8 Ideas to Give Your Walls More Presence (and Utility)
We've all got flat walls so why not make them work harder with purposeful ideas to increase storage space or just look pretty?
Walls can be far more useful than they appear. Aside from the obvious – giving you shelter, dividing spaces within the home and providing surfaces on which to display your favourite artworks – with a little creativity, they can offer myriad space-saving solutions and help to keep your household more organised. Take a look at the ways these walls have been transformed by their owners – you’re sure to stumble upon an idea you could take home with you.
Chalkboard walls are perfect for kids – keep some chairs and a box of supplies handy and let them go crazy, with minimal cleaning effort involved.
Chalkboards are also great for high-traffic areas in your home, ensuring they are used and read regularly. Update weekly schedules and leave notes for family members on them. For those who experience allergies, try a whiteboard as a dust-free alternative.
2. Make it magnetic
A magnetic wall is surprisingly handy – just think about how crowded the fridge door can get. This concrete-coloured wall is perfect for a home office, with magnetic plaster creating a neutral background for clipboards and notes. Brighten it up with maps, wall art and colourful quotes.
A magnetic wall is surprisingly handy – just think about how crowded the fridge door can get. This concrete-coloured wall is perfect for a home office, with magnetic plaster creating a neutral background for clipboards and notes. Brighten it up with maps, wall art and colourful quotes.
3. Get crafty with art supplies
Craft rooms are prone to clutter, so keeping as much as you can off the floor is important. Wrapping paper rolls and ribbon racks mounted on the walls make supplies easily accessible and will save you rifling through drawers, while a magnetic strip keeps smaller items in order.
Craft rooms are prone to clutter, so keeping as much as you can off the floor is important. Wrapping paper rolls and ribbon racks mounted on the walls make supplies easily accessible and will save you rifling through drawers, while a magnetic strip keeps smaller items in order.
4. Put your pots on display
If you’re short on storage, why not hang your pots and pans from the wall? Linear racks and wall hooks are great ways to display a prized collection of copper cookware, and make for stylish features in the kitchen. Bonus points if you pair yours with exposed brick.
If you’re short on storage, why not hang your pots and pans from the wall? Linear racks and wall hooks are great ways to display a prized collection of copper cookware, and make for stylish features in the kitchen. Bonus points if you pair yours with exposed brick.
In addition to being a big space-saver, hanging your pots at eye-level means you’ll spend less time rummaging through the cupboards looking for the right one. Screwing hooks into a customised wooden board and mounting it in the kitchen is a damage-free option if you’d prefer not to drill holes directly into the wall.
How to hang your pots and pans
How to hang your pots and pans
5. Go vertical in the garden
Hanging plants up the wall is a simple solution to a lack of garden space. Succulents, ferns and ivy work particularly well. Vertical brackets are a popular choice, but you could also use wall hooks or even lattice secured to the wall.
Hanging plants up the wall is a simple solution to a lack of garden space. Succulents, ferns and ivy work particularly well. Vertical brackets are a popular choice, but you could also use wall hooks or even lattice secured to the wall.
Don’t limit living walls to the backyard. Staghorn ferns (Platycerium superbum) are perfect for indoors and can be mounted just about anywhere. You’ll need a fern, a little moss, a piece of flat timber, some nails and screws, and that’s you set up for a fun weekend project.
6. Get hooked
Wall hooks are one of the simplest ways to maximise space in any room of your home, and are especially handy in hallways and entrances where there is often very little space for storage. Hang hats, coats and bags within easy reach, while keeping the walls from looking too stark.
Wall hooks are one of the simplest ways to maximise space in any room of your home, and are especially handy in hallways and entrances where there is often very little space for storage. Hang hats, coats and bags within easy reach, while keeping the walls from looking too stark.
Steer away from generic coat hooks and look for something unique and fun that will make a statement when guests arrive – you’ll also be able to show off that gorgeous coat that has been hiding in the cupboard.
Browse more entryway ideas
Browse more entryway ideas
7. Build a bulletin board
A floor-to-ceiling bulletin board, made from a pin-able material such as cork or MDF, can make for a fun feature in a family home. A neutral colour such as light grey is the perfect background on which to display artwork and school projects.
A floor-to-ceiling bulletin board, made from a pin-able material such as cork or MDF, can make for a fun feature in a family home. A neutral colour such as light grey is the perfect background on which to display artwork and school projects.
Corkboards are an easy and affordable way to add practicality to a home office wall too. Find some fun, colourful pins and create a wall that is inspiring to look at while you work.
Prettify an inexpensive corkboard with fabric and ribbon – linen is a stylish and durable choice. Use thumb tacks to pin down each ribbon firmly so that special items you don’t want holes in (such as photos and artwork) can be put on display damage-free.
8. Peg it up
No longer confined to the shed, pegboards are the epitome of style-meets-utility and are now a trendy storage option inside the home. They make an ideal inspiration board and are a renter’s dream – not one wall hook in sight!
TELL US
How have you made your walls more practical? Share your ideas in the Comments.
MORE
Browse more home office ideas
8 Creative Ways to Display Your Works of Art
No longer confined to the shed, pegboards are the epitome of style-meets-utility and are now a trendy storage option inside the home. They make an ideal inspiration board and are a renter’s dream – not one wall hook in sight!
TELL US
How have you made your walls more practical? Share your ideas in the Comments.
MORE
Browse more home office ideas
8 Creative Ways to Display Your Works of Art
Where better to write your to-do list than straight on your office wall? Nothing important will slip through the cracks when you use some colourful chalk to jot down the day’s agenda at your desk. The best part? It can be wiped off and changed every morning.