Beyond Paint: Family Friendly Decor Ideas

Walls are an excellent way to show personal taste and make every room unique. Many homeowners are looking for personalized ideas for decorating their walls with items other than standard family photos. Fortunately, there are countless elements of family living they can put to use depending on their own taste. Here are a few to help get homeowners started on this exciting project.

Family Sports Team Memorabilia

These types of decorations tend to work best in casual rooms, such as a “man cave” or a TV room. Popular sports decor generally focuses around sports team jerseys from favorite players or teams.

To bring this concept closer to home, consider creating your family’s own “wall of fame” with posters, trophies, framed jerseys, and framed event tickets. Old items like a well-loved hockey stick, the pair of skates worn for a first medal performance, or the bat used for a first Little League homer all capture the excitement of the event and showcase the family pride. Look to vendors like Kendra’s Kuties or Sportyracks on Etsy for unique display options like the one pictured below.

Source: Custom Sports Rack – Kendra’s Kuties on Etsy

Personalized Pictures
Those who have visited nearly any major city have seen artists who draw sketches and caricatures of individuals or couples. Finding an artist who can do a job that pleases all the people in the picture can be a little bit of a challenge, but is certainly possible.

These types of personal sketches and drawings can be framed and used as additions to bedrooms, bathrooms, and family rooms.  Consider having one artist capture each member of your family and hanging them in a collage, or have different artists each draw the same person or group to show the variety of styles.

Source:  Caricature: Lewis Cartoons   Portrait: One Man’s Blog

Art which Uniquely Reflects Interests
Other families may also enjoy creating their own art. For example, some may enjoy designing items such as peace signs from flattened recycled cans, paintings with rural scenes, molding metal into unique shapes, and more. There are countless options in this category.

Those who are interested in creating art should develop ideas by considering first their interests, and secondly thinking what would fit with the overall theme of their home. Consider a wooden home in a rural, more forested area. A simple grass pattern against a plain background can add a unique look. An urban home with a modern look may look fantastic with uniquely twisted metal rods into unique designs or shapes.

Source: Living Wall Planter on Fortikur

Source: ModaIndustria Metal Art on Etsy

Families with children have a built in source of creative talent–give a roll of white paper and some paint to your kids and let the little artists go to town!

Source: Harmony Interiors Blog

Family Headlines
Many people also enjoy collecting old newspapers, but nothing captures the essence of an historic family event more than preserving it forever. Framing an article describing a well known event, or even the front page of a paper from a special day (such as the birthday of a family member) can also make an excellent decor addition in a study, TV room, or along a hallway to tell your family’s story.

Source: CraftedLove

Source: Color in Colorado Blog

Decorating a home does not have to be boring or a chore. By incorporating personality and unique ideas, it can be a fun activity for everyone in the household. The ideas above should help any interested homeowner get started in making their home as unique as they are.

What other unique wall ideas do you have in your home?