Top ideas for wallpaper feature walls

Wallpaper feature walls have well and truly made it back into our homes and our hearts. Wallpaper has a unique ability to transform a room instantly: it can make you smile, make you look twice, trick the eye or completely shift the mood of a space. There is wallpaper that suits the playful and the serious, the traditional home and the sharply contemporary one. In a custom Oswald Homes design, wallpaper is one of the most powerful tools available to an interior designer because it can establish the personality of an entire room in a single decision. Used with intention, a feature wall can do more for a room than almost any other element in the space.

The first decision when facing today’s impressive array of wallpaper options is whether you want a feature wall that makes a bold statement or one that adds subtle, layered enhancement. In a traditional home, the wallpaper colour and pattern should enrich the overall interior scheme rather than dominate it. Think of it as a beautiful background element that reads like a piece of art: present, considered and rewarding on closer inspection. In a more contemporary custom home, there is scope to be considerably more daring. The colours and textures may still be restrained, but the pattern should catch the eye and hold it. The distinction between statement and enhancement is the most important creative call you will make when choosing wallpaper for a feature wall, and it should be made before you start browsing.

And we generally like to stick to feature wall – very much the singular in any one room. Gone are the days of garish wall-to-wall geometrics or headache-inducing swathes of purple-painted woodchip. And don’t forget, there are ways to use wallpaper to great effect without actually putting it on the walls. We’ve included a couple of our favourites in the line-up of ideas below:

There are several wallpaper stores in and around Perth. We particularly like Scandinavian Wallpaper & Décor on Oxford St in Mount Hawthorn and Wall Candy on Beaufort Street in Perth. There are also plenty of companies selling online.

Pressed tin: In the Long Island in Applecross, Oswald interior designer Danielle Ellery used paintable wallpaper in a pressed tin pattern on one wall of the study. By leaving the wallpaper ‘au naturel’, she created a subtle textured wallpaper feature wall in pure white that fits perfectly with the home’s Hamptons style and traditional elegance.

Mural: In the French Provincial home we built on Philip Road in Dalkeith, an inspirational map of the world conjures up the spirit of travel and adventure in the study. The antique creams and browns of the huge map tie in with what’s happening décor-wise elsewhere in the room, creating a subtle, yet stunning, feature element.

Nature: Wallpapers inspired by nature add delicate colour and detail, from gentle botanical prints, to tree branches and even the stylised birds we used in the master suite of the Warehaus in Gwelup. It’s all about connecting with nature, but in a sophisticated way that adds a sense of calm and serenity.

Metallic: Softly shimmering metallic wallpapers add genuine impact in a home with industrial aesthetic influences, particularly when the pattern captures the texture of steel mesh or the warm glow of metals such as copper or brass. In a custom home where raw materials and engineered surfaces are already part of the design vocabulary, a metallic feature wall adds another layer of considered detail rather than feeling like an afterthought. The effect is especially powerful in lower-lit spaces such as home theatres, master bedroom feature walls and powder rooms, where the shimmer catches light differently across the day and creates a room that feels distinct at different hours. To see how wallpaper is used across different design styles in completed Oswald Homes interiors, our display homes are worth a visit.

Bamboo: Popular in the 70s, bamboo wallpaper is enjoying a new lease on life, especially in homes embracing elements of the Mid Century Modern design era. With their cream, beige and green-grey tones, the natural fibres add a tropical touch to a resort-style home.

Wardrobe doors: In a ‘retro’ style home we built in Perry Lakes, wallpaper was used to make a feature of the sliding wardrobe doors in one of the bedrooms. The feature helped channel the home’s Mid Century Modern style inspiration. Wallpapered wardrobe doors are also a great idea for kids’ rooms. Simply ask your cabinetmaker to leave the doors as bare MDF so you can add your own design touch with pattern, colour and cute characters.

Photo frames: Small sections of wallpaper in photo frames create individual artworks that can make a plain wall pop. Look out for designs sold by the metre.

Magnetic: Turn a wall – or any section of a wall – into a ‘pin-board’ feature with clever magnetic wallpapers. These are great for studies, home offices and kids’ bedrooms. Magnetic lining papers are also available to give just about any wallpaper ‘magnetic’ attraction.

See some of other editions and see the difference wallpaper can make.