Looking for a room with a view when there is none?! Cant afford to move, or renovate?! Check out the latest in truly affordable decorating trends - wall mural graphics. These wall size scenics can truly transform a space, quickly and easily. Whether you want to create the illusion of a garden vista, and soothing seascape, or even an island paradise, your options are wide open with the wide range of views available. This is also a great way to take a mini-vacation without ever leaving your house. In less than the time it takes to get there, you can add the illusion of a weekend getaway to a forested retreat, a mountain stream, or perhaps you prefer the bright lights of the big city.

If a photo realistic portrayal isnt your preference, try a wall devoted to an original artists rendering. Far more cost effective than filling a wall with original art! This allows a respite from the rigors of daily life, and promotes the sense of home as a haven. Dont forget kids rooms also need a change with back to school already in progress. Growing so fast, their preferences change too. What easier way than murals! Sports and space are favorites for boys, while girls often enjoy the garden scenes

With such simple installation and cost benefits, the best part about murals of this style is that they can be changed even seasonally! You may enjoy a warm tropical view through the winter months, but want a cooler, crisper outlook of a peaceful mountain lake in the summer months. Environmental Graphics has been designing these home enhancing vistas for 30 years, and mastered a no-muss, no-fuss installation that even the most craft challenged can take on with success. Widely available at Home Depot, Lowes, and Bed Bath Beyond, now youve no excuses for not having the ideal view or stay at home vacation! For more information check out www.environmentalgraphics.com.

It is also easy to change other accent elements in your room to make this transition complete. Keep your larger pieces of furniture in more solid or tone-on-tone fabrics, and maximize your flexibility with pillows, throws and even area rugs. Pillows can be warm and cozy chenille, elegant damask, stylish satin, or handsome wool. Throws also are available in a wide array, including tapestry-backed velvet, long fringed chenille, or soft, fuzzy acrylic. Area rugs can be found for $250 and less for a 6x9, the ideal size for accent, even over wall to wall carpet. These are great ways to make a quick change, without investing too much, and sources such as Pier 1 Imports, Bed Bath Beyond, and Marshalls always have the latest options.

Be sure to add greenery to each room too. This gives the feeling of life in a room. Silks are fine, and with proper cleaning can last for years. Keep it simple, minimize your florals to no more than one per room, but greenery can be more generous. Bookcases benefit from one every third shelf or so, tops of armoires are good candidates for dressing, by a hearth or fireplace, especially in the warmer months when not in use, and even cocktail tables, consoles, and such can sport a medium sized accent mixed greenery. Make it easy and buy these ready made. Containers range from bright brass, silvery aluminum, sparkling glass, to more casual ceramic or terracotta. Suit your mood! Places to buy include Michaels, Home Expo, Garden Ridge, and the like.

Keeping your home up to date will lift your spirits and improve your energies, not to mention a perfect excuse for a party. Greet the Fall Season with gusto!

2005 Melissa Galt

Melissa Galt

Defining Melissa Galt is like capturing wind in a glass box. She is fascinating like her famous mother, the late Academy Award winning actress Anne Baxter, innovative like her great grandfather, architect Frank Lloyd Wright, and has an innate sense of style like her well known godmother, Hollywood costumer, Edith Head. But she has made a name for herself as owner of Linea Interior Design, without borrowing on the glory of her gene pool.

Recently renaming her company, Melissa Galt, Inc. Melissa works with lifestyle design clients throughout the Southeast. Focusing on the tastes and desires of each client, she creates interiors that are a seamless mix of old and new, crafted to be a comfortable, collected environment that works with the client?s life style.

Originally from the West Coast, Melissa received a Bachelor of Science degree in hotel administration from Cornell, and began her career in the hospitality industry. She quickly rose in the industry moving from one large hotel to another, ending up at Callaway Gardens in Columbus. Frustrated with the lack of creativity, she decided to pursue a design degree at Southern Institute in Birmingham before moving to Atlanta in 1992 to launch her design career.

Having taught adults for over a decade at Evening at Emory, she is now addressing audiences nationally on how to use design as the catalyst for ?creating the life you?ve always dreamed of?.