Color washing, sponge painting, rag rolling: These are just three of the many available paint application techniques that can give a home’s interior walls stunning color, tone, and texture. Light, bright, animated, subdued, aged—whatever mood you want for a room, you can use paint and decorative techniques to help create it. These effects can be subtle, with translucent color layered over a similar shade of opaque paint, or bold and brassy, thanks to new metallic paints.

And fabulous walls don’t have to require expensive materials or application by custom artists. All it takes is a little expert guidance to help you with the step-by-step techniques, which is what you’ll find in this section of HomeTips.