5 Home Decor Ideas: Wallpaper & Decor Inspiration

Its been quite sometime since my husband, DJ and I moved into our new place. We have managed to get some things organised like some of the furniture and kitchen stuff. Satarupa’s tips (along with a number of phone calls as well as some frantic messages to Dhara) were helpful. (You might want to check out Dhara’s design blog for more inspiration). However, we seem to have left the most daunting tasks like wallpaper till the end. Let me clarify, this is not the recommended way of going about things if you are doing up your own place!

The things we haven’t got around to doing is our floors, tiling the bathroom and the most painful of it all – painting and wallpapering the house. But we are making progress!

We ended up doing quite a bit of work on the apartment just this last weekend and I wanted to list out certain decor items and ideas I have and used and been inspired by.

1. Feature Walls

I love feature walls. I knew I definitely wanted a feature wall in our new apartment. Especially with the very drab weather in this country, feature walls are a great idea. But I would also recommend to think a little about the kind of feature wall you want. DJ and I were really adventurous and got one wall in our living room painted red! I recently saw a friend’s feature wall with lovely wallpaper which gave a multi-coloured tile-like effect. The rest of his room is white so it was the perfect pop of colour.

But I know a bright red wall is not everyones cup of tea, nor is colourful wallpaper. In such a case, I recommend a textured feature wall. It can be in the most neutral colour but still looks so elegant and so interesting. I loved these two patterns from Graham & Brown. I just cannot decide between the two and any recommendations would be most welcome!

Graham & Brown Gabardine Off White

Graham & Brown Check

2. Picture Wall

I knew I wanted some art in the house. Something personal, fun – a conversation starter. The best way to get some art in your house is a picture wall. I am still working on my collection for my picture wall!

I always recommend that the pictures and art you choose should be personal – they should make sense to you and have meaning for you. They should have a story. Pinterest should give you ideas but not end up on the wall of your house! For instance, I loved this striking picture of the Brooklyn Bridge and I am currently on the lookout for similar London and Mumbai based photographs which would be meaningful to me.

Brooklyn Bridge Structure by David Clapp

3. Mix and Match Decor Ideas and Themes

This was something I was very apprehensive about. We knew we wanted our home decor to be very very modern. Vintage, retro, quirky was not to our taste. But at the same time I wanted our flat to look interesting. We wanted a old style chair and a fun red wall. We wanted a rustic looking, low coffee table.

The coffee table is from Etsy, the plant (fake) from Ikea and various coffee table books from everywhere.

I was a little hesitant about how it would all go together. But honestly, this may sound like no advice but don’t overthink it. It might surprise you how cool some unexpected things look together.

4. Use Everyday Items as a Part of Your Decor

We have kept our books out in the open as a part of the decor. But books are an obvious one. You can use other items especially collectibles, makeup and perfumes bottles, even shoes! This is an especially useful tip for small city apartments with restricted space.

For instance, DJ and I love collecting colourful mugs as souvenirs. I love drinking my weekend coffee out of these mugs thinking of fun holidays! We keep them hanging just above our sink in our open plan kitchen.

5. Designate Spaces

I like the idea of wallpaper hinting at the purpose for a particular space in the house. For instance, I love the idea of using unique wallpaper like this shoe design one for your closet or behind the shoe rack.

Or something like this red brick one for behind the fireplace or kitchen.

Of course this kind of wallpaper is best used for a restricted wall or space and not for all four walls – unless you are really adventurous!

Have you used any of these ideas? Have other great ideas for me? Thanks for reading!

This post is a collaborative effort.

– Anisha