How to Install a Feature Wall in Any Room

How to Install a Feature Wall in Any Room

Pick the wall before you pick the colour

A feature wall is one of the cheapest ways to change how a room reads, and it's a lot easier to pull off than people expect, but nearly every disappointing one I hear about went wrong at the very first decision rather than at the painting stage. So let's start there.

Step 1. Choose the right wall

Every room has a wall your eye lands on when you walk in, and that's the one you want. Usually it's the wall behind the bedhead, or the fireplace wall, or the one the TV sits on. Avoid a wall chopped up by doors and windows, because the colour ends up in five disconnected strips instead of one block and the whole effect falls over.

Step 2. Work out the look you're after

Your feature wall still has to sit comfortably with everything else in the room, so spend a minute on what you actually want, whether that's crisp and modern or rustic and cosy. Once you've settled it, hold onto it, because the temptation to change your mind halfway through a wall is real and it never ends well.

Step 3. Choose your materials

Paint is the classic for good reason. It's simple and it's reversible, and it costs the least of anything on this list. If you're after texture instead there's wallpaper or timber panelling, and if you've got an artistic streak then stencils are worth a look. Whichever way you go, commit to it, because this wall is going to be the thing people notice.

If you're painting, get sample pots first and put them on the actual wall rather than judging off a card. A colour behaves completely differently under your own light, and a sample pot makes it a 500ml decision instead of a four-litre one.

Step 4. Prep like you mean it

This is the unglamorous part and it's the part that decides how the wall looks. Start with a clean surface, because sugar soap lifts the grease and dust that stop paint keying properly. Fill any cracks or dents and sand them back flush. Then tape off your edges and your skirtings, and the light switches if they're anywhere near the paint.

Step 5. Get painting

Prime first if the wall is porous, or if you're going light over dark. Then cut in your edges with a brush and roll the body of the wall in thin even coats rather than one thick one, because a thick coat sags on you and a thin one doesn't. Two thin coats will always beat one heavy one.

If you're going with wallpaper, get somebody to help you. It's genuinely a two-person job once the sheets get long, and you'll want a second pair of hands smoothing out air bubbles while you hold the top.

Step 6. Finishing touches

Once it's dry, hang your artwork or a mirror and shift the furniture so the wall gets to do its job. The wall is the star here, so keep whatever goes on it fairly restrained.

Things worth knowing before you start

  • Test the colour on the wall. Colours look completely different under natural light than they do under a globe at night.
  • Cover the floor properly. A drop cloth costs a fraction of what it costs you in time to scrub splashes off floorboards.
  • Let each coat dry. Rushing between coats is what makes a wall come out patchy.

Shop related products

Did you know we also mix and tint Haymes and Taubmans to order in the shop from the range we stock. Paint is in-store only because it can't be shipped, so give us a ring on (08) 8536 4333 or come in and we'll sort the colour out with you.

Where to go next

Have a look at our paint mixing page for how the tinting side works.

And if you want the technique sorted before you start, these are worth a read:

I'm still the sort of person who holds sample pots up to a wall for a fortnight before committing, so take your time on the colour and don't let anybody rush you.

Cheers,
Candeece

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