How To Decorate A Large Wall
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Let's be real. When it comes to property, there are very few situations in life where we want less space. Generally speaking, unless you're explicitly looking to downsize, we all love having more to play with. Sprawling floor plans and additional rooms give us way more scope to make our interior design dreams come true.
But there's a burning question that comes with having more space: What do we do with all of these walls? Decorating a wall can be as simple as hanging up a photo and walking away. You can also use color, stencils, or embroidery to create a memorable accent wall, as per Elle Decor. But when you have a large canvas to work with, things can start to look a little off-center pretty quickly. We take a more ambitious view, though. Having a large wall gives you an infinite range of possibilities, and there are some ingenious ways to make a big wall a focal point in your home while avoiding things looking too barren. Here at House Digest, we've whittled it down to our favorite large wall ideas.
1. Start with big art
When you're presented with an endless wall expanse, it can feel a little weird to try and fill it in with artwork. After all, isn't that little canvas just going to look bizarre in the middle of a long, white stretch of a wall? Well, that's why, friends, to avoid inadvertently making your home look like a minimalist art gallery, we recommend going big. Using large artwork in a space can help to "create feelings and association" with a room, according to EHG Homes' Kate Haynes via Fine & Country. And opting for larger pieces, Haynes says, can "give proportion and bring scale to a room, which can enhance a space." We like the sound of that.
If you're opting for large wall art, there are a few fundamental design principles you should try and follow. Importantly, design your space as much as possible around the artwork, to draw focus to the focal point you'll create, says MyMove. Your art choices don't have to be flat, either, as opting for a more three-dimensional piece can help to create variety and add texture to a room. The most important thing, though, is to go for art that speaks to you, and that means something. That'll make you want to come back to it again and again.
2. Make an accent wall
When it comes to walls, it's tempting to try and keep away from trends or flashy statements. But it also pays to keep your ear to the ground about what design choices are coming back into vogue, and the tried-and-tested accent wall is back for its second heyday. "These babies have a new grasp on life," says design superstar Emily Henderson, pointing to the renaissance of accent walls and the increasing prevalence of up-to-date, meaningful designs over on Homes & Gardens. "They aren't your '00s accent walls. Instead, what I'm seeing done really well is accent walls with a purpose."
And why shouldn't a large wall be an accent wall, too? Using a large wall to create accents will not only help define and zone a space, but will create a veritable piece of art in your room, giving you and your guests something to enjoy every time you walk in. While accent walls can seem daunting, there are a few principles you can keep in mind when starting to plan. Try experimenting with contrasts, offsetting light walls with darker tones to create mood and drama. Remember, too, that an accent on a wall doesn't have to take up the whole thing. Interesting architectural quirks in the shape of a room can be picked out with sectioned accents.
3. A memory wall can display your treasured moments
Excuse us for making the understatement of the century here, but a house should feel like a home. And few things make us feel more at home than things that remind us of our loved ones and our favorite moments, whether that's pictures, prints, or ticket stubs. You can create a memory wall with a collage of all of your most meaningful items with a large wall. Use the whole wall, and display your life with pride.
Best of all, making a memory wall is a doddle, as Pottery Barn shows. All you have to do is plan ahead. Collect your items and decide the sizes of the frames that you'll need, and then choose and get them ahead of time. Using a couple of larger frames dotted between smaller ones will help to create both contrast and balance. Photocopy your photos or memories, mount them on craft paper that is cut to the size of the frames, and then tape them onto your wall with painter's tape to make sure your arrangement feels right. Mark out on the craft paper where the nail will go into the wall, and when you're ready, hammer them through the paper, ripping them away, for perfect placement. Place your memories in the actual frames, hang them up, sit back, and enjoy reflecting on your awesome life.
4. Go big with bold decorations
If you have a large wall, you have two choices. You can either shy away from the space, or you can embrace it head-on. If your taste is the latter (and if it is, we applaud you, because we feel the same), then it's time to get bold, folks. Going large on a large wall with confident decor choices will leave everyone talking about your space (in a good way) and will also help to imbue your rooms with your personality. Try going with a vibrant neon sign on a large wall, as Amped & Co's Jenn Pau suggests to Forbes. "It adds a shot of personality to any room and always sparks a conversation."
For something even more left-of-center, try a trophy head. And if taxidermy's not your thing (and we wouldn't blame you), then stunning wire or ceramic trophy heads can give your room a sense of dynamism and uniqueness, without the cruelty associated with hunting. Bend Goods' Wildlife Collection, recommended to Forbes by YLiving's Adam Busch, offers modern iron-wire-made trophy heads and other pieces that'll give your room a serious design edge.
5. Create some floating shelves
What large walls give us more than anything is space. Lots and lots of space. And we can understand why you'd be reluctant to break the feeling of expanse that a large wall gives you by shoving furniture against it. That's why floating shelves are an excellent choice for a large wall. This gravity-defying storage choice helps maintain the feeling of generosity that a big wall gives you while also providing function and a place to display all of your things.
And while the thought of installing a set of floating shelves yourself might strike fear into your heart, it's not hard to DIY a good set for your home, as Real Simple points out. Bear in mind that while it's easy to get shelves from a chain home supply store, if you want a truly unique look, making the shelves yourself is not only fun but pretty easy. Simply get yourself a big piece of wood and cut it into smaller-sized pieces of your choosing. Drill holes in the side to prepare them for mounting, get them to your desired color by staining or painting them, and then hang your shelves using your hardware.
6. Color blocking could bring your space to life
Few things hold more possibility in life than a blank white wall. Apart from, that is, a really big blank wall. So if you're faced with a large blank canvas, the judicious use of color blocking could be an easy (and pretty cost-effective) way of turning a formerly anonymous room into one you'll be dying to spend more time in. Color blocking isn't just a good way to add dynamism, depth, and new perspectives to a space. It's also a good way to ensure your house stays refreshed. "As greys and neutral hues are taking a back seat, interior enthusiasts are embracing color as a way of injecting personality and giving a space a new lease of life," Rothley's Sophie Hill tells Real Homes.
The best part of using color blocking on a big wall is that it allows you to get creative. Try experimenting with stripes within a color block, or creating circular or semi-circular patterns on a wall. You can also use paint to create a color block in place of artwork, with a "frame" effect that draws the eye.
7. Use metallics
When decorating a home, we tend to fall back on what we know. So if you're used to decorating walls with standard decor pieces — such as framed photos, mirrors, and canvas art — we're here to throw a curveball into the mix. Incorporating metallic accents for large walls is a sure-fire way of making your home feel different while adding a sense of luxury, as per MyDomaine. From slightly more boujie gold and silver metallic effects to rustic and solid metals that evoke iron and copper, the world is your oyster when it comes to metallics.
For large walls, think about using metallics to almost create artworks in their own right. A vintage mirror with a metallic frame, or a row of antique candlesticks displayed on a floating shelf, can set tongues wagging. Incorporating chrome tones into slightly cooler color palettes in a room can also give a sense of style and edge, while contrasting golds with black tones gives a deep moodiness.
8. Build yourself a plant wall
If you're one of the millions of self-respecting millennials out there (and even if you're not, this one has no age limit, we'd say), you're gonna love a houseplant. And if you're faced with the task of decorating a large wall, there's no better way to elegantly incorporate all of your plants into one statement decor choice than by creating a plant wall.
An interior plant wall may seem like a high-maintenance job, but it's pretty easy to achieve at a low cost and with minimal effort. Placing floating shelves on a large wall and placing potted plants on them can give you an indoor garden aesthetic without the need to get too crafty, or, you can make your very own multi-plant holder with a fabric shoe organizer, as per The Spruce. A large wall can also be used as a backdrop for plants in different ways. Try placing interior-baskets-turned-planters against a wall, for example, or hanging them from the ceiling above. This allows your plants to be showcased in all their glory.
9. Large walls call for murals
So this one might feel like a lot of effort, but trust us, it's worth it. We've all seen those murals that we and our kids love to gaze at in the park, so if you have a large wall just begging to be painted on, why not make your own? And trust us, you don't have to be an artistic genius to create a mural inside your home. With a few simple tips, you can have something unique that your kids will treasure forever.
Luckily, interior designer Ruth Stolerman has the lowdown on making a one-of-a-kind mural, as per Ugly Duckling House. It all starts with the prep, making sure that your wall surface is clean, potentially giving it a fresh lick of paint if you need a clear surface. Then, with a light pencil, draw your design onto the wall (potentially using a piece of paper to sketch it out first, if you're not 100% certain of the idea you've got in mind). Remember, you can do whatever you want here. Is your daughter a fan of turtles? Get an aquarium mural going! Does your little one like Buzz Lightyear? A "Toy Story" inspired scene is in store! Once you're good to go, the painting can begin. Try and use acrylics, and if you want, get the whole family involved. Having your kids pitch in will make them feel even more attached to it at the end.
10. Get personal with a display of your favorite objects
While you don't want your home's walls to necessarily turn into a shrine of your pastimes, a large wall is a perfect place to show off the kind of things you love the most. Think about it: All of that space to show off your hobbies, and you get some new storage out of it? Sign us up!
If you're using your wall to display your favorite objects, it's important to remember that you can get a little more creative than you think. Let's say that you're a guitarist, for example. Instead of having your Fender cluttering your floor space, create a wall mount to display and store it. As Guitar.com shows, all you need is a wall hanger, some screws and plugs to mount it, some tools, and a little patience, as Guitar.com shows. Elsewhere, mounting box shelves on a wall can be an amazing way of creating eye-catching display sections for your wall that veer away from boring, standard shelving. Making box shelves is a slightly more complicated endeavor than a wall mount for a guitar, but The Family Handyman breaks it down into clear steps.
11. You could have your very own picture gallery
Unless you're as much of a fan of neutrals and blank spaces as Kim Kardashian is, you're going to want to put something on your large wall. And since it has so much room to offer, it's the perfect place to create your very own picture gallery.
It's important not to create a gallery wall because you feel like you should, though. It needs to be intentionally curated. Start by thinking about what you want to display on your walls. "The thing you absolutely love, should be in your home; rather than just going out and buying artwork that compliments your decor. Then we work to build the other pieces around it," John Lewis' home design stylist Will Law tells Good Housekeeping. To help do this, it's helpful to think in terms of themes. You can brainstorm ideas based on color and shades, or tap into more conceptual themes like locations or architectural styles. Keep things playful, both in the artwork included and how you style the display. Don't be afraid to mismatch sizes, as this can create strong visual appeal.
12. See yourself with a big mirror
Have you ever tried to style an outfit properly, contorting your body into different configurations to try and get the whole picture of your new look, and settled on the fact that your mirror's definitely not big enough? Well, this solution is the one for you. If you have a large wall, create something showstopping by getting yourself a really big mirror and displaying it against it. As long as the mirror's frame isn't too chunky or distracting, using a big mirror against a large wall, or even creating a mirrored wall entirely, can help make a space feel much bigger, Homes & Gardens says.
If your large wall isn't just a blank slate and has built-in alcoves or sections that change its texture, having custom-sized mirrors fitted into these spaces is a playful solution that "creates a subtle reflective surface and a gentle, diffused light within the space," according to interior designer Henry Prideaux. And if your wall is a blank slate, but you can't get your hands on one big mirror, using several smaller ones to create a gallery wall effect is a showstopping solution.
13. Add a little fabric to your space
Walk into most rooms in the house, and you can find fabrics on the floor and the furniture, but where you generally won't find them is on the walls (and the ceiling, naturally.) But why not? When used well, fabrics can be the perfect material to use on a larger wall and can help to make a space feel refreshed and cozy at the same time.
Understandably, though, you might find it tricky to know where to start with fabric wallcoverings, so we've got a few ideas up our sleeve. You can take things into seriously extravagant French Renaissance territory with printed wallcoverings that pop with color, flair, and a classic European sensibility, as Architectural Digest shows. Or, you can keep things subtle by using materials like grasscloth in neutral tones to make a room feel both connected to nature and ushering in a warm interior. Matching fabric wallcoverings with bedspreads or furniture can help create a sense of coordination and familiarity in a space, while also giving your guests something to talk about.
14. Mount your TV — and make it fashion
Where to place one's TV seems to be a constant issue. After all, how do you style a big black rectangle in between your gorgeous antique furniture and carefully color-coordinated aesthetic, and make it look seamless? If you have a large wall, you have the perfect opportunity to simultaneously fill the space and do so functionally, by mounting your TV on your wall and creating a focal point around your set.
And if you've got one raised eyebrow about the idea of making your TV so, well, prominent, think about how you could make it look more aesthetically appealing. Some TV sets, for example, operate as digital canvases that display artwork when switched off and seamlessly blend into the decor of your home, such as "The Frame" from Samsung. Bear in mind, though, that mounting a TV is not for everyone, and if you do so, make sure you have a plan of action to deal with any cord-related visual clutter, as Cnet suggests. Make sure your wall can bear the weight, too. While most modern flatscreen TV sets are pretty light, you definitely don't want this object falling off and getting damaged.