White walls or bright walls?

Dull and plain walls making you feel drab? Mala Ashok  gives advice on the latest trends in wall decor.

By and large, when we talk about maintenance on our walls, we call it whitewashing. Our walls have traditionally been white, and continue that way for the most part.

White or coloured, if your home makes you feel drab and bored, in all likelihood, your walls are vacant.

Bare walls make a room look uninviting and cold. Wall decor is a fundamental part of enriching not only your walls but your entire room, and consequently your home.

Decor can change your walls into a visual delight and impart your unique personality to them. Pablo Picasso once said, “Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.”

This is so true. Delightful decor can turn your home into a welcoming place to live in and visit.

Wall murals are the “in” thing, both outdoors and indoors in the West. Our white walls are a wonderful canvas to try and create something really original if you have the talent.

Others need not despair. We can rely on some tested wall decor methods. Given below are some tried and tested wall-decor ideas.

Decor ideas

One of the most used methods of wall decor is adding texture to the wall using wallpapers. Wallpapers are now available in a variety of styles locally and all you need to do is to paper the walls with them.

A beautiful work of art can enhance any decorative wall decor scheme.

This piece need not be one large artwork in the centre of the wall. Several smaller pieces in a themed display would also work, or one large piece can be interspersed with some interesting metal wall art.

The use of mirrors makes a room look larger than it is. Mirrors can occupy an entire wall or a small portion of a larger display. Any number of mirror styles and motifs can be combined with other wall decor elements. Soft lighting as well can create a magical atmosphere.

Decorating walls with any of the plethora of local folk art that we are blessed with in India would add a rustic dimension and texture to a room.

One of the biggest problems we have in the little matchbox Apartments is to escape the cooped up feeling.  This can be achieved by “bringing the outdoors in.” Examples of this method are, displaying dried leaves in handmade frames.

Your child’s prized artwork can be the most unique wall art. Scan it with the help of a computer and print the images onto fabric and then create wall hangings from the fabric images.

With the advent of paper tissues, many of us have stopped using handkerchiefs. So what does one do with the numerous Hankies we have collected? 

Wake them up from their slumber; frame them, and let them adorn your wall in a collection or throughout your home.

Before you choose any wall decor idea, ensure that it appeals to all your family members. Also, consider your choice fully before committing to it as you will have to live with it for quite a while.

Using imagination, there is no need to settle for a white wall you can turn it into a bright wall.