42 Wall Painting Ideas

What color are your walls? If you can’t remember the last time you painted, you are long overdue for an update. You could buy a large five-gallon bucket of white and get to work, but that’s boring. Instead, look at each room as an opportunity to express your taste and personal style and get inspired by these wall painting ideas.

These wall painting ideas will show you that there are countless possibilities for your home’s walls. You can use your home as a blank canvas for artistic expression with a little imagination and creativity. So, are you ready to say goodbye to your boring old walls and try one of these painting ideas?

1. Creating Dimension

When painting artwork on your walls, add depth and dimension by creating a 3D effect. With the use of perspective and shadows, you can create the illusion that your walls are further away or “deeper” than they are. Using this wall painting technique can be a tricky one though. If you find it’s beyond your skill level, look for a wallpaper with a design that creates the 3D effect for you.

When painting animals, flowers, leaves, or trees, add depth by painting sheer shadows slightly offset from the object. To make this effect work, you’ll want to pick an imaginary point to be the source of light. Then paint the shadows as they would be if the light were actually shining on your painted design.

To correctly add perspective, you may need to measure out and outline your painting first. Then you can keep all of the lines heading towards the same distance point. Remember that objects get smaller as they get further away.

2. Transforming Bedrooms

Your bedroom is your personal space. Whatever you choose to put on your walls is right if it’s what you enjoy. However, if you need some help deciding, here are a few things to consider to help you narrow down the options.

If you have crown molding, paint it a bright white and then choose a darker color for your walls. The contrasting colors create a crisp and bold look that can make your bedroom feel larger than it actually is. If you have low ceilings, paint the crown molding the same color as the walls to give the illusion of a taller ceiling.

Choose a color for your bedroom that you find appealing. Colors can affect your mood. Cool colors like blue, green, and purple will create a calming environment. Warm colors tend to create an energetic environment, such as red, orange, and yellow. However, keep the tone in mind; a darker-toned red can create a darker mood than a bright fire-engine red. Then there are the neutrals. You can create a minimalist look with white or black walls.

3. Artful Designs

Create a design with your paint to give the room visual interest and color. The easiest way to do this is with horizontal or vertical stripes. Choose two colors and paint your entire wall the lighter of the two colors. Use painter’s tape to mark off where your second color will go.

A vertical stripe will make your walls seem taller and the ceiling higher. A horizontal stripe will make the room feel longer.

Choose two lighter colors for a softer look. This approach works well in a minimal or white room. The pattern adds depth and texture to the space. Bolder color combinations with light and darker colors are a stronger statement that can become the focal point in the room.

4. Geometry in Focus

Creating geometric shapes across the entire wall is a popular accent wall idea. Most people choose at least two or three different colors for the shapes. However, you can choose as few or as many colors as you want.

The simplest method for creating your shapes is to use masking tape. Place it on the wall to create shapes of varying sizes. They can all be triangles or geometric shapes with various numbers of sides.

For a cleaner look, eliminate the white lines the masking tape makes by painting your wall in phases. This will require you to mark off the shapes for the first color. Then you’ll tape off the next color’s sections when the first color is dry. The two-color shades will be against each other and eliminate the white borders.

5. Whimsical Spaces

A girls’ room is the perfect place to get creative and add some sparkle or glamour to the walls. Start by painting the walls a color that they love. You can then decorate with wall stickers. A pretty look is to use polka dots. They can be evenly placed over the entire wall, or you can have them placed closer together at the top of the wall and gradually spread out as you work your way down the wall for a fade effect.

If the girl is a creative type, then paint one of the walls with chalkboard paint. This creates an entire chalkboard wall that’s perfect for doodling or creating custom drawings. When she grows tired of her creations, she can wipe them off and start again.

6. Beyond the Surface

The safest interior paint colors you can choose from are neutral colors. This can be anything from pure white to shades of cream and beige. These colors are light, reflect light well, and look beautiful with any design aesthetic you choose. They’re also universally appealing and pleasant to look at.

Brave homeowners will throw neutrals out of the window and create a colorful piece of art on their walls. Turn a large blank space into a wall mural. Use several vibrant colors to paint a custom design that takes up the entire wall.

This approach works well if you don’t plan to have anything else on the wall. You wouldn’t want to try and create a gallery wall over your mural. The wall paint and your pictures will compete with each other.

7. Gradient Magic

When you hear about ombre, it’s usually in reference to hair, but that isn’t the only place you can enjoy ombre. The idea is to blend multiple color combinations together for a seamless transition from one color to the next. To look the best, start with the darkest color on the bottom of the wall and get lighter as you reach the ceiling.

There are two painting techniques you can use when painting your ombre wall. The first is to paint horizontal stripes over the bulk of the wall, leaving space between each color. Then working quickly so the paint doesn’t dry, mix the colors together to create a new blended color. Brush that color on the wall in the spaces to create a visually pleasing impact.

The other option is to use your lightest color to paint a base coat over the entire wall. Then thin out the other colors to create a wash of color that gets gradually darker and more opaque the further down the wall you go.

8. Artistic Expression

Not all paint comes in cans that you then apply to the wall with a brush or roller. Using spray paint can give the wall of your home an urban look. This takes practice and skill, so it’s best if you give it a few tries before you attempt to paint your walls.

It can help to use a stencil. This eliminates some of the steady hand and skill required. It can also help to find a design that you get inspired by. Then you can create a design using it as a guide to creating your own artwork.

Spray paint can be toxic, and you’ll need a well-ventilated space to use it in. It can also be very messy. It’s best to leave spray painting on the outside walls. Then there’s plenty of space and ventilation. It also won’t matter if you drip paint on the ground during the painting process.

9. Nature’s Touch

Adding a tree to your wall can bring nature inside. This is a perfect solution for someone who doesn’t have a green thumb or lives in a place that doesn’t have great light. Perhaps you have a room that doesn’t get much sunlight, and a real plant would struggle to thrive in the space.

Paint a tree on the wall and have greenery that never dies. Add blooms, and you’ll enjoy colorful flowers year-round.

While this is one of the most popular creative wall painting ideas, it can be tricky to pull off. You can use a stencil for the trunk and branches. Then another for the leaves. For a realistic look, add small details and texture to your tree by adding bark to the trunk and veining in the leaves.

10. Dual Tones

Add multiple colors to your room by painting the walls two colors. Choose two complementary colors. Then use the darker color on the bottom portion of the wall and the lighter color on the upper portion of the wall. The wall paint colors you choose should look good together. Some possible color combinations are black and white, yellow and peach, deep teal and cream, or plum and lilac.

A simple approach is to divide the wall in half and paint the bottom half one color and the top the other. However, you can create a unique look by painting the majority of the wall one color and only a small portion of the other. This creates more of an accent color approach with the second color.

11. Get Crafty

What’s exciting about paint is that you have the freedom to be as simple or as creative as you want. You are the one with the paint, rollers, and masking tape. Look at your blank wall as if it were a large canvas.

If you’re afraid of doing too much or aren’t the creative type, you can stick with creating an accent wall. Paint all but one of the walls one color. Then on the last wall, create a design to turn that wall into a feature wall.

One approach is to do a paint treatment; use a sponge, glaze, color wash, strie, or rag roll. These are treatments that you apply to the entire wall. Another approach is to use masking tape to create a design. It can be abstract geometric shapes or a mural design of mountains or a tree.

12. Outdoor Art

Painting the outside of your home presents unique challenges that you don’t have to worry about when choosing interior paint. The exterior of your home takes a beating from the weather, temperature changes, the sun, wind, and animals. The paint needs to look beautiful and be durable enough to last.

Look for an acrylic paint that has UV blockers built into it. This will prevent fading, cracking, and peeling. For extra durability, apply an acrylic primer first and then your color paint. This will give you the best-looking finish with the most accurate color hue.

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