One of the simplest and most inexpensive ways to add instant style to your home is with paint.

Stylist Bill Samios's three artistic techniques shown via the links above are all done with paint rollers and masking tape, plus other basic materials that you'd need for any interior paint project. "With a little extra time and effort, you can add an exciting visual element to a room," Samios says. "Anyone who can paint a room can do this."

Before starting your own project, fill and sand cracks and indentations to get a smooth work surface.

	More ways of using color • Great color for your home • Old patio, new look • Colors of the sea

Basic supplies

For each technique, you will need:

• 2-foot-long level

• pencil

• paint tray and liners

• drop cloth

• paintbrush

Wainscotting
Horizontal stripes

Tips

These treatments work best on untextured walls.

To maintain exact spacing when taping rollers, wrap one piece of tape loosely around the roller, then wrap the adjacent section as tightly as possible; repeat this process until you get to the end of the roller. Remove the loose tape before painting.

When you moisten your roller in the tray, some paint will get on the taped sections; wipe off the excess with a brush.

Have extra rollers and tape on hand in case paint saturates a roller and causes the tape to come loose.

Use a brush to fill in any major gaps, and to make touch-ups.

Be sure to recheck your stripes periodically with a level to make sure they're straight; sketch new guidelines if necessary.