Over the centuries, the way we decorate our homes has changed drastically. Whilst practicality is still the primary concern of most homeowners, more and more people are also keen to achieve a unique look for their home. They are no longer willing to simply follow the crowd, and live in a box that looks more or less the same as their neighbors. These days, people very much see their homes as an extension of themselves.
Increasingly they use it as a blank canvas that needs to be decorated in a way that reflects their interests, tastes, and the way they feel about life. Increasingly, people want to make a statement with their homes, and the immergence of new image technology is helping them to do exactly that.
Below we show you some ways people are taking advantage of advances in digital photography and image manipulation software to help them to achieve a unique look for their home.
Truly personalized artworks
Perhaps one of the most obvious examples is the artwork and photos people are choosing to display in their homes. Up until about a decade ago you had little choice, but to use small photos of family members, and mass produced art prints, or posters to decorate a home. Only the well off could afford to have portraits and landscapes painted for them to hang in their homes.
Today, you can take any type of image, manipulate it, or enlarge it and have it turned into a work of art that you can hang in your house. People everywhere are incorporating family photos into their home decor, and doing so in increasingly innovative ways. There are some fantastic examples of what we mean on this page.
As you can see they are doing far more than simply creating a collage of family photos. They are having objects like cubes covered in photos, and putting them in vases to create interesting, and highly personalized centrepieces and ornaments.
The impact of imaging on flooring
Perhaps one of the most surprising way photos are being used is to create flooring products. Relatively few people realise that laminate flooring is just a high-resolution photo, that has been bonded to engineered wood panels and covered in a protective, transparent coating.
The fact that any image can be used is why it is now possible to buy tile, stone and wood effect laminate flooring. It is also leading to firms using images of their products, logo and other branding elements to create truly unique floors for their business premises. Moreover, some people even choose to use 3D flooring to give their home a total unique atmosphere. This relatively new decorating trend is now starting to spread to the home too.
Decals and wall stickers
Some of the images that are now used for home decor are huge. As big as billboards, it is now easy to buy wall stickers that are big enough to cover an entire wall, or room. These are being used in increasingly creative ways, and as the price of inks and printing falls, so the quality of the images is improving.
