(ARA) - If you're a home "decorista" in search of some fabulous new feathers to dress your nest with, consider wallcoverings. Today's options can add color and visual interest, as well as wonderful texture. In fact, because there are now so many fresh, new opportunities for using wallcoverings in your home, their creative impact can be as versatile as your imagination -- and inspiration.

Reach-Out-and-Touch Appeal

From slubby, silk-look options to embossed papers that mimic rich brocades, damasks and matelasses, today's wallcoverings are a feast of fabulous faux texture. Consider these appealing alternatives:

Grasscloth -- Bring the quiet calm of nature into your home with Zen-inspired treatments that echo the soothing greens and neutral colors found in the environment. Give your room vertical lift by installing the pattern railroad style, so the irregular parallel lines of the wallcovering run floor to ceiling. Or, hang the wallcovering in the traditional horizontal pattern fashion for subdued drama. Also, consider adding a tropical focal point to your sunroom or enclosed porch by hanging grasscloth on a solid wall, then boost the impact with potted ferns and palms.

Paintable textures -- Make an accent wall a fashion-forward statement with crocodile-, bamboo- or basketweave-textured paintable wallcoverings. And don't forget ceilings: use paintable wallcoverings to create a textured canopy over the entire room, or, cut a circular shape from the wallcovering and place it at the base of ceiling light fixtures for a lower-cost alternative to a decorative medallion. Don't have a headboard on your bed? Create a "fauxboard" with a floor-to-ceiling strip of paintable wallcovering that's cut to the width of your bed, and add paint to emphasize the texture. And here's a tip regarding paint sheen: the higher the gloss, the better the light in your room will emphasize the wallcovering's texture. For the most defined look, go for high gloss.

Faux stone -- Like the sandy appeal of granite, or the classic coolness of marble? Now you can get the exclusive look without paying an exceptional price for the real thing. Consider adding a simulated marble accent wall to your master bath, or a stone-like backdrop along your fireplace wall. You can also transform your child's room into a castle by cutting turrets and walls from faux granite.

Virtual fabrics -- Dressing walls with fabric is a luscious option, but the cost of fabric, coupled with the cost and the time it takes to prep walls and hang fabric can cause snags in most home décor budgets. Wallcovering, however, delivers the drama of moiré, silk, damask, brocade and more without the time, expense and effort of the real thing.

Easier Than Ever Before

Ready to explore wallcovering again? Sherwin-Williams gives you three ways to access its thousands of choices: order online, 24/7, at swdecorating.com; call (800) 4-SHERWIN to access the Wallpaper Customer Service Center; or visit any Sherwin-Williams store to browse through a wide selection of books.

Courtesy of ARA Content