Boring white walls. We all have them somewhere, and even the smallest plain wall space can feel vast, bare and out of place in an otherwise stylish home. Fear not, as there are so many ways to brighten, highlight, and even make walls and rooms look bigger. ‘Feature Walls’ may be a thing of the past, but let these stylish wall decor ideas inspire you to extend your home styling to your vertical spaces.
Wall Decor Ideas for Boring White Walls
Wild on Wallpaper
It should be no surprise now that 2019 is the year for big, bold wallpaper. But, if all those patterns and colours scare you a little, you don’t have to consider doing an entire room. We love the idea of wallpapering the smallest room in the house – the downstairs toilet perhaps? Create a small space with big impact.
If you are renting a property or finances are tight, you’ll can take the wallpaper trend and use it elsewhere. Stretch your favourite wallpaper over a large wooden panel; frame a selection of your favourites in smaller frames, or wallpaper the back of your open fronted cupboards or bookshelves. The image above is the ever stylish, One Kings Lane.
Stylish Shelving
Beautiful shelving is a super useful area of wall decor and can have a huge impact if positioned mindfully. We love the use of mixed materials for shelves, including metals, wood, marble and glass. If the shelves in the shops aren’t the right size for your space, why not get something made? Our stylist Claire got the below shelves made up for one of her clients and we love the strong look – I wonder how she’ll fill them?!
When styling shelving, make sure it’s not too heavy for the space and the rule that your shelves should be 70% full and 30% empty!
Plant Perfection
Indoor plants have never been more in demand and they bring so much colour and life to your home. Once you’ve chosen some beautiful shelving, why not fill it with plants of all shapes and sizes? Who says gardens have to be outside??
Placing oversized floor plants that reach up and out into a white corner of a room – such as the hallway – is a quick and easy way to fill a boring space with colour.
Tile Takeover
In the kitchen and bathroom, why not try tiles? Vinyl sticker tiles are coming in in a big way and you can get some incredibly beautiful designs that will look like the real thing, without all the work! The ones below are from Etsy.
Real tiles can also be used sparingly to achieve a stylish effect on white kitchen walls. Head to your local tile shop where they may sell their odds and ends and choose your favourite styles to create a tile montage.
Heading to Morocco, Portugal, Turkey, or Vietnam? These destinations make gorgeous tiles to add a unique look to your kitchen or bathroom.
Get Personal with Photos
Photo walls are still one of the best ways to instantly make your home feel more ‘you’. It is also a great way to fill a white wall! There are so many ways to take your family photos and arrange them stylishly. Print them in different sizes and arrange them as a montage.
Photo shelves are especially lovely for kids’ rooms. You can chop and change the photos as they grow and include their art too.
Vintage Variations
It’s no secret that we love a bit of vintage in our home styling. One area where you can easily dip your toe into vintage styling? Your boring white walls! Scour vintage shops and second-hand stores for vintage mirrors, picture frames, and even artwork. The intricate designs of vintage frames add a bit of flair to all kinds of spaces.
Vintage china turns from old-fashioned to uber-stylish when displayed in beautiful cloud formations like the ones below. (Psst! these ones are from Etsy!)
Fun with Framing
Again, go for a selection of frames, mirrors, prints, and photos for a totally personalised gallery wall. Also, picture frames don’t even need to be filled with anything! Or you can always fill them with some of your favourite wallpapers.
Photo and tip credit to Momtastic who shares her best tips for hanging a wall gallery in this blog.
An easy trick for getting your display right is to lay it out on the floor or a large table first. Get the positioning, shapes and colours looking good next to each other and work out how much spacing you need between each piece before you start putting holes in the wall!
Go Big with Art
You can’t have picture montages on every wall – there is such a thing as overdoing it! Montages go well in areas without much else going on. But in rooms with lots of furniture and decor, go for a feature piece of art.
Our best piece of advice here is to consider a commissioned piece of artwork and don’t be afraid to go big. We have an amazing contact who is able to create personal pieces of modern art that features your whole colour palette to bring all your styling together in one image.
Get in touch to commission your own piece with the help of The Home Stylist.
The New Feature Wall?
Feature walls can be a little overdone, so how about painting your walls halfway up instead? Two-tone walls can add real height to your room and a darker paint on the lower part of the wall will also really make your accessories pop.
Another way to go down the two-tone route is with faux paneling. This is a really easy and cost-effective way to add character and personality to a room. Make sure it is simple and blends with the rest of your room and it’s furniture! The paneling below is from Sweden brand D-Cor.
Travel Tricks
We don’t know about you but we do some of our best home decor shopping when we travel. Whether we are searching for ceramics in China, tiles in Turkey, or vintage frames in Venice, home decor items that you can see and use every day make the best travel souvenirs.
Our stylist Helen has these super simple woven Chinese baskets on her dining room wall at home. She is the one who makes those beautiful hand-painted Chinese letterboxes we’ve shown you before – also another lovely addition to a plain wall!
We hope these wall decor ideas have inspired you to consider how to style up your boring white walls and add more character to your home!
Get in touch if you’d like our stylists to help you tackle your plain spaces and help you create a home you love.
