Everyone has that one space in their home that’s neglected. For some of us, it’s an outdated bathroom or ragged laundry room. For others, it’s a large blank wall that’s boring and unflattering. If you fall into this latter camp, it doesn’t take much to positively transform this area into a compelling feature of your home’s interior design.
Let’s explore a few relatively easy ideas that give you plenty of room to inject fresh creativity into your house:
1. Built-Ins
One of the easiest ways to take care of a big blank wall is to install some built-ins. You can either purchase pre-made, modular bookcases and piece them together to fit your space, or you can have someone do a custom build for you. (If you’re handy, this is a project you might consider tackling yourself.)
The key with built-ins is to decorate them appropriately. If you aren’t careful, they can turn into a cluttered eyesore. Keep it clean, simple, and open.
“It’s okay to buy some new pieces, especially ones that you absolutely love, but don’t feel like you need to buy everything new for your built-ins,” interior design blogger Casey Finn writes. “Finding accessories around your home and breathing new life into them by pairing them with other items is half the fun for us.”
If you ever grow tired of the look, you can just rearrange or swap out items and your built-ins will enjoy a fresh makeover.
2. Floating Shelving
Don’t want to commit to built-ins, but want something to display items on your wall? Floating shelving is a simple, sleek, and cost-effective option. Once again, you can buy, build, or have custom shelving installed for you. Here are some inspiring ideas.
3. Large Artwork
Large artwork is a fantastic solution for big blank walls. Custom paintings, canvases, and other unique pieces will really pop against the neutral backing. Place some sort of furniture piece underneath to really make the space explode.
Not sure you have room in your budget for a large piece of artwork? These bloggers have an excellent tutorial that shows you how to turn an inexpensive shower curtain into your own canvas-style wall art. Looks cool, right?
4. Electric Fireplace
Few things warm up a space – literally or figuratively – quite like a fireplace. But don’t be fooled into thinking you need a lot of floor space and a chimney to integrate a fireplace into your room. With electric options, it’s easy to add a fireplace to any room.
Wall-mounted electric fireplaces can be inserted into a wall and require nothing more than a dedicated outlet to supply power. You can get one with a traditional log appearance, or a more modern option with crushed fire glass.
5. Plants
Greenery looks especially fresh and vibrant when it’s placed against a large blank wall. Consider installing some shelving and filling it with different plants. Mix things up with a variety of sizes, textures, and colors. (Not only does this make your room look great, but it’ll also improve your home’s air quality!)
6. Gallery Wall
A good gallery wall never goes out of style. And with so many different styles and formats, this is an excellent way for you to show off your creativity. Whether it’s a collection of family photos or different tapestries and vintage pieces that you’ve collected over the years, it’s a surefire way to make a statement!
7. Leaning Mirror
“Beyond their ability to make a room feel instantly bigger and brighter, large mirrors are the perfect way to add design-friendly details to empty walls,” HGTV mentions. “Instead of hanging yours up, consider a leaning option that can be positioned in any room of the home.”
If you do decide to lean a large mirror up against the wall, be sure to secure somehow with some fasteners. (You can hide them behind the mirror and nobody will know they exist.) This ensures children or pets don’t inadvertently knock it over.
Give Your House a Fresh Look
Stop viewing unattractive corners of your home as dead areas and start embracing them as opportunities to flex your creative muscles and amplify your home’s beauty and charm. Hopefully this article has provided you with some inspiration that can be used to rejuvenate your house over the coming months and years.
Which of these options sticks out to you the most? And how will you put your own creative spin on it?