Create walls with wow factor

Transforming the walls in your home is a brilliant way to express
yourself and make a bold statement about your decorating style. While
you can simply paint or paper a feature wall, there are some more
creative ways to go about decorating them.

Paint parallel lines

If you fancy using bold colour,
but you're not brave enough to go for a whole wall of it, this is a
brilliant idea. Paint the lower third of a wall and fake a dado rail
with a thin border in a contrasting colour. Here, a peg rail has been
painted in the same wall shade for extra impact. 

Wall painted in Quartz Flint 4 matt emulsion (top), £24.49 for 2.5ltr, Paint Mixing range, Dulux; Vardo Estate Emulsion (bottom); stripe painted in Yellowcake Estate Emulsion; both £39.50 for 2.5ltr, Farrow & Ball

Frame some wallpaper

Sometimes you find a
wallpaper and just love it, but you don't want to use it on every wall.
While a feature wall is a viable option, another idea is to turn it into
a piece of art. Choose a painterly pattern and frame it with moulding
that is painted to match. Doing this is also a great way to zone an area
in an open-plan, multipurpose, room. When it comes to accessorizing,
you could choose pieces that are in colours from your panel. You can
even change them seasonally, going bright for spring and summer and
deeper for winter.

Walls painted in Dimity Estate Emulsion, £39.50 for 2.5ltr, Farrow & Ball. Azim Indigo wall art, £26 per m, Voyage Decoration; frame painted in Aquamarine emulsion, £21.98 for 2.5ltr, Valspar range, B&Q

Turn a wall into an art gallery

Have a budding Picasso at home? Then give your child's artwork the attention it deserves with a dedicated space in your home. Create a standout gallery by painting some glass-free frames in a bright colour - you could match the shade to your room's accessories. When they are dry, hang them up on the wall and simply pin each week's masterpieces in them. And if you're the sentimental sort, don't throw out the old ones - file them away or take photos of them so you'll always have a record of them.

Wall painted in Gauze Absolute Matt Emulsion, £37 for 2.5ltr; panelling painted in James Intelligent Eggshell, £53 for 2.5ltr; both Little Greene. Söndrum frames, £8 each; all Ikea; painted in Trumpet Intelligent Eggshell, £53 for 2.5ltr, Little Greene

Make a huge pinboard

Need an office but don't have a room to spare? Turn the corner of
a guest room, a bit of the kitchen or part of the hall or landing into a
creative space for work, homework and household paperwork.
Sticky-backed cork tiles don't cost very much and can be put up in
minutes to transform a whole wall into the perfect space to pin notes,
photos, paperwork and inspirational whatnots.

Wall covered in self-adhesive cork tiles, £33.45 per sq m, Walls and Floors

Create a fun play zone

Use the walls in a child's room to create a fun place to hang out that will spark their imagination. Make a backdrop for creative play using masking tape to design a simple ‘mountain range' effect. Add stickers to help with the illusion.

Wall painted in Brilliant White emulsion (top); Desert Bloom emulsion;
both £21.98 for 2.5ltr, Valspar range, B&Q. Shutters painted in Yellowcake Estate Eggshell, £55 for 2.5ltr, Farrow & Ball

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