Textured walls are an easy and painless way to invite nature into your home. This has been a growing trend in interiors for quite some time now and with the rising popularity of biophilic design, texture has taken centre stage in our homes. The pandemic robbed us of tactile experiences as we were strongly advised, if not legally prohibited, from touching other human beings and most surfaces. This gave us a renewed need for texture inside our homes, especially for those of us who had limited access to nature during the lockdowns.
One of the most impactful ways to invite nature into our homes is with textured walls. Walls are such a large expanse, so using them to add texture to your room is a really effective way of making a biophilic design statement. When you think of bringing nature into your home, I’m sure your thoughts immediately jump to plants. And when we talk about the walls, I guess you are imagining botanical wallpaper?
But textured walls can be so much more exciting than that. In today’s post, I would like to share with you 6 exciting ways to invite nature into your home using textured walls. So let’s take a look at the options.
1. Choose Anaglypta Textured Wallpaper Inspired by Nature
Interior Designer Karen Knox of Making Spaces chose Folded Paper from Anaglypta for her client’s living room
Anaglypta is one of the best known and oldest wallpaper brands and has been around since 1887. The brand is synonymous with paintable wallpaper but stocks a huge range of styles from vintage through to contemporary. The wallpaper is available in a wide range of materials such as embossed paper, luxury textured vinyls and textile reinforced papers.
In recent times, Anagylpta had earned itself a rather bad rep, landing itself on the undesirable list along with artex ceilings and woodchip ceilings. Many homeowners would remove textured wallpaper from their rooms in favour of more trendy wallcoverings.
However, in the last few years, Anaglypta has made somewhat of a comeback as consumers and homeowners have sought to bring more texture into their homes. We have seen a rise in popularity of the heritage collection, but I predict that the trend for biophilic design will see a new fervour for nature-inspired textured walls and some of the Anaglypta papers will work perfectly for bringing natural textures into the home. Classic papers like Bark, Coral, Willow Bough, Hurtswood and Surf all work perfectly well for introducing nature into our homes with textured walls.
Plus, the great thing about Anaglypta is that the textured wallpaper is paintable. So to further bring in the feeling of nature, simply choose a nature-inspired paint shade and paint the wallpaper.
2. Try Using Textured Tiles Inspired by Nature
Buxy Antracita Hexagon Tile from CTD Tiles
Textured wall tiles are a great way to bring texture into bathrooms, laundry rooms and utility rooms. These rooms often lack texture as there are minimal soft furnishings in these rooms to add tactile experiences. Adding textured wall tiles is the most obvious way to add texture to these more utilitarian rooms.
Nature isn’t all smooth and glossy so opt for tiles that are reminiscent of natural textures. Think wavy sand dunes, old stone walls, pebbles, or even a beehive.
Top Left : Cliveden Concept White Tile | Top Right : Knole Concept Cream Tile | Bottom : Polesden Art White Tile all from CTD Tiles
3. Opt for Wall Murals that Depict Natural Textures
Natural Texture Rock Wall Mural from Ever Wallpaper
Wall murals are a really effective way to give the illusion of textured walls. With today’s technology and advances in printing quality, wall murals can look extremely realistic. In fact, these textured-effect wall murals are crying out to be touched just to double-check that they aren’t in fact textured. It’s just so convincing.
These stone effect wall murals not only bring in the illusion of natural materials but also add a natural and earthy colour palette to the room.
4. Create Textured Walls Using Paint Effects
Images by Christopher Drake © CICO Books, taken from The Annie Sloan Collection CICO Books, £19.99 (Affiliate link)
Paint is definitely one of the cheapest and simplest ways to decorate your home on a budget. I have to admit that when I was researching this post, paint wasn’t really on my radar for creating textured walls. But then I stumbled across these images from Annie Sloan and realised that you can indeed use paint to get the look.
This rough and luxurious wall has been given depth and interest by using five different Chalk Paint® colours. It may look like it would be quite a complex process to achieve this look, it is in fact a lot simpler than you would think. Firstly, paint the wall in your chosen base colour, then apply the other four colours by scraping the paint across the wall with a cardboard applicator using varying pressure.
Once you have done this you can sand the surface of the wall if necessary, use an electric buffer to make the wall shine and finish off with a coat of Clear Chalk Paint® Wax to protect it. I think this looks beautiful and reminds me of the turbulence of the sea on a windy day.
5. Try Creating Textured Walls with Clay Plasters
Textured plaster wallcoverings by Vacarda Designs
Tanya Vacarda is a decorative plaster artist who creates original plaster-on-canvas murals, wall coverings and artworks. Textured walls can be created using plaster if you know what you are doing. If not definitely get the professionals in. Tanya’s interior finishes are carefully handcrafted with authentic Italian plaster on a pure cotton base. This makes them easy to use and remove just like wallpaper, in a few easy steps.
What is lovely about these textured plaster finishes is the familiarity of the organic patterns. The patterns are random and unpredictable and encourage us to pause and take a moment to observe. They work extremely well in natural colour palettes but can also be customised to meet your needs.
Textured plaster wallcoverings by Vacarda Designs
6. Install Wood Panels on the Walls
Acupanel® Luxe Oak Wood Wall Panels (Non-Acoustic)
One of my favourite ways to create textured walls at the moment is by adding wood panels to the walls. There are various designs on the market from slatted wood panels and cork wall panels to Japanese wall panels and reclaimed wood wall panels. All of these options bring another level of tactile texture to the space.
Wood also adds a really warm and cosy feel to the room and being a natural material it also has all the added well-being benefits that can be had from incorporating biophilic design into your home.
So what do you think about these 6 exciting ways to invite nature into your home using textured walls? Which option is your favourite? Any that you would like to try yourself? And equally, are there any you don’t feel brave enough to try? As always let me know in the comments.
And don’t forget to pin this post for later.
Good Blog!!
ok i like this a lot, the plastered walls loooks amaaaazing!! great work and amazing inspo for an artist living in toronto
Thanks for sharing.
This is an amazing way to feel nature around you. I love this idea of Textured walls. I would definitely decorate my home with Textured walls of beach theme because I love to be around beaches and I think this will enhance the beauty of my place as well.