For many years, the choices in wall coverings have been easy – paint, wall paper or paneling. Most people stop at picking paint colors and some homeowners love wallpaper, using it for borders, an accent wall and several rooms. Luxury homes use wood paneling but that's not an option for most homeowners. In recent years, the choices in wall coverings has exploded, starting with homes designed by decorators … with many of their ideas flowing into new products for any homeowner.
Challenges When Picking Wall Coverings
With paint, once you've picked your color and finish (Read Picking Paint Finishes), you might have a few more decisions to make like painting the ceiling (yes), and maybe the trim. As I've never been happy with the collection of artwork over the white couch (too small), I started to explore using a geometric wallpaper for that wall.
That's when I discovered that open concept floor plans, where one room blends into the next, pose some unique challenges. The living room wall flows into the dining room, where there are several windows further complicating matters. So maybe this was all good because now we've decided to move to Arizona and where before, I was focused on a single wall and finding the right wallpaper from Customized Walls, now I've got an entire house to decorate.
Today's Choices in Wall Coverings
You might think decorating a new house is exciting but right now it feels scary. You might think I'm prepared for all the decisions that will need to be made and yet, I'm as overwhelmed as any other homeowners and maybe more. Because I write about all things related to the home, and take hundreds of photos
My head is on overload
… with so many choices in wall coverings!
You see I like to organize the information I share here at Home Tips. Right now I can't figure out how to organize all the different wall coverings I've seen over the last 6 months, so here are some of my favorites and what I like, and what scares me.
When Wall Coverings Aren't Your Best Option
Think about the purpose of great wall coverings. You want something beautiful to look at, right? Sometimes there's a great view just outside a room and all you need to do is put in a bigger window or two. What do you see when you look at this room? The windows along with a great view are the things that pop out at you, and if you had any other wall treatments, they might detract from the serenity of this bedroom.
Accent Walls Allow You to Be Bold
Many homeowners are afraid to pick bold colors and it can be daunting, as we don't have a lot of experience with bold colors on all 4 walls (see a bold red kitchen – family room). The best way to balance out the use of bold paint colors and wall paper, is to create an accent wall balanced with more neutral colors on the other 3 walls. There are several wall coverings you can use to create an accent wall:
- Pick a bold paint color for one wall.
- Use wallpaper to create a bold look on one wall.
- Screens that can also be used as a room divider, can also work as an accent wall.
So my search for a great photo yielded a video which I think you'll love. Isabelle from Engineer Your Space shows you how to create a hanging room divider using IKEA products, and it's pretty cool.
You might think the idea of hanging panels or curtains is an inexpensive decorating technique that won't work in your home and you would be wrong! Interior designers are using this approach on high-end luxury homes like the Great American Home shown at the 2014 International Home Builder show in Las Vegas. If you're spending any time on Houzz or Google+, you're seeing lots of houses with glass walls that extend from the floor to the ceiling. There are times where these homeowners want privacy, and that's when full wall curtains make a lot of sense.
Found this wonderful wall example where they likely finished a deck/sunroom, and painted the old exterior shingles white to match the other walls.