How to Decorate White Walls

Clinical or clever? On-trend or off-the-boil? The all-white look is a design statement that first found favour with the ultra-minimalist look of the 1980s, and has gone around in cycles ever since. The latest version is remarkably versatile, working in any space from the kitchen, bathroom, living room or the bedroom. 

However, having four blank canvases to play with can be intimidating, and you need to get your décor just right to give it the maximum wow factor without appearing too clinical or cold. Here are a few tips on how to decorate white walls.

White-on-white living spaces

If you’re going to use an all-white decorating theme, then our top tip is to really go for it! Treat white like any other colour, and use white living room walls as the backdrop to a stylish, modernist interior. Team it up with white furniture, and then bring interest into the room with bold pops of colour with throws, cushions, and rugs. 

3D wall art

It can be difficult deciding how to decorate white walls in a living room, but if you want to add real interest, go for objects and wall art with a 3D effect, as the shadows they throw can add to the drama and impact of the piece. Geometric designs work well, but remember that you’re working with an all-white canvas so pictures need to be larger to avoid becoming lost in the white expanse of the walls. If you really cannot bear to go all-white, balance the neutrality of the white walls with wood effect for that Scandinavian feel that’s so on-trend right now.

Layer up the colours

White works well as a base in any room, but to balance it out and to create interest you can layer neutral colours into the design, such as teal or soft pastels, shades of brown and grey. Don’t overdo it, as you don’t want any one colour to dominate, but to get them to work in harmony. 

Add a ‘statement wall’

For real impact, choose one wall to be a ‘statement wall’ and while the others are white, go for a bold pattern that incorporates white as part of its design, so that it ties in properly with your white walls. Using a single block colour for a statement wall in a white room may not work as effectively, so our top tip is choose a pattern such as botanical ferns or large flowers on a white background.

How to decorate a white wall bedroom 

Normally, we choose soft, calming colours for a bedroom, so an all-white bedroom may seem to be counterintuitive. However, white walls can eliminate the ‘noise’ that colours can bring to a room, and in fact make it more restful. Balance out the white with bedding that brings a sense of individuality into a room to stop it feeling like a hospital ward! Use natural touches to bring a feeling of peace and relaxation into the space, or give your room a more natural feel with the addition of plants. If you simply can’t keep real plants alive, go for faux plants that look so realistic that you may end up watering them by mistake!

Incorporate white walls into the architectural design of your home
White walls allow you to draw attention to specific architectural features, so a decorative window becomes a piece of wall art when surrounded by the serenity of a white wall, for example, or traditional brickwork takes on a bold new texture and feel next to pristine white walls. 
By embracing white as a true ‘colour’ in your home, you can increase the sense of space, draw attention to those key features in your home, and give yourself a blank canvas to let your personality and style shine through far more effectively.