Valerie Nelms

paints a pretty picture on your ceiling, if you like.

Homes all over

Fayette and in other areas have been altered with the stroke of her brush,

as everything from columns to fenceposts have appeared on walls to give

an almost three-dimensional effect.

Her company,

Valerie Nelms Designs, has specialized in faux finishing and mural work

for about five years. Before that, she spent 16 years designing costume

jewelry and ladies accessories, but she has always been a painter. She

also has a degree in textile design.

Her business

started as a result of her work in her own home, which friends would see

and want for their homes. Through word of mouth, she has worked with several

decorators on homes in Fayette as well as Newnan and even in Vinings,

on the northern side of Atlanta.

She loves her

work because every home is different, making the architectural possibilities

practically endless. She has also discovered a tremendous demand for this

type of work, and she has heard of some local residents looking for a

year or two before finding what they want.

"People

don't just want flat walls anymore," she said, noting that columns

and arches simply painted on a wall can add a great deal to a home's overall

look. One can even see her artwork directly overhead, in the form of clouds

and cherubs surrounding a chandelier on a domed ceiling.

A very popular

area in many homes for customized designs is children's bedrooms, which

can be tailored to the gender of the child and his or her interests. Nelms

likes to combine the actual fixtures in a room with what can be designed

on a wall, like painting flowers on a dresser that sits in front of an

outdoor wall scene with a painted fence.

Even the children

themselves get involved on occasion, adding personal touches such as handprints

or painted flowers to adorn their own living space.

Most of her

projects start with a single room and grow from there throughout the house.

And while many of her clients are in higher-priced homes, often where

she even works with the decorator during construction, she can work on

any scale and tell a potential client what can be done within a specific

budget.

In addition

to private homes, her work is on display in a couple of more public places

in the county. Two recent examples are the Peeples Elementary School media

center and the children's center at Fayetteville First United Methodist

Church.

These projects

provide fresh challenges because of the amount of space. "I love

to work big," she said.

With three

people who assist her on projects when needed, she has a full schedule

for the next couple of months. A studio located right outside her house

gives her space for some of her work not done in clients' homes.

Valerie provides

consulting on-site or at her studio in Fayetteville. To schedule an appointment

call 770-461-4420 or 678-462-0412.

She has no

plans to stop doing the work she loves anytime soon.

"Look

at it this way," she said. "I get to draw on walls for a living."