Eddings Interior Contractors | home
One of Our Specialties
”We specialize in complete wallboard systems”
Dressing Up Drywall
There's more of it inside your house than any other material, yet it's often left plain and unexciting. I'm talking about drywall. Drywall is thought of as stiff and unyielding, only capable of producing square, boxy rooms. However, there is a lot more you can do to dress up drywall other than just painting and wallpapering it. The possibilities range from tightly curved walls to subtly rounded corners, to a splattered surface texture.
Bending the walls is the most dramatic way to change the boxy feeling of most spaces. As a result, the rooms are more interesting. Curved drywall isn't cheap, once you include the frame, drywall and finish. It's roughly a 20 percent increase, with the biggest chunk of that increase being labor. Today's improved ¼ -in.-thick drywall can be bent to an 11-in. radius.
Rounding corners is another way to give a soft, sculpted appearance to drywall. $300 to $500 is a good ballpark budget for having simple rounded corners throughout an average-size new house. Considering the cost to effect ratio, well placed rounded corners, combined with a textured finish, can make drywall look like thick, stuccoed adobe.
Texture is one of the most important drywall effects. And it's the easiest effect to produce on an existing drywall surface. In a way the most difficult texture is no texture at all. A smooth-wall finish requires a well skilled drywall finisher and a meticulous paint job, while textured finishes are more forgiving to paint. All drywall manufacturers offer plaster formulations that go right over drywall in one or two coats. Spraying is a common professional technique for creation light textures. Anything goes when it comes to creating textures.
A growing number of people are transforming their boxy rooms into an interesting place full of richness. Giving home an inviting warmth and softness that feels more like sanctuary.
by Walt Jackson