Personalizing your living space
By Cazzy Lewchuk, Staff Writer
Everyone has their own personal space. For some it might only be a small bedroom or dorm. For others it’s an apartment or house. Even those living with a roommate or significant other generally have areas they have domain over.
Beautifying and personalizing an area to make it feel more “yours” can be a challenge. This is especially the case in smaller living spaces, when the walls may be very bland or even feel bleak. Decorating the walls in some way can do wonders for the look of an area, and make it feel a lot more like your own in the process. There are many ways to make a wall more than just a big piece of insulated plaster.
Posters: The most popular form of wall decoration, posters, are sold almost anywhere and can be of almost anything. Whether you want movies, bands, people, sports, or animals, posters are a cheap and large way to add some life into the room. They’re easily put up and moved around. In fact, the easiest way to make a room look different is to switch all the posters around. Frame your posters for a more upscale look.
Artwork: Like posters, visual art can depict almost anything. However, most art that is put up is more subtle and often relaxing compared to a poster depiction. Many believe art is too expensive or difficult to find, but this couldn’t be further from the truth. Cheap prints can be found at many mall stores, at local cafés or galleries, and even sold directly on the street in some parts of Vancouver. There’s a wide range of talent and style to be found, and even just one or two pieces of art can make a space seem more vibrant.
Photos: Not just for your high school locker anymore! Prints of your memories of vacations, friends, family, or good times and events can create an extremely personalized environment. There are almost as many ways to organize them as there are types. They can be spread out, clustered together, individually framed, or placed in one multi-photo frame available at any department or furniture store. Digital photos are very easily printed at most retailers with an electronics department.
Mementos: Just as personal as photographs, putting mementos on the wall creates a fun miscellaneous blend of items important to you. They can be souvenir T-shirts or jerseys, concert tickets, clippings, hats, or anything else that can be affixed to your wall.
Wallpaper: When all else fails, a room can be wallpapered without too much difficulty using the self-adhesive kind. Getting a funky new colour does absolute wonders for changing the mood of a space. Painting a room can have the same effect—but it may be a bit more labour-intensive.
Sprucing up your wall has benefits for both your space and mood! Look out for posters sales and deals at framing stores in order to cheaply make your room your own.
