10 Ideas For Blank Walls

Hello!  I'm so excited to be taking over Alicia's blog today.  Alicia lives near me and sometimes we get together and just talk about decorating--haha!  My name is Heidi Ferguson and I blog at Honeybear Lane.  I am totally obsessed with decor and DIY and if you are too, be sure to sign up for my free course--the First 5 Steps You Need to Take to Decorate!

 If you're like 79.5% of America (okay, yes--made up statistic!) you probably have at least one boring and blank wall in your house. A wall that stares you in the face and taunts you "Look at how boring I am! Do something with me!" But no matter how much you stare at it, ideas evade you.  Here are 10 ideas for you to decorate that blank wall! 1. Gallery Wall: This is a great solution for a blank wall space. Collect photos you have but keep one element the same-if you have mismatched shapes and sizes of frames, spray paint them all the same color. Or use the same shape frames with full color photos inside. The color will lend variety.  2. Board and batten wall treatment: I have lots of board and batten in my house because I love the level of elegance it gives to a wall. It breaks up the wall and accents the paint color, like this beautiful white and navy contrast in my guest bedroom. And bonus, it's not hard to do--believe it or not! 3. Shiplap wall treatment: Shiplap is all the rage these days--it's similar to board and batten with more of a farmhouse flair.  True shiplap is actually a specific way the wood interlocks with each other, but you can do your own imitation shiplap for a fraction of the price!   Bonus tip! Doing a wall treatment behind a TV sitting on a cabinet lends the wall interest, creates a natural space for art or photos above, and draws attention away from the TV.  4. Shelves and a hutch: One of my favorite and a super practical way to fill a wall space is open shelving coupled with a console table, sideboard, buffet, or other type of hutch. Usually if you do open shelving you will want a more closed table below it to ground the shelves. But now you have tons of storage and display space! 5. Large scale art: If it's a really big wall, it's only that more daunting of a task to decorate. Big walls need big things on them or they will get lost. Try finding some large scale artwork or other piece (clock, ironwork, cute sign, etc) to fill the space. Sometimes all it takes is one very large piece to fill the void.   And they don't have to be fancy, like this cute sign in my farmhouse loft. 6. Wallpaper: Wallpaper can be scary because it's more of a commitment, it's tricky to apply correctly, and can be hard to remove later. If you're not ready for wallpaper, you can often achieve a similar effect with stenciling, like I did with my daughter's bedroom. Or you can do half wallpaper, half solid color wall.    7. Other large scale things, thinking outside the box: This can include large plants or even plants hung on the wall. Hang a rug on the wall. Paint a mural. Large scale letters. Chalkboard wall. Floor to ceiling bookshelves. Floor to ceiling photo shelves. Old shutters, old windows, old doors. Strings of lights. Blanket ladder. Plate shelves. Large mirrors. So many possibilities--like this ginormous pegboard I built for my craft room.  It's pretty AND functional! 8. Tile Backsplash:  This is more of a wall treatment for kitchens, bathrooms, and laundry rooms, but when installing your backsplash, consider taking the tile all the way up the wall for more of a bold statement.   9. Grid Wainscoting:  I love the grid wainscoting.  You could add in some cove molding to make it look more traditional and high-end.   10.  Skinny Board and Batten:  This is my favorite of all the wall treatments.  I feel like it just screams farmhouse and it's super easy to do.  I had this in my old bedroom but I'm pretty sure it's going to end up in my current bedroom when we get around to doing it! Whatever you decide to do, just make sure you love it and that it reflects your style!  
If you enjoyed this post, please come visit me at my blog and be sure to sign up for my free course The First 5 Steps You Need to Take to Decorate!