Everyone has at least one wall in their home that is, for some reason, persistently unprepossessing. Whether it be because of a recurring water spot, a hideous series of pushpin holes, old Sheetrock or just a patent plainness, we all agree it would be best if we could hide these walls.
That’s why we have put together a list of ten ideas for concealing ugly walls, from the expensive to the cheap DIY. All these wall decoration ideas have been executed or conceptualised by interior design professionals. Let’s begin the countdown!
- Put in a bookshelf
For walls that are not in dire need of professional help, we recommend installing a wall-sized bookshelf. This is actually quite easy nowadays, since the shelf market is totally saturated, making wall-sized shelving fairly cheap and easy to purchase.
Innovative wall design with shelves
A shelf doesn’t necessarily have to be a traditional wood-toned, linear one. You can think out of the box and customise it to boost the wall design. For example, in a kid’s room, an innovative street-themed shelf design can offer an exciting and fun way to display the child’s collection of cars, while making it easier to keep the room looking tidy.
- Install a mosaic pattern
Our favourite way to hide an ugly wall is to create a cool mosaic design. Mosaics are so multifaceted and easy to DIY that an unsightly space can be spiffed up in a matter of a day. If you are stuck for which mosaic pattern to go for, there are even plenty of professionals who now offer pre-made mosaic wall pieces!
- Make them functional
A good old-fashioned cork board for pinning up your to-do lists and notes or one of these clever ‘everything’ magnet boards is a great way to cover up an ugly water spot or unrepaired hole in a functional way. Just measure, purchase and hang!
- Hang a curtain
Put up a quality curtain—not a tacky beaded curtain but a thick, snazzy cloth one that makes the room feel warm and luxurious. For extra dazzle, choose a fabric with a strong metallic thread woven through it, or go all out with sequins.
- Get a wall tattoo
Wall tattoos are different from murals in that they do not just cover one wall — they can be placed along edges, and spill onto floors, as pictured here. What a unique alternative for drawing attention away from the fact that a wall is otherwise quite plain!
- Put up a snazzy lamp
A fun solution for hiding a plain wall is bolting up several wall lamps that are super cute, or just one or two that emit interesting light patterns. The larger the wall, the bigger the lamp—simple!
- Make a fake window
Yep, use a funky set of blinds or window shades, paint your own window frame, and hook up the necessary infrastructure to create the fantastic illusion that your ugly wall is, in fact, just another grand window. You can even make this a DIY, how to paint a wall mural project to create a realistic and personalised piece of décor.
If you want ideas on how to cover an ugly sofa, gets tips from this ideabook.
- Put up a map mural
Map murals are amazingly dynamic ways to fill up empty, plain wall areas. They can range from city maps to world maps, from modern subway maps to medieval maps of Asia—whatever your taste, a map mural is sure to make your wall suddenly immensely interesting!
- Turn them into a hanging wardrobe
Less bulky than a full wooden wardrobe is the clothes closet made simply by stringing up a piece of string between two walls, in the same manner as a clothesline. String up the line at a fair distance from the back wall you wish to detract attention from, then, just hang up your trendiest clothes in front and voila! Nobody even notices the wall.
Sometimes, less is more, especially when it comes to a small room. Instead of installing an artwork or wall painting, a wall-to-wall wardrobe ticks boxes, both in terms of being practical and appealing.
