1. Repaint.
Of course, this only works if your otherwise beautiful wall has been painted to resemble the murky depths of a stagnant pond, or a mural of the French Riviera that went horribly wrong. Repainting assumes that, underneath a few ugly color choices, your wall is not inherently ugly. If this is the case, get a good primer and a pleasing shade of whatever color makes you happy, and go at that ugly wall. You can also paint over dated paneling, those fake ceramic tile boards, and wood, as long as you use a good quality primer made for the purpose. Some primers even claim to adhere well to ceramic tile itself.

2. Hide it behind fabric.
Similar to sweeping your pile of dirty clothes under the bed, you can stick that ugly wall behind something pleasant to look at, and no one will be the wiser. Tapestries are a good choice; no longer are they just for castles or hippies, but come in a wide variety of styles and colors. Quilts are another good way to cover up an ugly wall. Draperies, hung from ceiling to floor, can be used to cover up the wall. Theoretically, you could hang fabric over all the walls in a room; as long as your fabric was not too dark, the effect would be pleasing. Practically, though, this might make finding light switches and outlets difficult.

3. Repaper.
Depending on the condition of your wall, fresh wallpaper might be able to save it. If your wall is not smooth and flat, most wallpaper will be difficult to properly install, but there is a very heavy type of paintable wallpaper that is designed to cover up cracks and minor imperfections. This paper is available in simple textures, as well as more intricate patterns that can help to hide particularly uneven walls. After you apply it, you can paint it the same color as the rest of the room, which will help your ugly wall to blend in seamlessly with its surroundings. Just make sure to remove all loose or peeling material from the wall before applying, or your new wallpaper will also start to peel.

4. Hide it behind enormous furniture.
While a gigantic dresser might be difficult to obtain, there is plenty of floor to ceiling shelving available. Instead of your ugly wall, you could be surrounded by floor to ceiling books, collectible plates, antique dolls, or your great grandfather’s prized collection of seven hundred porcelain elephants.

5. Posters.
We are not talking about your old college dorm, “101 Ways to Cure a Hangover” posters stuck in the wall with four mismatched thumbtacks. A group of posters, framed in cheap plexiglass frames and hung close together in a group, can be a great way to cover up an ugly wall and add some visual interest to a room. Posters that would have historically been posted on city walls or fences work best grouped so closely together: band posters, old advertisements, old movie posters, and theater bills all work well. Make sure the colors of the posters compliment each other and the room itself.

6. Work with the ugliness.
Hey, sometimes ugly can be cool. Just look at those interior decorators who spend hours making it look as though the plaster is crumbling off the wooden lath or brick beneath. And there you were, complaining that your plaster walls were showing the brick. Okay, maybe most of our ugly walls involve damaged drywall and peeling wallpaper, which are significantly less sexy than exposed brick. But you can still see if there is a way you can embrace the ugliness. Maybe stripes of paint or large flower shapes can make that plaid wallpaper attractive again. Maybe not, but it can be fun to find out. If your wall is horrifically ugly to begin with, what could you possibly do to make it worse?

7. Hang stuff on the wall.
Put up a bunch of wall hooks (assuming your wall is stable enough to accept hooks), and hang your coats, your hat collection, or a bunch of sparkly vintage dresses on the wall. Or put a few small shelves up and put some wildly trailing plants on them. Wall mirrors, old photos, framed flowers, your father’s collection of antique road signs; they can all cover up your ugly wall. Of course, now your room feels ten foot square and you are so overwhelmed by all the visual clutter that you want to cry, but at least you can’t see the wall behind all that stuff!

8. More joint compound!
If your walls are strong and stable, but suffer from someone’s attempt to create a stucco texture that does nothing but collect dust and scrape your elbows when you walk down the hallway, try scraping off the highest points and smoothing joint compound over the rest. You won’t end up with perfectly smooth walls, but you should be able to improve the texture significantly. Instead of sanding the walls when you are done, a slightly damp sponge can be used to smooth it out, creating much less mess.

If all else fails, there is always the sledgehammer and a trip to the home improvement store for new sheetrock. In most cases, though, you can make your walls a lot more attractive without resorting to wall-directed violence. And remember: a wall doesn’t have to be perfect to be beautiful.

Kakadu Art was created in 1990 by husband and wife artist team, Aharon and Reut Shahar. Aharon is a master carpenter while Reut is the artist, making Kakadu a marriage of artistic talents producing functional items that are art.

Whether you seek hand painted furniture or unique gifts from Israel, these handcrafted wooden products are a delight. Kakadu’s superb craftsmanship and attention to detail ensures that every piece of furnishing is perfect before it leaves the factory. The Kakadu process is a 12-step process, where every artist and carpenter involved is a partner in the successful creation of each piece.

Stage 1: Choosing the wood

Reut and Aharon have conducted extensive research to identify the types of wood that not only suit their product design, but also respond well to their paints and lacquers. For most products, Kakadu uses a fast-growing lumber that is planted specifically for harvesting. And all the company’s lumber is imported only from countries that use responsible forestry techniques.

Stage 2: Creating the plywood

Kakadu’s products are made from a combination of solid wood and top-grade, highly durable plywood. Not only is plywood significantly stronger than solid wood, it is also less likely to warp, split, shrink, or swell. It is also a sound environmental choice, since it makes the best, most efficient use of timber.

Stage 3: Cutting and treating the wood

The plywood is cut into the appropriate shapes, with as little waste as possible. Then, through the application of steam, water, and pressure, it is formed into the gently curving shapes you see in many Kakadu products.

Stage 4: Assembling the product

In Kakadu’s carpentry shop, each product is carefully assembled to exact design specifications.

Stage 5: Quality control

After it is assembled, each Kakadu piece goes through a quality-assurance process, to ensure that it meets our high production standards.

Stage 6: Painting

Kakadu’s team of highly-skilled artists paint each piece by hand, using only the highest grade pigments to ensure that the colors stay fresh and bright throughout the life of the object. Every artist has been personally trained by Reut, to ensure that he or she is versed in the visual language of Kakadu and can accurately duplicate all of its unique motifs.

Stage 7: Quality control

A second round of quality assurance guarantees that the painted object contains no flaws.

Stage 8: Lacquering

The first of two coats of lacquer is applied. Kakadu uses a very advanced acrylic lacquer, with superior hardness and ultraviolet light filtration, to protect products from scratching or sun damage.

Stage 9: Sanding

Each item is sanded by hand to ensure a uniformly smooth surface.

Stage 10: Lacquering

A second and final coat of lacquer seals and completes the product.

Stage 11: Quality control

Yes…again! We want every product to be perfect.

Stage 12: Packing and shipping

Only after a product has passed its final round of quality testing are we ready to let it go-carefully packed, of course, to avoid damage during shipping.

Some of those pieces created are as cute as coasters, as bright as colorful mirrors, or as durable as the wooden place mats. The place mats are known worldwide for their durability and everlasting beauty. But don’t stop at the little things. Kakadu also includes creating unique carpets that are all-wood vinyl-backed which are breathtaking as floor coverings or wall hangings.

Each item is handcrafted wood that is hand painted with a signature Kakadu art motif, and lacquered to perfection for water resistance and durability. Throughout the process—from the selection of wood to quality inspection—Kakadu is committed to recycling and conservation, which the Shahars value as a key element in their creative process. Environmentally friendly furniture and accessories are the result.

But what does Kakadu mean? Kakadu is a white Australian parrot that is sacred to the Aborigines.

Explore the stories behind our colorful art motifs and meet our talented Israeli artists by clicking on Inside Kakadu at Kakadu Art. To learn more on how to incorporate these pieces into your own home or office, contact Kharisma Designs.