Walls pull a room together, literally, but often they get overlooked during the design process. Paint colors get selected and a few pictures are hung, but that’s about it – unless you’re a celebrity with a top-notch interior designer.
Professional designers know that walls don’t have to fade into the background. They are the perfect way to showcase style, highlight the home’s architecture and add serious intrigue. Here’s a look at how some of today’s biggest celebrities are dressing up their walls with major design elements.
Kylie Jenner’s Larger Than Life Wall Mural
She’s considered the queen of social media for a reason. It should come as no surprise to learn that Kylie Jenner, the kid sister of the Kardashian clan, had a mural of herself painted on a wall in her home earlier this year. The way larger than life portrait spans two adjoining walls. And of course, Jenner chronicled the work of artist JWoodzART on Snapchat.
Don’t have the budget for an artist to create a custom masterpiece? Wall mural decals can give you the same effect for a whole lot less. Self-adhesive murals can be fully customized, and, unlike their painted counterpart, they can be removed and reused in another room.
Add Intrigue to Hallways with Statement Art
One of the quickest ways to elevate the interior design of a home is by adding artwork. Many celebrities are known for their art collections, but few display them as well as Emeril Lagasse.
Virtually any wall can become a gallery, but hallways offer a unique way to display art. Lagasse’s Manhattan apartment, which was recently put on the market, features massive pieces of art in the entry hallway. The art almost covers the entire wall and makes for a very interesting first impression. Hallways are also an ideal spot for a series of pictures that create a single image or story because of the linear shape of the space.
Stepping Over to the Dark Side
Want to instantly add drama to a room? Then take a step over to the dark side. Over the last few years, charcoal colored walls have been catching on among celebrities and daring décor enthusiasts. Decorators note that vibrantly colored artwork pops off black walls, but the space needs to have ample light to keep a room from looking like a dungeon.
Kylie Jenner is again showing that she’s a trendsetter in her new home, which features a master bathroom with wall-to-wall black tiles.
White on White
On the opposite end of the spectrum are design obsessed celebrities like Ellen DeGeneres and Courtney Cox. Both women have gone stark white in their master bedrooms. The rooms feel wide and open because both the walls and ceilings are painted pure white. It creates a seamless, clean appearance that makes the walls look even taller than they actually are.
Swap Drywall for Stone
Years ago painting an accent wall was en vogue. Today, celebrities are taking the idea to a whole new level with walls made entirely out of stone. Michael Bay is known for going big with his movies, and he’s done the same in the bedroom of his Miami mansion. The focal point is a backlit onyx wall that conceals the master bath.
As you can imagine, swapping stone for drywall is extremely expensive. You can fake the look with wall decals in a natural stone print. If there’s more room in the budget, you can also opt for faux stone in place of the real thing.
Textured Wallpaper
Texture is one of the most underrated design elements. Unlike color, texture doesn’t just affect the look of a space by making the flat surface of a wall three-dimensional. Because it’s tactile, texture can also affect the acoustics and overall feel of a space.
Wallpaper is now finding its way into the homes of celebrities that want to incorporate patterns or intricate designs with a touch of texture. This isn’t the wallpaper you remember seeing in your grandmother’s house. It’s super high end and created using very expensive fabric rather than paper. You can get a similar effect for a lot less just putting wallpaper on a single accent wall in a common area.
Add Dimension with Wall Panels
Walls don’t have to be a two-dimensional flat surface. Another way to add more dimension is to put panels on the walls. Melanie Griffith and her interior decorator Kari Whitman combined wall panels with lacquer black paint in the star’s dining room. The look is super chic and very high impact. Even though the room is painted all black, the paneling helps to give the room more depth and visual interest.
