Wall Words gives new meaning to space

"Home is the most popular, and will be the most enduring of all earthly establishments." Channing Pollock (1880 - 1946) -- American playwright, critic and writer.

Q: I'm looking for something different for my walls. Two rooms in particular need attention and I really don't want to wallpaper them.They have had many different looks with paint. Basically, I'm tired of the regular looks. Do you have any suggestions?

A: Walls are a huge part of the décor, as they visually take up as much space as any surface in our homes. When you're not happy with the way yours look, it can make you cranky.

I have a couple of new products to share with you that will make your walls shine, and you smile.

Frustrated because she didn't have the time to create original art on her walls, Carrol Caldwell, owner and founder of Wall Words (www.wallwords.com), knew there had to be a better way. She had picked out a photo with an accompanying poem she wanted to paint in her bathroom. After several months, she found that she didn't have time to complete her project.

"I decided there had to be a better way," Caldwell said. "So, I laid the saying out on the computer and had vinyl letters made by a display company. It took me 20 minutes to install. People think it's been hand-painted, but the truth is it was quick and easy to apply."

The works are printed on a high-quality vinyl and can be easily attached to your inside wall. According to the company's Web site, it is now producing letters on fabric, and it has just introduced another new product that uses your photos.

You can send a photograph of your children, pets, or whatever you would like and Wall Words will create a product image that you can simply slap on your walls.

The second product is from a company called 3-Form Material Solutions (www.3-form.com).

It produces panels that can be used in myriad ways to enhance your walls.

3-Form Architectural is a team of architects and engineers focused on creating an environment that fosters innovation and collaboration. The heart of the division is problem-solving.

The company's Web site continues, "as something visually delightful, design abounds in our products, splashing panels with color, molding voluptuous forms, and sneaking unexpected images and artifacts into materials for daily use."

The company offers standard designs, but you can create your own. There is an interactive Web page on the site called "you design" that allows you to select the texture, color and interlayer for your architectural application to see what it would look like right on the screen.

3-Form also offers many different hardware applications to make your panels easy and versatile to use. Panels can be mounted to the wall directly or inserted in a frame like a room divider.

So, you see, you really don't have to stick to standard wall treatments. These are two of the most innovative treatments I have seen that you can do yourself and personalize.

There are many others that rely on craftspeople to produce, which are beautiful and a little more expensive than these.

I hope this helps with your wall dilemma. At least you have a few more options to consider, and personalized walls are just a few easy steps away.

Carolyn Muse Grant is the editor of Southern Nevada Home & Garden magazine. Her Inside Spaces column appears weekly in the Home & Garden section of the Review-Journal. Check out other decorating tips in Southern Nevada Home & Garden magazine, which is published the first Saturday of each month. Send questions to cgrant@reviewjournal.com.