(WALL) DREAMS DO COME TRUE PAINTED ROOMS WITH FANTASY THEMES OFFER HOMEOWNERS A NOVEL WAY TO DECORATE.

Byline: Evan Henerson Staff Writer

The room began as an empty canvas. But Joan Dial had an idea and, more importantly, an artist to make her dreams and those of her children come true.

The result could be called Fairy Tale Magic. It's a children's playroom where several of 4-year-old Justin Dial's favorite characters - including, ``Toy Story's'' Buzz and Woody, Christopher Robin and the Seven Dwarfs - all share wall space. Justin's baby sister, Jessica, 10 months, doesn't have favorites just yet, but her parents figured she might like to share a room with Snow White and Cinderella. Artist Doreen Behnke added Tarzan and Jane after Justin saw - and flipped for - the summer Disney movie.

Male and female. For Justin and Jessica. And for any other additions to the Dial family.

``We wanted the whole upstairs for the kids to be really fun,'' said Joan Dial, who lives in Agoura Hills, ``a fun and inviting place, something that reflects their interests.''

Rooms getting a theme makeover aren't necessarily for children. This, after all, is L.A. - land of dreams. If you imagine it, somebody can build it. Somebody who knows where to track down hard-to-find items or how to get a waterfall into a bedroom. But the more elaborate your fantasy, the more it's likely to impact your pocket book.

Interior designers cited specific examples: a recreation room done with `50s soda fountains; an animator with a passion for all things circus; a replica of the Egyptian Theatre in a subterranean screening room; a big game hunting enthusiast who - political correctness aside - insisted on decorating a room with actual stuffed animals in his room of choice.

``People are more interested in having their living space reflect what they believe to be a statement about themselves or something they're really interested in,'' said Leah Vasquez, an artist and designer based in Laguna Beach.

Embarrassed by your desire for an in-home design fantasy? You shouldn't be, said the dream builders. A themed room is simply an extension of that interest. The practice isn't common yet, but there will always be a client with a mania for something.

When they were hired to design the North Carolina recreation room of former NASCAR racer Ernie Irvan, officials at Rancho Cucamonga-based Penwal Industries went positively hog wild: a symphony of chrome, from ceiling to floor, authentic gas pumps, crankshafts and tires. Even a portion of a Formula 1 race car above the custom-designed bar.

Irvan had trophies and racing outfits that he wanted displayed, but he had no idea how to pull it off. He has young children at home, but this room was primarily for the entertainment and pleasure of Irvan, his friends and sponsors.

Penwal designers met with the racer, submitted sketches and went to work. The rec room was completed in three months, about half the time it takes Penwal to do a commercial job.

``People in the entertainment field have been creating these props and faux finishes,'' said Diane Bader, a marketing executive at Penwal. ``We're saying you can bring these same elements into your home. If you want to create a storybook look, we would be the ones to sculpt, do the molds, create the fiberglass models, whatever it took to create that whole look.''

The Irvan rec room was Penwal's first job, and now they're hungry for more. Having built the company's reputation on interior design of toy stores, movie-themed stores and a Las Vegas hotel, Penwal is looking to bring what they have termed ``home-theming.''

Whether they'll have competition from other commercial designers or set builders is anybody's guess. Many design companies accustomed to building movie sets say they aren't likely to start assembling the Knights of the Round Table fantasy in a private living room.

``At the scale they work, I don't know that my companies would want to build two or three trees,'' said Jim Presnall, executive director of the Themed Entertainment Association. ``We would rather do 2,000 to 3,000 trees for a Disney project.''

Interior designers will remind their richly dreaming clients that any room in any house has to weather the test of time and changing impulses. Children's rooms, bathrooms and play areas lend themselves most easily to theming, but will your son be the same L.A. Dodgers fanatic at age 13 that he was at age 8? If not, his parents will be the ones forking out the bucks to change the display.

``It's one thing to go to a themed restaurant and another to live in it every day,'' said B.J. Peterson, an interior designer who has offices in the Pacific Design Center. ``People who wax nostalgic tend to incorporate it into a certain room of the house.''

The Dial rooms might be called low-key thematic. The playroom contains shelves of carefully organized books and toys, but the only piece of furniture that ties into the wall mural is a small couch with a Winnie the Pooh throw pillow. Placed next to a newsstand-style book shelf, the couch is tucked in an enclave by the painting of Christopher Robin reading ``The Dial Fairy Tales'' to Pooh, Piglet and a couple of characters from Disney's ``A Bug's Life.'' Together, couch and wall illustration make up a true ``Pooh Corner.''

Once the playroom was done, the process became addicting. With Behnke's help, Dial and her husband, Greg, turned one bathroom into an under-the-sea dreamworld - with accessories to match. A third bathroom, leading directly into the playroom, became a castle with painted vines and pewter accessories.

For the undersea bathroom, Behnke did not stop at the walls and ceiling. Step stools match the walls; soap dishes, toothbrush holders and towels all have oceanic elements. Inside the tub, stencils of fish dot the walls.

``I can't really see the kids outgrowing this,'' said Dial. ``It can become very addicting. As you start to go, you realize how personalized it is and how much fun it is. Justin watched Doreen during the whole process. He was completely fascinated.''

Behnke, who began doing murals following the birth of her children, agrees. It's all in fun, and she gets lots of referrals from people who see her work and are willing to let their imaginations run free.

``It's endless,'' she said. ``I just did the kitchen for a single guy who has a beach home in Malibu. It's the sky, and in the middle, there's a great big pineapple. He loves it, and he has no kids.''

CAPTION(S):

6 photos

Photo:

(1 -- cover -- color) On the cover: In the "Pooh Corner" of the Disney- themed playroom, 4-year-old Justin Dial reads to his 10-month-old sister, Jessica.

(2 -- color) Justin Dial, 4, in the undersea bathroom created and designed by Doreen Behnke.

(3 -- color) A hand-towel ring with painted vine decoration in a castle- themed bathroom.

(4 -- color) Thousand Oaks artist Doreen Behnke painted the Disney-themed playroom at the Dial house in Agoura Hills.

(5 -- color) Another view of Irvan's themed room that uses the front of his race car as a centerpiece.

(6 -- color) Chris Pennington, left, president of Penwal Industries, is ready to shoot some pool with former race care driver Ernie Irvan in Irvan's themed recreation room.

Phil McCarten/Staff Photographer