Paintings and posters are the most popular wall decoration items. We could find them in most modern apartments and houses. This decor solves many problems: it deprives the wall of an inhospitable emptiness, gives the interior a complete look, introduces the desired color or style accents, and creates the right mood.
However, there are other possibilities for wall decoration. They are also worth considering when selecting the finishing touches for the interior. Some decorative elements can more succinctly reveal his concept, while others will more clearly emphasize his individuality.
In addition, paintings and posters are not always the optimal solution. For example, for a very active or colorful wall, paintings must be selected with great care to avoid excessive visual noise. It’s easier to hang here, for example, a mirror in a laconic frame or a minimalist lamp. If there is already a painting on one wall of the room, or even several, then for the second it is better to choose a different decorative item.
What alternatives are there to paintings and posters? There are a lot of them. For every taste.
In general, you can hang anything on the wall. The main thing is that the owners like this design. For example, many football fans decorate the walls of their rooms with T-shirts of their favorite club. Travelers hang ethnic masks from their collection. A music lover can decorate a wall with records, a fisherman with an oar, a nature lover with a herbarium.
It is impossible to list everything. We have selected twenty popular solutions. If you are looking for ideas, you will have plenty to choose from. Maybe the article will encourage you to come up with your own original idea. Remember: you are the one who sets the interior rules in your home.
slate wall
In the hallway or kitchen, a chalk board for notes is a very useful element. But here’s the problem: in small spaces where it is sometimes impossible for two people to separate, there is a high risk that all the clothes will always be covered in chalk patterns. But this is not a reason to refuse such practical decor. Decorate the wall with slate paint that you can write on with a marker. This is not such a hackneyed move as in the case of a chalk board, and there will be no problems with dust. Drawings or inscriptions on a marker wall can be changed to suit your mood, and this is a great opportunity to make your interior a little different every day.
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Don't forget the carpet
Here's more, you say! The carpet over the sofa is a relic of the Soviet era and bad manners. And you will be wrong. Of course, you shouldn’t hang up a huge fleecy monster that you inherited from your grandmother. But a small antique rug is quite appropriate in an interior in an oriental, Moroccan or Mediterranean style. Besides, this is exactly the accent we talked about above.
Mirror creative
As a rule, a mirror in the interior is considered as a functional element in which you can not only look, but also with the help of which you can improve the visual perception of space. Indeed, a mirror located in the right place visually expands the room and fills it with light, but it can also perform decorative functions. In small rooms, where any painting, photo or poster on the wall will only weigh down the interior, a mirror can act as a spectacular accent.
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Choose models of unusual shapes with complex outlines or textured frames - they will fill the interior with dynamics and life. Just when choosing mirrors, do not forget that right angles make the interior more strict and respectable, while rounded shapes, on the contrary, soften it and give comfort.
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We decorate the children's room with our drawings
You want to do something special for your child, add tenderness and comfort to his room - feel free to use your own or your children’s art.
Home gallery with your child's masterpieces
Children's drawings can be placed in beautiful frames
To decorate a wall with your own hands you will need paper, a printer, tape, scissors, paints, and brushes. Then everything is simple - select the image you like, print it, cut it out. You can cover the layout with tape so that the paint does not damage it. It is recommended to mark in advance where the drawings will be located. Then we simply apply patterns through a stencil using brushes and sponges.
See also Patchwork style
Abstractions from slats
There are many budget ideas for decorating empty walls that can be easily implemented - and the result of interior decoration looks like a million! One of these ideas is creating compositions from wooden slats. They can be highlighted against the background of the wall or attached on top of the wallpaper, painted in one color. Such decoration will look impressive, interesting and expensive, despite the minimal financial costs.
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Conclusion: mix and taste
Everything written here is just ideas. You can and should try, combine these techniques with each other, change and update compositions to create your own unique design. This is the easiest and simplest way to change the interior.
There are many sources of inspiration. One of them is our blog in general, and this post in particular. If this is not enough, go online and do some research. Take a look at Pinterest or Tumblr, for example. Search and compare, think about what you like and why. Experiment, try, and everything will definitely work out!
Picture frame
Wall decor with empty picture frames is a current trend in Western interiors, which is not yet so popular in our country. Perhaps such decorations have not yet taken root in Russian apartments due to the fact that we are used to saving space as much as possible, and if we hang walls, we give preference to functional decor. But it turns out that an empty frame is not a useless accessory at all. You can find an original “filling” for it in the form of interesting inscriptions, a collection of business cards or a regular calendar - such an unusual accent will come in handy for any interior and will not seem cumbersome.
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However, even without additional design, a set of standard picture frames looks organically in the interior. For example, from several frames you can create an original geometric group above the head of the bed, as well as in the fireplace area of the living room or in the wet area of the bathroom, where few decors can withstand a humid environment.
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Photo: decoist.com
Photo: decoist.com
Photo: decoist.com
Decorative plates are a creative way to decorate your home
The best location would be the kitchen or dining room. But no one forbids decorating the hallway, corridor, living room, bedroom with the help of such elements.
Decorative composition of plates of different colors and sizes
A few simple rules will tell you how to choose unusual plates for your interior.
- Patterns and ornaments should be chosen based on the general style of the room. If the wallpaper is quite colorful, it is better to give preference to monotonous plates in pastel shades.
- Playing with contrasts. On light wallpaper, bright, dark decoration elements will look more advantageous. And, conversely, plates of gray, white, beige, and cream colors should be placed on a dark background.
- You can use one plate and create a variety of compositions from different shapes and sizes. The main thing is not to overdo it, everything should be in moderation.
Classic or original, extravagant - you choose, because in stores and various shops there is a huge number of decorative plates that will allow you to realize even your wildest fantasies. This method of decoration remains in trend now; it is found in interiors of almost all styles. Loft, minimalism, retro, vintage, baroque - the plates will fit harmoniously into any of them.
How to decorate a wall and change the interior? Bring something new and fresh? We tried to answer these questions in the article. As you can see, there are many ways - from the simplest, fastest, to the more complex, labor-intensive, time-consuming and financial.
Whole composition of several paintings
Simple objects can become interesting decor if they are positioned correctly
If you want to slightly diversify the design of the room, add a few bright accents - use panels, plates, posters, framed photographs, vinyl stickers. You want more radical changes, transformation, changes in wall decor - pay attention to unusual wallpaper, textured plaster.
Multicolored geometric patterns
An original composition based on a simple open shelf
Play with colors, contrasts, textures, styles. After all, it is possible to transform the interior of any room - bedroom, living room, children's room, dining room, kitchen and even bathroom. A wide selection of building materials provides unlimited possibilities for creativity. Using a little imagination, you can easily decorate, change, decorate the walls, thereby adding pleasant, new impressions and sensations to yourself!
See alsoCreate New Year's home decor with your own hands
Lighting effects
An excellent solution for decorating narrow and small rooms with low ceilings is a light wall. It allows you to easily modify the configuration of the space and not load an already cramped room with chandeliers and lamps, while maintaining the desired level of illumination. And you can easily play with lighting effects on an empty wall: use ready-made backlit panels - and your room will be filled with original lighting effects in an instant.
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Your personal banner
You just need to dip a piece of fabric into the dye - let it dye unevenly and leave charming “wrinkles” - to get a wall banner. Draw or embroider on it something that really matters to you.
Unusual panels
Every apartment has narrow partitions, the emptiness of which makes the space flat and distant. So why keep them empty - it’s better to use them, and even with benefit. On the walls that are inconvenient for decoration, you can create an interesting panel of hats - this way you can decorate the wall in the hallway and free up several shelves in the closet.
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In the kitchen or dining room, the wall can be decorated with decorative plates and kitchen utensils. But here you need to be careful with color. When assembling a composition, select elements that have similar colors - for example, combine white ceramics with silver elements, which, by the way, harmonize perfectly with shades of light wood.
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Photo: smalldesignideas.com
Hang a mirror
One large mirror above the sofa will visually increase the space and add air. Especially if there is a window to the right of it. But that is not all!
From mirrors, just like from paintings, you can create a composition. Make it a hobby or a quest. For example, spend a weekend visiting antique shops in search of an antique mirror. Or let your friends bring them to you from travels instead of magnets and plates.
Educational materials
Using educational materials from botany lessons to decorate your home is a non-trivial solution that will also add greenery to your home. These prints look great with wooden furniture. By the way, you don’t have to limit yourself to the plant theme: old geographical maps are timeless classics. Or do you have drawings lying around from architectural courses? Or do you like the way math graphs look? Don't be afraid to experiment!
Ethnic motives
Ethnic motifs
In this segment, panels, textiles, glass and other various interior accessories placed on vertical planes are relevant. They carry images of geometric shapes, flora and fauna, stylized into a rich pattern with national affiliation. In a living space, it is not recommended to use a large amount of evidence of one ethnic culture, so as not to turn the design into a memorial one. The right impression will be provided by 2-3 compact ones or one large accent on a discreet neutral background.
Stylistics with an ethnic slant implies the use of the results of decorative and applied arts of northern, Mexican, African, Slavic and other peoples, each of which is performed in its typical color scheme. For example, in Nordic culture it is a blue and red laconic ornament on a white background.
Broken tile mosaic in the kitchen and bathroom
A mosaic tile panel is an ideal way to hide a defect on the wall in a toilet, bathroom, or shower. A whole panel is laid out from individual fragments, which can be used to decorate the wall above the bathroom or the kitchen backsplash.
Fragmentary drawings reminiscent of stained glass can be easily made with your own hands, literally from waste material. To work you will need:
- mirror fragments;
- broken ceramic tiles;
- tile fragments;
- pieces and crumbs of facing tile materials;
- broken colored glass.
It’s easy to collect such “good” in any home. Defective tiles are often found in tile packages. The battle will be readily sold at a huge discount in any construction supermarket if the prepared material is not enough to implement the idea you like.
To add more color variety to the working raw material, you can place colored crumpled foil or lumps of plaster painted with the desired pigment under pieces of transparent glass.
Glass can also be tinted with special stained glass paints. Sequins and large buttons wrapped in foil are placed under the broken glass - the panel will shimmer under artificial lighting.
Artistic stucco
It is important to maintain proportions here: massive stucco molding will fit well into spacious rooms, elegant, delicate work will harmoniously decorate a small, cozy room.
Artistic stucco
Festoons, medallions and garlands embody floral motifs and are usually placed at the top of the wall and on the ceiling. Niches are framed, thanks to which they gain volume; they are often supplemented with dim lighting. Columns and pilasters can have different styles; they are often used to disguise engineering wiring. The brackets serve as functional supports for window sills and bookshelves. Pedestals create platforms for placing decorative accessories.
The decor can be made of plaster, polystyrene, polyurethane. If the first has earned recognition as a classic and is characteristic of luxurious interiors, synthetic variations are not inferior in popularity due to their affordable cost and long service life.
Interior stickers
Sticker tree of wishes
Decorative stickers are made of vinyl; to fix them, you need to remove the protective backing and apply the product with the adhesive side to the selected area. A correctly chosen pattern will allow you to change the configuration of the room, visually increase its area, expand the walls or raise the ceiling.
Large, voluminous motifs will make the room deeper and more spacious. Compact stickers will mask minor defects and stains and help refresh the wall without cosmetic repairs.
This decoration element is especially in demand in children's rooms: with its help, the child will always be surrounded by his favorite cartoon characters and fairy-tale characters, the atmosphere of a magical forest or sea adventures. The stickers will bring a lot of emotions, and when you want to change the environment, they can be easily removed without damaging the finish.
For energetic, active people, images in calm colors and muted shades are recommended. Creative, dreamy kids will benefit from stickers with a fantasy atmosphere - they will serve as a stimulus for the development of imagination.
