10 Blank Wall Ideas to Reinvigorate Your Home

Empty walls offer a world of possibility. Rather than adding new items of furniture even undertaking a great rearrange, livening up your walls can be a quick, easy and affordable way to add new life to your home. So, don’t see them as empty walls, see them as blank canvases. And you can use these spaces to create bold and eye-catching maximalist features or for more minimalist displays.

Below we have come up with 10 great blank wall ideas, some maximalist and some minimalist, for using your blank wall spaces to add colour, detail, personal touches and talking points to your home. 

1. Curate your own gallery

Thinking about adding a new picture to the wall? Why stop at one? Or two? Or five? You can use your wall space to create your very own maximalist gallery space, adding dozens of artworks to your wall. You can either turn a whole room into a gallery or simply have one gallery wall bursting with images. Mix up the frames and the hanging heights and the styles of art on display or stick to a theme – you’re the curator so it’s entirely up to you what your collection looks like. Need artwork ideas? Take a look at Swyft's collection of modern art prints. 

2. Use fabrics

Why limit your walls to photos, paintings or prints? Your wall can be a space to put anything you want and hanging fabrics is a great way to add texture to otherwise flat spaces. Think about vintage scarves or printed fabrics you can find for just a few pounds in fabric or junk shops. And add a frame to turn your piece of off-cut fabric into a legitimate minimalist artwork in its own right.

3. Mirror, mirror on the wall

Mirrors have an obvious practical purpose in terms of reflecting your image but they can also add a sense of space and light into even small and dark rooms. Position your mirrors to bounce back light, opposite windows or door openings, and you’ll be amazed at the sense of space they create. Plus, with a stylish frame, a mirror can be just as beautiful as a lavish print. And again, why stop at one? Cover your wall in a range of different mirrors in all shapes, sizes and design styles for a really maximalist feature wall.

4. Paint a mural

We said you should think of your wall as a blank canvas, and in this case, we mean that quite literally. Use your wall space to let your creative side out with your own painted mural. Think of a design or just go freeform and see what you create. Just remember to put some sheets down and move furniture when doing the painting. The best bit is, if you don’t like what you’ve done, just whitewash it and start again. And depending on your chosen mural style, you can create maximalist or minimalist designs.

5. The importance of storage

Run out of floor space to store your stuff? Then get vertical with a freestanding shelving unit or floating shelves. Shelves or storage ottomans can be used to store all sorts of things, from books and vinyl records to ornaments, flowers, electronic equipment and more. Make sure any shelving units you use are capable of supporting the necessary loads and are securely fixed to the walls. But don’t just stop with the shelves, use colours, textures and natural finishes like wood to really get the most out of your shelving. And check out this blog for more ideas for behind the sofa storage and decor.

6. Go green

Plants are a superb way of bringing nature into your home, adding greenery and cleaner air. They have even been proven to reduce stress. Rather than freestanding pot plants, why not try and create a vertical green wall, with plants hanging from specially designed shelving? Mix up the types of plants and different foliage types you use on your green wall, or even add bursts of colour with some flowers for a maximalist display. It’s your very own vertical garden inside the house. Plus, a green wall would look perfect when teamed with a vintage vine green Model 02 sofa from Swyft.

7. Panelling

Flat plaster walls are great. You can change the colours with paint, and they’re cheap and easy to maintain. But they are not the only option. You can change up your wall spaces by using wood or other materials to create interior panelling. This is the process of adding slats of wood either vertically or horizontally to the wall surface to create a different texture surface. You can create panelling with other materials too, including cork, chipboard or virtually anything that is flat, rigid and relatively durable. Flat surfaces in a range of styles can create a minimalist use of wall space. You can then paint these surfaces to match or complement the colour of your Model 03 Swyft sofa.

8. Wall of knowledge

Use your blank space to create a visual display that is both beautiful and inspiring. For example, you could attach a map of the world and stick flags in each country you have visited. Or you could create the constellations of the night sky with glow in the dark stars. These kinds of fun and informative wall decorations are perfect for kids’ bedrooms.

9. Go back to basics

Depending on the age of your home and the construction methods used to make it, behind the plaster there might be a whole range of materials and wall finishes that would look great exposed. There could be bricks and mortar, stone walling or even old layers of wallpaper that could create a real vintage and minimalist chic look for your home. However, this one is very much only applicable to some properties, so make sure you know what you’re getting into before you start chipping off the plaster.

10. Paint inspiration

Of course, what you do with your walls can be as simple as a new coat of paint. You could either choose minimal block colours or you can try paint effects and split colour schemes for a more eye-catching maximalist display. Check out our blog to find out more about how to do half painted walls.

These 10 top ideas are great for giving your home a new lease of life in a choice of minimalist or maximalist designs. But if you really want to inject some style into your home or living room, then this might be the time to buy a new sofa. Visit our site and shop Swyft sofas to see our range of vintage and modern inspired sofas, suitable for all kinds of homes and living spaces.