Sometimes decorating your home can be an extremely frustrating business. You have in mind the exact look that you want but you cannot find what you need to achieve that look. You might have thought of a particular picture that would look great just there or a certain kind of wallpaper and try as you might, you simply can't track it down. You have looked everywhere and you have just about given up hope of finding what you want, so now you are starting to get mad because the whole idea of decorating your own home is to end up with the exact thing that you wanted in the first place and now you think you will have to settle for something else.
Well, don't give up hope just yet. There are usually alternatives and this situation is no different. If the picture or image you are after can be stylized at all, you can probably make a stencil to represent it and then draw, paint or spray paint the image directly onto the surface where you want it. Stencils are not limited to pictures of teddy bears and ducklings for the walls of a baby's nursery. You can create a stencil for almost any image and then transfer it onto the surface yourself.
Stencils can be very small, like leaves or stylized marks such as spirals that you can use to decorate your walls or ceilings in groups or just here and there, as you see fit. They can also be huge - if you are making the stencil then you are in control. I would only suggest that, while for small designs paper is fine as the material out of which to cut the stencil, if you are going to go for a large design you would be better off using a stiff plastic or wood. You can create a stencil several feet across if you feel the need to. Just find the picture and the stencil material and get started. You can even find a small design and enlarge it without losing the proportions by drawing a grid over the original and then drawing a proportionate but obviously much larger grid over the stencil material. Then copy each square of the original design onto the corresponding square on the stencil material and you will have the design marked out perfectly.
Area rugs can also be used to continue the stenciled theme, although if you made the stencil yourself you might have a tough time finding an appropriate rug. In order to overcome this problem try looking for rugs whose shape echoes that of the stencil - for example, a curving rug to echo a curving stencil shape or a geometric rug to echo the angles on your walls. Alternatively, you could go a different route and use the rug to echo the colors used in the stencil while providing a contrasting shape.
When it comes to decorating your home you should not be limited by other people's ideas. It is your home - it should show off your ideas and be a way of showcasing your own inspirations.
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