Wall

Every parent knows just how much kids love drawing on the walls—and they probably have their own horror story of checking up on play time to find a marker mess to prove it. With a chalkboard wall, your kids can draw away without the messy cleanup. Here are two different ways to create a chalkboard wall.

You can transform flat walls in a room with a subtle texture and create the look of plaster without being rough using a specialty paint. The drywall becomes a warm and welcoming surface with paint applied like a faux finish; it’s often used by new home builders as a way to distinguish the surface of walls without adding a wallcovering to them.

Gorgeous wallpapers are all over Instagram, but when most of us click “like” on those perfect pics, we believe they’re so beautiful that they’re far out of reach. You wouldn’t be alone if you thought a wallpaper project was too messy or expensive to DIY. And aligning those patterns or creating a straight line? Sounds like a chevron-print pipe dream.

For an almost instant decorative touch to a room that you won’t live with forever, an adhesive wall art kit is an easy way to kickstart your DIY skills. The peel-and-stick artwork stickers are simple to apply and easy to remove with no danger of damaging the walls. Think dorm room, nursery, anywhere a permanent wallpaper won’t work.

As home jobs go, painting is one of the better ones to approach as a DIY job, but take care with the planning and execution. Here are some tips.

Q: Oh, Tim, do I have a conundrum for you! A major remodel is about to happen at my home, and already we’ve got a problem. A new master bathroom is being created in a second-floor room, but I can’t figure out how to get the drainpipe down to where it will connect to the rest of the plumbing drain pipes. How have you done this in the past on your jobs?

Q: Tim, I’m flummoxed. I’m about to build a large detached garage. The plans call for a 10-inch-thick by 20-inch-wide poured concrete footing with two 1/2-inch steel bars that run continuously in the concrete. One bidding contractor says this steel is a waste of time and money, while another suggests I upgrade to 5/8-inch steel reinforcing rods. Who’s right? What would you do? What does the steel do? How would you install it if this was your job? I don’t want to make a bad decision here. —Sandra P., Ann Arbor, Mich.

We first noticed rail lighting in trendy restaurants, and today they’re popular in homes with fixtures mounted on rails across a ceiling or along a wall. They offer a lot of versatility to create a dramatic design element or a practical solution used as general overhead lighting in a room or to showcase a particular wall or feature.

It looks so cool but keeps you so warm.

We found your next winter weekend project.

There’s something comforting about opening a closet door and inhaling the pleasant aroma of cedar consuming the air. That’s reason enough to install a cedar lining on the walls, not to mention its ability to repel insects from damaging clothes stored inside. The cedar wall cladding protects against moths because the oil in the material deters insects, making it an upgrade that provides a safer storage area than one with ordinary wallboard.

Many, many things have been written about how to create the perfect gallery wall. But we’re going to let you in on a little secret: There’s no such thing as the perfect gallery wall. Sure, there are general guidelines you can follow to help with the process, but don’t get too strung up on the rules. Consider these gentle suggestions instead. At the end of the day, you should love what’s on your walls, but these guidelines can help you build a gallery wall that’s beautiful, cohesive and works well with your space. Here are all of the tools, tips and advice you’ll need to create your dream gallery wall.

Rather than stimulating activities or entertainment, you can use that room to create a relaxing, peaceful environment to decompress and find serenity.

Q: The house I grew up in had a covered front porch. A few of the houses I owned after getting married also had this wonderful accessory. It seems that large front porches are being kicked to the curb by architects and builders. How do you feel about them, and why do you feel we don’t see more of them on new homes? If you were building a new house, what do you feel would be the perfect front porch? —Fiona P., Nashville, Tenn.

Children have incredible imaginations. The world is their canvas. But sometimes that also means the wall is their canvas. Whether new crayon drawings seem to appear every week or your child uses the walls as a napkin for sticky hands, these solutions will help parents keep their walls clean.