Hiding the Hideous Decorating Problem

Screening: Hiding the Ugly with the Attractive

Everyone has parts of their house that they don't like. Whether your unsightly part is a water heater, a structural element, or a large piece of athletic equipment, you can mask these aspects by screening them. There are numerous ways to screen different sections of your house, but we're just going to look at some of the most common ways.

Most people who want to screen something generally go out and buy a screen at a local retail store. Some screens even have picture frames in them so instead of looking at an eyesore, you are looking at the friends and family you love. Other screens have shelves, so if you are hiding something that you don't need to get to regularly, you can place vases and other decorations on the shelves. For smaller items, you might want to purchase a small CD rack to fill up with CD's so that you can't see what lies behind it.

Although screens are a great option, they can be fairly expensive. Watch for them on sale, or you can make your own. You can make your own screens with a variety of materials and components. One idea is to take two or three old doors, use hinges to put them together, and use that as a screen. If the doors have windows, then you could use those to display a collage of pictures or quotations. You can also purchase shutter doors, and once again using the hinges put them together, and hang them from the ceiling for a hanging screen; old windows could work the same way.

Fabric is also a popular choice for screening. Fabric allows you to use any shade, color, or design to match your room. For a sleek, modern look, you can take vertically striped fabric and use a curtain rod to hang it in front of the ugly item. You could also use wire for an industrial look. If you have a lot of antique furniture or quilts, you might want to use a piece of twine, hooked to the wall, and hold the fabric on it with antique clothespins. If you don't want to pay for a few large pieces of cloth, you could purchase remnant fabric from the store and sew it together in large blocks or designs. Fabric offers a variety of options, all using your creativity and ingenuity in their creation.

One last note on screening: When screening any item, make sure your screen matches the room. You don't want your guests wondering what you're hiding behind the random screen in the corner. If you use fabric, pull the design or colors together in fabrics in other parts of the room. Perhaps you can make your screen and your curtains using the same fabric so that the screen truly disappears into the room. Whatever ideas you have, figure out how they can work, and create your own special screen that will meet your needs and mesh with your room.
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Rhonda Morin, owner of http://myinteriordecorator.com and author of The Decorating Bible, enjoys writing and teaching others how to decorate their homes their way online.
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Copyright (R) Rhonda Morin, MyInteriorDecorator.com. Article may not be reprinted without permission and may not be reprinted without author byline including the active links.

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