If interiors magazines are anything to go by, it seems that readers are tired of all that minimalist décor with its uninspiring white and grey walls, and the mags are now full of room settings featuring pops of bright colour on walls, throws, cushions and rugs.
The other sign that’s suggesting a backlash against those stark, pale walls is an upsurge of interest in wall art for the home – everything from a single extra-large focal point abstract painting, to a stylish ‘gallery wall’ featuring a selection of carefully-curated items.
One interior designer describes how clients like to showcase their favourite objects on a gallery wall. The owner of one period home opted for a quirky pink kitchen in which they had framed spoons, postcards and even a bright designer scarf to create a unique décor look.
Home owners on a tighter budget – or with their own creative ideas – are seeking out vintage frames from charity shops and using them to showcase favourite art work, photographs, vintage botanic prints or natural materials such as leaves, grasses and dried flowers.
Digital prints can also give a new lease of life to secondhand frames and for the ultimate in style, one large striking image can be used across two or three frames to create a classic diptych or triptych feature wall.
Another blast from the past – the paste-on wall mural so beloved of the 1970s – is also seeing something of a revival. It’s an instant and relatively inexpensive way to transform a wall into anything from a jungle scene to an Italian lakeside or sunny beach, just with a roll of paper and some paste.
Alternatively, there are mural painters who will create a bespoke design for you as the ultimate in personal wall décor.