Property: DO UP YOUR HOUSE YOUR MOUSE

Sunday Mirror, Jan 2, 2005 by HAYLEY GILBERT

THINKING of decorating but not sure if your bold new colour scheme will work? Put down that paintbrush, grab hold of your mouse, and go online to try your ideas on the latest interactive websites. More and more firms give you the chance to transform your home on a computer screen before you risk it in real life. You can try out everything from paint schemes and new carpets to curtain designs and a complete new kitchen. HAYLEY GILBERT let her fingers do the working to find out who's offering what in the world of virtual decorating.

CURTAINS & BLINDS

www.pretavivre.co.uk

What does it do? Design your dream window dressing with this on- line interactive studio, where you'll have the chance to play around with style, colour and fabric. There's also a handy window-measuring guide and free on-line quotation service.

Is it easy? Really user-friendly - I started by clicking on "Studio" then created my own portfolio. There are various room options with a choice of silk or cotton drapes. Choose a style you like and it pops up as an enlarged picture on the right. Then fill up your portfolio with a range of fabrics by clicking on the check boxes. Select a pattern from a choice of plain, damask, floral, checks, stripes or prints. Then choose a texture - voiles, velvets, leather, suede, linen, silk, cotton or jute.

Certain combinations don't exist, such as black cotton damask, but I just clicked on "all textures" to get the most results. Click on the fabric of your choice, click on the curtain and it will transform it to your chosen design. I found the measuring guide is even more impressive. Just be aware that this is a bespoke service, so you need to be really accurate with your measurements before you commit yourself.

VERDICT I thought the curtains in the studio seemed a little dated for my own taste but the measuring guide certainly gets the thumbs up.

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WOOD & TILES

www.ronseal.co.uk

What does it do? You can try out different products on interior and exterior wood and wall tiles. Choose from four options in the wood section - Living Room, Wooden Floor, Garden Timber and Garden Furniture.You can colour in everything from doors and floors to tables and a garden shed. The tile option lets you cover kitchen wall tiles with a small paintbrush of One Coat Tile Paint.

Is it easy? Very simple to navigate. I started with the wood as I have a lovely old chair in desperate need of some TLC. The idea is to click on an item in the room of your choice that you want to colour in and a list pops up of suitable products. A toy chest, for example, needs Quick Drying Coloured Varnish, which has 10 colour options. You can paint the walls by moving a slider through shades of red, green and blue. I settled on a walnut and dark oak living room, forget-me- not coloured shed, Scandinavian pine floor and mint and lavender garden furniture for my imaginary home. The tile painter is easy to use too - you can colour in individual tiles with a tiny virtual paintbrush.

VERDICT You don't need to be an computer whizz to use this site as it's really easy to navigate and clearly laid out.

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CHOOSE A CARPET

www.axminster-carpets.co.uk

What does it do? It's hard to imagine what a new carpet will look like by eyeing a few swatches and samples. Axminster's Home Decorator service lets you decorate any of five virtual rooms using any of their 16 carpet ranges, then compare the results against different wall and furniture colourings.

Is it easy? I started by clicking on Home Decorator, then View Home Decorator, then I had to choose a roomset from bedroom, living/ dining room, living area with daybed, lounge and hallway. I started with the bedroom carpet as mine has seen better days, picked a wall colour, then played around with the colour of the furnishings, including the bedlinen (which I transformed into a searing burnt orange). Next I tried out each of the 16 carpet ranges including the new plain twist collection, Devonia Plains, which comes in 48 shades. I settled on Antique Splendour in a red, green and beige mix for a touch of country hotel chic.

VERDICT A great tool if you want to see how a whole floor looks with your choice of carpet and lots to play around with. There doesn't seem to be any option for white walls though and once you decide on a carpet shade, it doesn't tell you what that colour is.

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CHOOSE WALL COLOURS

www.crownpaint.co.uk

What does it do? Who hasn't returned from a DIY trip armed with hundreds of paint colour cards that get lost or torn the second you get home? Crown Paints have come up with the perfect solution. Their website includes a colour scheming tool, My Rooms In Colour, which lets you play with over 166 colours on your very own walls. Take a digital photo of your room, load it into their free software and paint away. The program runs on your PC (unfortunately not Apple Macs) so it doesn't need to be connected to the internet while you're playing - great news for dial- up users.