Interior design is all about bringing your unique sense of style to the space in which you live. Unfortunately, all too often, people shy away from leaving their mark, sticking with safe magnolias, whitewash emulsions and copy-and-paste blank spaces which neutralise all vestiges of personality, energy or warmth. One way to add drama to a room is with the simple but effective feature wall. For starters, the effort involved in redecoration is immediately reduced to a quarter! What’s more, if you’re feeling a little daunted at the thought of a total transformation, this might be the right way to bring a little focus to your living space.
Wonderful wallpaper
The beauty of papering just one wall is that you can be as audacious as you dare, without overwhelming your current decor. With this in mind, be bold at the wallpaper shop. From forest fairytale branches to haute-design geometric patterns, this is your chance to indulge your imagination, so let it run wild. The reduction in surface area also means you can probably afford to be a little extravagant, so look for samples with a lustrous finish, a plush texture or a subtle retro effect. Top tip: if the paper looks cheap on the roll, it will look downright impoverished on your wall
Sensible storage
Some of the most effective feature walls also serve a practical purpose. If you’re a bookworm in need of a library, show some spine with an integrated bookcase. This works particularly well in rooms with recesses on either side of a fireplace or window. Either notch some custom shelves into the space or go modernist with modular box shelving. If you’re not a literary sort (or just more of an e-reader), beloved art, family pictures or tasteful bric-a-brac work just as well. Don’t be afraid of getting creative: for a rustic look in a farmhouse kitchen, for example, repurposed fruit boxes or apple crates look just the ticket.
Get to the art of the matter
You don’t need the budget of the Louvre to get artistic in your own home, you just need to love a particular style of expression enough to live with it. Hang a collage of framed illustrated recipes for a sophisticated look in the dining room. Decorate your bathroom with a wall of papered comic book pages. Decal a frame from your favourite black and white movie onto the space behind the sofa, or dream beneath a mural of vintage travel posters. Prowl online for job lots, ask your local cinema for old posters or start a collection for your feature wall and work up to it.
Good luck, and get decorating!
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