She was becoming confused by all that is said out there about feature walls…..should I have feature walls? Are feature walls out of date? If I decide to have a feature wall, which colours should I use? What colours should I avoid?
To cut a long story short, and a brief tour of her lovely home we reached a couple of decisions about the use of feature walls in her home.
First up….feature walls NEVER go out of style! The materials may change and so may the way we use them, but they are a tool to be used in good interior design and certainly nothing to be afraid of.
Feature walls have three primary purposes
- The first is to bring focus to an area you wish to be noticed – such as an entry wall, or fireplace wall – the list goes on
- The second purpose of a feature wall is to highlight colours used in other areas of the home, bringing a central theme throughout the colour scheme
- The third and to be the most important role a feature wall plays is to visually alter areas that need a little help with their size or shape.
And by this I mean, a long narrow hallway will be made to look shorter and wider just by how the colour is placed. (See image)
A short room will appear longer with a darker colour applied to the facing wall (see image)
This technique can be applied in almost any situation, using the slightest variance in colour to the other walls, and will still have the desired effect.
And don’t think feature walls are just painted – there are so many incredible opportunities to create a beautiful feature!
- a wall of water (obviously recycled)
- tiles (not just for the bathroom)
- stone
- fabric or curtains – this is great for a difficulty wall
- padded fabric squares – also double as sound insulation
- plants – vertical gardens make beautiful feature walls inside or out
- wallpaper or even plain textured wallpaper which is paintable
- mural
- oversized black and white photograph
Just remember to select a wall that doesn’t have too much going on such as windows and doors.
So stay calm, and happy designing!