apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time


How To: "Frame" Wall Decor
Adriane's February Jumpstart Project 2009

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Title: Charming A Bedroom
Name: Adriane
Time: 1 day
Cost: $25

Adriane used contact paper to give her bedroom walls some architectural detail-type panache. She created frames and a headboard like pattern which includes a monogram of her and her husband's initials. Click above for the pics and jump below for the how-to. Give Adriane a THUMBS UP if you find this project helpful....

 
 

TOOLS & SUPPLIES:
White Con-Tact brand covering
ruler
small sharp knife
small square mirror for the monogram
photo paper for the monogram
double-sided adhesive tape for the mirror

STEPS:
I recently moved in to a new apartment. My bedroom was dull. The furniture I got by inheritance and I love it, but it was getting all too heavy. I decided to repaint the room with a very light blue, kind of gray, but that didn´t change the room much. I then decided to make very narrow frames in white Con-Tact, that I cut with a knife, with a thickness of 1.0 cm. I have a "good eye", so I only used a simple ruler to mark the position of each frame on the walls. The white stripes naturally glow with daylight and look very delicate. Behind the bed I printed a monogram with my husband´s letter and mine. An "A" from Adriane and an "F" from Flavio. I placed the monogram over a square mirror (20.0 cm x 20.0 cm), and placed the mirror in the middle of the "head of the bed". I loved the result!!


RESOURCES:
The materials I used are very simple, cheap and easy to find.

Give Adriane a THUMBS UP if you find this project helpful....

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Comments (20)

very clever and made a nice improvement.

posted by LoriSF on February 13th 2009 at 7:47pm
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The result is nice, I'm just not too fond of the headboard, probably because of its shape or because of the "F" monogram on it. I think with this kind of "trompe l'oeil" décor (since the point is to evoke mouldings or woodwork) things should always stay very simple, like the basic white frames.

posted by Daniel Poitiers on February 13th 2009 at 8:05pm
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Wow. Clever!

posted by Lisa (Montreal) on February 13th 2009 at 10:47pm
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Love the walls, but the headboard makes it cutesy instead of chic.

posted by farmhousemoderne on February 13th 2009 at 11:19pm
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much improved on the wall color. excellent job in mixing grey modern of the walls with your inherited furniture, this way it works together!

posted by stylist jasmine on February 13th 2009 at 11:39pm
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Did you choose contact paper because it would leave sharper lines than simply taping the design before painting?

posted by Ina on February 14th 2009 at 2:06am
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BTW I think this is absolutely gorgeous and I am thinking it may be a nice solution to my boring walls! I love the shade of blue.

posted by Ina on February 14th 2009 at 2:06am
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I'm gonna chime in agreement with the "everything but the headboard." it would be awesome with some wood there, if only to tie into the gold stuff on the wall (and chair).

posted by manys on February 14th 2009 at 3:13am
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I'm not in love with the monogram, but the over all transformation is stunning! Congratulations! This is like a grown-up version of that duct tape "wrought iron" headboard that was here recently (from a year or so ago).

posted by fabframes on February 14th 2009 at 1:20pm
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Hi!!

Thanks for all the comments!

After reading you, I decided to take the monogram off, and it really looked better!

Thanks for the help!

posted by Adriane on February 14th 2009 at 2:28pm
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Nicely done, I think if you wanted to do a monogram in a soft slate blue that was more subtle it would work- maybe change the font or put in an unexpected place in the room.

posted by profumodibergamo on February 14th 2009 at 8:40pm
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Wow, it looks so PERFECT! I am impressed, thanks for the inspiration!

posted by SweetChicEventsChicago on February 16th 2009 at 10:44am
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It looks good. Walls of traditional houses often were made to have decorative molding frames -- mine were you can see the marks where they used to be. I have often fantasized about putting them back. This looks like a good way to do it.

posted by monarda on February 16th 2009 at 1:05pm
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What a difference it made in your room! Very clever and inexpensive (2 big pluses).

posted by Mudhouse on February 16th 2009 at 2:43pm
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I think it's brilliant, with or without the headboard. With the headboard, it really reminds me of the set of Mad Men. Very well done! I love that you can change it at will, too--did you ever consider using white electrical tape (avoiding the cutting)? My dad was an electrician--we used the various colors for so many things around the house.

posted by La Rêveuse on February 16th 2009 at 8:23pm
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I love this project. One question: I live in an apartment with extreme temperatures: deadly hot in winter and constant a/c in the summer. I would be afraid that the contact paper would not stay up. Anyone have a tip for that?

posted by BayRidger on February 17th 2009 at 11:47am
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this is great, it's such a big impact for so little money.

posted by Linda @ thebargainlife.com on February 18th 2009 at 6:43pm
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i LOVE this project, too. In fact, over the past couple days I have been slowly working on doing the same with white electrical tape on my renter-white walls. The effect is subtle but the daylight and lamps at night make them the satin-finish tape shine differently throughout the day.

posted by miss on February 24th 2009 at 11:56pm
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Great idea! Does the contact paper come off easily?

posted by 123amy on March 3rd 2009 at 7:42am
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Nice project. Would love to know what color gray paint you used. Thanks.

posted by bettyt on March 17th 2009 at 4:19pm
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