All is not as it seems in the world of Pamela Dawson. Ponies rear their heads above a children's bedhead; logs roar on the fire and never die down and sandstone walls swap places with plain old plasterboard.

Once upon a time, Pamela Dawson was a graphic artist working for an advertising agency in Scotland. As a sideline she began experimenting with paint effects and was soon working in the homes of family and friends. Today, she works full-time as a decorative artist and has recently moved to Tadcaster, where she runs her business.

Programmes such as Changing Rooms have fuelled the public's passion for more imaginative decorating, says Pamela. But doing up our dwellings dates back a lot further than the arrival of Carol Smillie and Handy Andy to our TV screens.

"People have always painted their homes and their furniture. Our ancestors decorated their caves," she says.

But TV makeover shows have certainly opened people's eyes to what can be achieved in the average home.

She said: "They have helped a lot. Before, people would opt for the traditional methods of putting up wallpaper. But now, lots of people want something different, or something quirky."

And that's where Pamela's magic wand comes in - or rather her box of art tools and materials.

Fancy turning your humble terrace into a palatial Georgian town house, or permanently hosting the Teddy Bears Picnic in your daughter's bedroom? Would your son like to have Beckham and the Man U boys keeping him company in his room, or would you like to look out on to a flowering garden all year round? Well your wish is Pamela's command.

"With paint effects, people can get something quite extraordinary," says 33-year-old Pamela. "I can use colour, texture and design to create something unusual and unique. I'm very versatile and can use any colour or style to help create what they want."

Among her more interesting projects was an assignment for a client in Scotland, who asked her to revamp a guest bedroom in a quirky way.

"The owner asked me if I could make the room more interesting so we decided to take a quirky approach," explains Pamela. "I painted a fireplace, window and curtains, as well as bookcases and candle sconces with deep shadows to make the room more interesting.

"We even made up some bogus titles of the "books" in the bookcase, which ranged from Sex After 80 to How To Marry A Millionaire. He said he wanted something which would make his guests laugh."

Other successful murals included an animal scene in the bedroom of a little girl. "She loved horses," recalls Pamela. "So using photographs of her own pony, I was able to bring the animals into the bedroom - right down to a family of mice in the corner."

But Pamela also specialises in paint effects, where she can work her magic, turning wood into marble or plaster into stone.

She also carries out these effects on furniture, including kitchen units, dining sets, chairs, mirrors.

"I can paint on any surface, and often it is cheaper to decorate a piece of furniture than replace it. It can cost hundreds of pounds to replace a kitchen, but I can do some paint effects on the doors which is a much cheaper option."

She adds: "There's a real demand at the moment for stressed or aged effects and not only in old houses. Fairly ordinary furniture can be stressed to look like a family heirloom, or paintwork can be crackled and aged to add character to an otherwise featureless room."

Pamela also works for commercial clients, including restaurants, pubs and clubs. She is currently working on a commission for the Colosseum theatre in London, designing the safety curtain and doing marbling effects on the panels in the boxes.

Before any work begins, Pamela will sit down with a client to determine what exactly they are looking for.

She explained: "I tend to start off by coming to someone's house to chat through their own ideas. But I come armed with a big cuttings book of previous commissions, which is great for suggesting things which the client had not thought of, and eventually we come up with a plan."

Pamela is often asked to create paint effects which will match the existing colour scheme or style of a room. She charges £200 a day including materials and consultation and most rooms take on average around two days to complete.

In between assignments, Pamela is also busy doing up her own home at Church Fenton, near Tadcaster, where she lives with her partner Mark Taylor, an engineer.

Pamela said: "Our house hasn't been touched for about 30 years and needs doing up from scratch."

But Pamela is relishing the challenge: a blank canvas on which to experiment and show off what she can do in equal measure.

She has already completed the garden room and the master bedroom, but reckons the rest of the house will not be completed until next spring.

Each room has waxed wooden floors and a stencil border, which Pamela has designed and painted.

To save the cost of hiring a plasterer, Pamela covered a rough wall in the garden room in a mix of plaster and cream paint to create a sandstone textured effect, lending it a rustic look. Her aim is to feature the finished house in an interiors magazine, showcasing what she can do. Hopefully, Evening Press readers will get a sneak preview first.

To find out more about Pamela Dawson's work, visit her website: www.muralsanddesigns.co.uk or telephone her on 07932 696 601.

Updated: 09:17 Tuesday, June 03, 2003