper over paint is how easy it can be installed. Not only can you transform a room quickly without worrying about covering your furniture to protect it from paint splatters but wallpaper helps to cover flaws too. Theres virtually almost no prep work required whatsoever and another benefit of wall murals is that theres not excessive matching required when piecing together a complex pattern.

Most of todays wall murals come in kit with up to eight pieces and include special wallpaper adhesive. Once youve prepared your paste (which usually comes in dry mix form to be mixed with water just prior to use) and put it on your wall, you can either position the group of panels top to bottom or one row at a time. You have a little bit of play before the adhesive dries to match it up just right and then you smooth out the wall with a wallpaper smoother.

Voila, you have just transformed your room in a few easy steps.

Frequently Asked Questions About Wall Mural Installations:

Can I put a paper mural on my stucco or textured walls? The answer is that it wont look right if you install it as-is. You need to either sand the wall until its smooth, cover the wall to create a smooth surface or choose to put up your mural on a different wall.

Are murals easy to remove when I want to redecorate? Yes, although the paper is slightly different than typical wallpaper, wall murals are quite easily removable.

Can I wash the wall that my wall mural is installed on? Yes. Wall murals are durable. While you can not scrub your wall with harsh chemicals, you can sponge off lightly to remove fingerprints and light dirt

About the Author: This article was written to talk about a new trend in Home Decor. With this said, I would highly recommend visiting

Taylor Gifts

to find out more about Home Decor items that can improve the look and feel of your home.

Source:

isnare.com

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isnare.com/?aid=122108&ca=Home+Management

Glass Block Walk In Showers – More Style and Less Maintenance

by

Mike Foti

You want to spend more time enjoying your home and bathrooms than cleaning them. If youd like to stop bending down to clean those messy shower rails and film off the shower doors then a glass block walk in shower might be the right solution. Glass blocks are easy to clean, low-maintenance, highly durable and come in a wide variety of styles. In addition a glass block shower can be installed on a solid surface tile, marble or granite base or a pre-formed acrylic base so they can be designed to fit in any home or commercial application.

Benefits of glass block showers and walls include:

Looks provides a cool, clean contemporary look. Many designers are now combining the contemporary look of the glass block in traditional interior designed bathrooms creating a more eclectic design approach.

Easy To Clean – Several glass block patterns are designed to minimize spotting and residue in a shower applications. Consider patterns like Icescapes and Decora from Pittsburgh Corning or Wave from Mulia. Glass block clean easily with just soap and water.

Durable – Glass Block is sturdy and mortared together unlike some flimsy shower wall systems that are only caulked to the walls.

Light Transmitting – Opening up a shower with glass block will often create a brighter space on the interior of the shower making it safer and more open.

Privacy – Unlike clear shower wall systems glass block can obscure views creating increased privacy.

Design Flexibility and Color Glass Block options Computer aided design programs are available to design glass block walls into spaces. In addition there are now colored glass blocks, glass block with designer patterns, glass block with beveled edges the options have expanded vastly over the last 5 years.

Glass Block Walk in Showers on a Tile, Marble, Granite or Solid Surface Base

Glass blocks can be installed onto a solid surface tile, marble, corion, or granite base to match virtually any bathroom dimension. With the use of specialized layout cards the glass block base can be designed to fit the shape youd like. The base and tile walls are then built by a tile or general contractor. Once this is completed the glass blocks walls can be installed on top of your base. Most of the bases have a 4 to 5 inch curb although these showers can be designed without a curb so those with special needs can roll into the shower as well. The glass block walls are either installed on the job site (one by one) or in some cases can be prefabricated with a specialized system called Vinyl Stack which can save labor costs in the field and often improves the finished quality of the installation.

Preformed Glass Block Walk In Shower Systems

One preformed glass block walk in shower system measures 72 x 51 and is easy for you and your builder/remodeling/glass block installation contractor to design with because it comes in 7 different colors and pre-formed acrylic base. This system has grown over 40% the last 5 years according to Pittsburgh Corning, the manufacturer of the product. Because you walk into this shower system through a curved wall you can eliminate cleaning the bottom of a shower door ever again. The acrylic material is durable and easy to clean as well.

Other popular uses of glass blocks include windows above soaking or Jacuzzi tubs in master bathrooms, windows in garages and walk-in closets to let in light while maintaining privacy, basement windows, and above tub surrounds in childrens bathrooms. Glass block is used to increase privacy, improve security, create a modern look, and increase light transmission from room to room.

Mike Foti President, Columbus Glass Block 614-252-5888 mfotigb@aol.com http://www.columbusglassblock.com/shower-wall.aspx (glass block shower and wall)http://www.columbusglassblock.com/products-designer-and-color.aspx (colored glass blocks)

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Glass Block Walk In Showers – More Style and Less Maintenance }