Customizable wallpaper, lighting and more

In the July/August issue of This Old House Magazine, I wrote about the emerging trend of sites dedicated to letting you D.I.Y., or Design It Yourself. These included companies dealing with sinks; faucet handles and spouts; tiles; and vanity and storage configurations. Now, I have one more to add to that awesome list: Alluminare.

Unlike the others, this company lets you customize more than just one kind of item. In fact, they let you fiddle with the colors, size and designs of lighting fixtures, shades, wallpaper, pillows and fabric - oh my! Technically, you could do a whole coordinated look in your favorite pattern (though I don't think I would recommend that).

Fair warning: If you think this will be a faster alternative to window shopping, think again. I lost a good chunk of time experimenting online with the different scales and hues of wallpaper patterns. You'll get obsessed with finding the just right mix - but you'll have fun doing it!

Bonus: The custom looks come at pretty affordable prices, especially when compared to the designer duds you find sold exclusively to the trade. Wallpaper, for example, starts at $8 per square foot.