Go troppo!
The next step up from painting a wall in a solid colour, but just as simple, is using textured-effect paint for a suede-style finish. This type of product is easy to apply with a brush and roller, can be tinted to most colours and mimics the sophisticated look of brushed suede. Try it in a soothing shade of green on the main wall behind your bed to bring instant tropical style to the bedroom. Then, up the interior styling with white-painted shutters for a bedhead and island-inspired accessories, too.
Industrial vibes
In the same vein as suede effect paint, you’ll find a range of paint products on the market that mimic metal, rust, concrete and stone – all of which are perfect for bringing an industrial vibe to a space. Here, the concrete-look paint finish is anchored to one wall, giving this living space just enough edge to inspire a warehouse vibe in the fixtures and furnishings. The application of concrete-effect paint typically involves a base coat, a light sand, the application of a second coat and a final polish with a metal trowel to highlight the texture.
Go geometric
Up your feature wall game in a bedroom or dining room with a geometric design that’s achieved by using a selection of different paint colours and good quality painters tape. To do this, you’ll need to mask up a couple of spread-out sections at a time and apply your chosen paint colours. To neatly butt paint colours together, remove the tape, let the paint dry, then apply tape over each painted area before you continue to paint neighbouring sections. This means you can colour every part of your design without gaps in between! As for your colour selection, you could go for a subtle mix of whites and greys, varying shades of one colour (say blues or greens) or a batch of pretty pastels, as here.
Twinkle factor
If you have a little bit more patience and time to spare, this star-studded wall treatment is a real showstopper and well worth the effort. The pale blue stars make the perfect backdrop for starry, starry nights in a nursery or kids’ room and come to life on your wall by using a homemade stencil and stipple brush. To do this, measure and use a pencil to lightly mark up your wall into an even grid of squares. Cut a rigid sheet of cardboard or thin plastic to the same size as a square in the grid. Draw a centred star shape on the cardboard or plastic, then carefully cut out the shape with a utility knife on a cutting mat. Use masking tape to tack the template in position, centred to a square in the grid, then use a stipple brush and a small amount of paint to transfer the star design to the wall.
Top tips: to use a stipple brush, gently dab it on the wall rather than drag the brush. Keep the template flat to the wall as you paint to prevent paint bleed. Repeat this method for each square in the grid, then let dry. Remove light pencil marks with an eraser.
