Today I have a special guest post to share with you from Jennifer Riner from Zillow. Jennifer emailed me a couple months ago and asked if I was interested in hosting a guest post from Zillow. She wanted to write an article in the area of DIY/home improvement projects or home decor. Since we recently moved into our house and I am currently trying to figure out how to style lots of bare walls, I thought that sounded like a fun topic of interest for my blog!
Jennifer currently lives in Seattle and writes about real estate, interior design, and home improvement for Zillow. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin with a BA in Journalism and Strategic Communication.
Thank you so much for this great article Jennifer! I got lots of great ideas for my bare walls, and I was nodding my head along in agreement with you throughout the whole thing! You confirmed lots of potential ideas that I already had swirling around in my head, and now I am super motivated to work on styling my bare spaces. So without further ado, here is Jennifer... (And ps- don't mind me but I might pipe up in italics throughout Jennifer's article to share some of my photos as well.)
10 Ways to Style Bare Walls
By Jennifer Riner of Zillow
While design enthusiasts often rely on neutral wall colors, they don’t allow their rooms to remain completely bare. The trick to making white walls work is styling them with an array of unique trimmings, on one or all four sides of otherwise basic spaces.
Rather than repainting entire rooms, consider reworking white walls using the following 10 options.
1. Bold Wallpaper
Contrast neutral interiors with striking accent walls, outfitted with unique geometric patterns. Homeowners can choose between permanent and temporary wallpaper solutions. Leaseholders specifically benefit from the latter since temporary wallpaper yields quick removal, ideal before move-out.
I LOVE the wallpaper idea! In fact, I just ordered this wallpaper to use in our loft area upstairs, and on one wall by our garage downstairs to create a mudroom wall for backpacks and sweatshirts, etc.
I also just bought this cute wall art that I'm going to hang in the loft area too. I think it will look really good against the brick wall paper too. It's going to go above the new yellow media center we just bought for the tv in the loft.
2. Gallery Walls
Source: The Green Room Interiors
Showcase personal mementos, family photos and inspirational quotes in classic frames hung in non-traditional layouts. Measurements aren’t always necessary and sometimes simply estimating a frame’s placement creates more of an eclectic design.
3. Lacquered Paint Accents
For more adventurous homeowners, lacquered paint accent walls present an unbeatable shine, sure to bounce light throughout interior spaces. Dare to go dark with rich navy or bold black lustrous finishes. Even though darker pigments absorb more light than paler shades, the polished finish of lacquered paint reflects light for striking, well-lit interiors. Modern lacquer combines high-gloss paint and water-based acrylic, so the fumes are no more dangerous than standard paint. Still, use caution and make sure areas are well-ventilated during application.
4. Color Blocking
Rather than painting solid hues, alternate colors to form various geometrical shapes against white backgrounds. Use complementary shades to create striking juxtapositions that add visual interest. Maintain clean lines by measuring and marking geometrical patterns on walls with tape prior to painting.
5. Mirrors
Multiple mirrors vastly increase the brightness of interior rooms. Consider hanging a few large, or multiple small, elegant mirrors along one side of a room. Walls opposite of large windows are usually best to hang mirrors so sunlight can bounce throughout airspace easily. Home stagers often recommend mirrors for homes on the market since they help attract house hunters looking for bright and airy abodes, but these can be used regardless of listing status.
I love the mirrors idea for walls too. I've had my eye on this Captain's mirror from Cost Plus.
I also really want a sunburst mirror to hang on the wall above the bed in our master bedroom, but I just haven't found THE ONE yet.
Please ignore how horrible this picture is. The lighting in our bedroom is always so tricky. I re took the pic so many times of the day, but could not ever get a good one. The walls look almost green in this picture and they are actually a really pretty grey (Elephant Skin by Behr). Ah well, you get the idea. Blank wall. Needs more love. I still need to buy a rug for our room too. And new nightstands. And a cozy chair and table by the window. And... and... and... ;)
This one is from Cost Plus.
6. Floating Shelves
Showcase trinkets and décor by installing floating shelves on blank walls. Hang floating shelves parallel to each other, in offset vertical lines anywhere on walls.
7. Built-in Bookshelves
Source: Zillow Digs
For larger collectibles such as books or albums, consider built-in bookshelves. Built-ins tend to absorb extra square footage, so smaller rooms are not realistic spaces to consider.
8. String Lights
Hang holiday lights year-round where ceilings meet walls. Small string lights provide relaxed atmospheres to otherwise dark spaces and create ideal night lighting for softer illumination.
9. Tapestry
Hang tapestries to create worldly, unique interiors. Textiles are simple to install and remove, making them practical alternatives for indecisive residents. Tapestries add dynamic texture, bold patterns and a variety of colors to bare walls, and are ideal for renters unable to make permanent changes to interiors.
10. Upholstery
More permanent than tapestries, upholstered walls add texture to blank living spaces. Limit upholstery to a single wall in an appropriate area, such as behind beds for a dramatic headboard.
Consider mixing and matching some of the aforementioned ideas, but don’t overwhelm a perfectly good blank slate. Sometimes, a few accents are all a renter or homeowner needs to showcase their personal flair. And, if white walls prove too dull, consider repainting the entire space.
Speaking of paint, Mr. H just painted our guest bedroom over the weekend. I love the way the color turned out! We used Cathedral Grey by Behr.
Before...
After...
So far it's gotten new flooring, new mirrored closet doors, paint, new bamboo window shade, and you can't see the light in the room, but it was a hideous awful gold thing and we replaced it with a much prettier one. Next light that needs to go is that ugly one in the pic above right outside the guest room in the hallway! There's two of those in the hall, and I'd like to replace them with something like this...
This is another blank slate to decorate by our front door.
The tile runs down the hall through to the kitchen and family room. We will stop the demo at the end of the hallways, and the new flooring will match the laminate wood that we've put in the rest of the house.
A few hours after I took that picture down the hallway, we went out and bought this new rug for the kitchen table.
We also adjusted the light to hang over the center of the table too. I love how the rug defines the space now. The rug is 6x9 ft from Cost Plus. We also got a few other fun finds which I'll share soon.
Some day we'd like to replace the tile in the family/kitchen room, but for now its staying.
This space by our tv drives me crazy with how unfinished the walls look.
This is the wall opposite of where the tv is.
We hate these akward cutouts in the wall. We know someone who we are going to have fill them in and eventually create a clean slate to decorate on. I'd like to get plantation shutters for the windows in this room. And a farmhouse dining table. And a new chandelier. And new baseboards. And...and...and... lol.
One thing at a time.
Rome wasn't built in a day right?
But now thanks to Jennifer, I've got some really great ideas on how to style my bare walls!!!
Thanks so much Jennifer!
Have you ever been stumped on how to decorate a wall in your house?
What did you wind up doing to it???
