The Ultimate Wallcovering–and Fiasco Fixer

I’ve made a new discovery at Home Depot. Let me say, first, that I’m the queen of aesthetic temporary fixes. My friend, Michelle, is still laughing at my circa 1989 hole in the drywall repair tactic. I bought a woven area rug and tacked it to the wall until it was fixed some time later.

I don’t know if any of you ladies have noticed but there’s real time and there’s husband time. Husband time often moves slightly (as in ever so) more slowly than real time–especially when it comes to household repairs and adjustments.

This weekend I’ve been painting. Every time I do it, I swear it’s the last time. The last time (which turned out not to be the last time) I painted there was a terrible reaction between the old and new paints in my dining room. The red (which lasted about 5 minutes) overhead piece between the dining room and the kitchen bled through the safer taupe color I had finally settled on. It bubbled and streaked and looked hideous–for the past three years. Believe it or not, when we sanded it this time around, the red was still sticky!! Some reaction.

Since the wall material there is wood and the sanding process did not go…well…smoothly, we were in need of a quick fix. It’s either that or rip out all the wood there and start over. I’m no math whiz but I’m thinking if it took three years to get to the sanding of the Deliverance wall, I’ll be collecting whatever they replace social security with by the time this woodwork is replaced. Soooo…

I found myself looking for a clever solution. Let me say that my “clever solutions” are not usually feasible solutions. “It can’t be done” is a sort of mantra around here. This time, though, I hit pay dirt. Think old fashioned tin ceilings. By now you’ve seen the faux tin (otherwise known as plastic) on HGTV and in restaurants and newly built or remodeled houses. It’s everywhere and it looks beautiful. It comes in all kinds of colors and looks like the real thing.

The stuff I found is that only…I can’t believe it…it’s for WALLS. This never happens to me. The picture shows it as a backsplash in a kitchen but a wall’s a wall. The next step was measuring. It comes in squares and I just knew it was going to be just shy or too big and all kinds of cutting would be involved. But it was perfect! Each square is 18 X 24 and the depth of this space is 19″. Six of these squares and a moulding and voila. It’s going to look totally bistro-ish and it’ll be the focal point I was trying to achieve with the godawful red that started this whole thing. It’ll look like it was done on purpose and not just to avoid more work and expense.

If you need a practical, durable, really pretty backsplash or accent on a wall anywhere, you have to check this stuff out. They’re called ACP Decorative Wall Panels. Check any Home Depot store, go online or call 800-434-3750. They also have the ceilings in the same “old tin” style. All you have to do is fit them together and glue (liquid nail) them to the wall.

I admit the rug, even set at a flashy diagonal angle, may not have looked as chiq as I intended but I was young and HGTV wasn’t around yet. I just needed practice. This time I nailed it. I can’t wait ’til Michelle sees it. I’ve been trying to tell her I’m the Dalhai Lama of decorating. Maybe she’ll finally believe me.