Covering your walls with a fresh coat of paint is considered one of the easiest ways to spruce up your home without going through much hassle. While painting your walls may seem like an easy option most of the time, it’s not always the most practical or durable solution. Not to mention, there are quite a few different ways to cover your walls without paint that are budget-friendly, aesthetically pleasing and most importantly, DIY friendly.
Once your walls start to look old and boring or if you see any ugly patches or minor surface cracks begin to appear, you may get an impulse to hide these flaws and upgrade your décor with a quick stroke of the brush. However, if you live in a rental and are not allowed to paint, or if you simply don’t want to go through the ordeal for whatever reason, we’ve put together a list of creative ideas to cover walls without paint.
How to Cover Your Walls without Paint
If you want to dress up your outdated décor or want to hide any imperfections, here are some budget-friendly and useful alternatives to painting walls that might be helpful.
- Wallpaper
- Wood panelling
- Tiles
- Fabric
- Curtains
Let’s discuss these ways to cover walls without paint in a bit more detail.
Wallpaper
Wallpaper is the best antidote to chipped walls with ugly spots.
Depending on your personal preference, you can choose to cover one or more walls in your room with either patterned or plain wallpaper. Apart from making your home look trendy and expensive, it will also add texture to your plain old walls and give your décor a hint of elegance. There is a large variety of patterns and textures available in the market for you to choose from, so whether you want a floral wallpaper or something with geometrical shapes, you can easily find it.
Moreover, you don’t need to hire an expert to wallpaper your room. All you need is a measuring tape, a pair of scissors, wallpaper paste, brush, paint roller, step stool and snap blade, along with your chosen wallpaper, to get the job done.
For further guidance, check out our detailed guide on how to wallpaper your room like a pro.
Wood panelling
Looking for ideas to cover damaged walls? Well, this is it.
While this idea may not exactly be as budget-friendly as others on the list, it is definitely innovative and long-lasting. Actually, you might want to consider this a long-term investment because that’s what it really is.
Wood panelling on interior walls is aesthetically pleasing, provides a smooth surface, conceal flaws and unpleasant features, such as exposed wires. More importantly, make your space look luxurious and well-decorated. It’s also smooth to touch, adds warmth to the décor and free of grout lines, which may accumulate dirt over time. Moreover, with wood being a bad conductor, panelled walls will also help keep your home warm in winter and cool in summer.
Depending on your budget and preference, you go with hardwood or engineered wood for wall panelling. The height of panels also depends on your personal décor choices. If you have some experience installing wooden cabinets or windows, you can also upgrade your walls with wooden panelling without any outside help. Though if you are a DIY-beginner, it’s better to ask someone to help you out with the project.
In case you are interested in adding wood to your home décor, here are the rates and types of wooden flooring in Pakistan. However, if you want to try some budget-friendly alternatives, here are some flooring materials that look just like real wood – except they are cheaper and easier to maintain.
Tiles
Don’t want to paint your walls? Well, how about tiling them?
Granted, you can’t tile your drawing room or living room walls, but this idea works great in bathrooms and kitchen aka the places in your home that require the most upkeep and maintenance. The humidity and moisture in the bathroom can cause the paint to peel and become patchy. Meanwhile, the grease stains on your kitchen walls can be a bit difficult to get rid of without scrubbing off the paint.
Tiling the walls is a long-term solution to such pesky problems. After all, how many times a year can you repaint these rooms? Whether you choose marble or ceramic tiles, cleaning any stains or marks off them is way easier than almost any other surface. They also protect the surface underneath from moisture and heat, keep your walls safe and secure.
One of the main problems homeowners face with wall tiling is that the grout lines may appear to look grimy after a while. The simplest solution to deal with this issue is to clean the tiles and the grout lines every couple of months with a homemade cleaner. For instance, to clean grout lines, you can make a thick paste of baking soda and water to thoroughly clean any grease or dirt particles trapped between the tiles.
You can also take a look at our guide on how to clean tiles and grout lines with DIY home cleaners.
Fabric
If you’re not a fan of wallpapering your walls, perhaps you would consider covering them up with fabric instead. This creative way to cover your walls without paint will make your room fit the chic bohemian trend that’s always been considered popular and stylish. Fabric, especially if patterned, can add texture to an otherwise boring room. It can also make your space look warm and cosy without straining your wallet.
Wondering where to find a fabric that can be used to hide dirty walls? Well, you can always take a look into your linen closet and dig out old bedsheets that can be repurposed as a wall hanging. If you’re good with painting or tie-and-dye, you can even give the fabric a new life and use it to cover unsightly features and imperfections that may be adorning your walls. This is one of the easiest and cheapest wall covering ideas for bad walls.
You can even use a tapestry for this purpose. In fact, if you are good at knitting, you can even go the DIY route and knit something classy for your room. What can be more budget-friendly and creative than that?
Curtains
Curtains are not only meant to cover windows, but they can also cover any and all imperfections on your walls. Not only that, strategically placed curtains can even make your ceilings look higher, subsequently making your room look a lot more elegant and luxurious. They also add a bit of depth to your space.
When it comes to inexpensive wall covering ideas, a lot of people think about hiding their chipped paint of exposed wiring with furniture or wall art. However, it’s not always practical to do either. Instead, you can hang a curtain to create the illusion of a window, even when there is none. All you need to do is install a curtain rod a few inches below the ceiling and then hang floor-length curtains to create the illusion of tall ceilings. The material and style of the curtains may vary depending on your budget and the rest of your home décor. You can even choose between curtain and blinds if you are slightly unsure about the former.
Furthermore, if you are planning to upgrade your home décor, don’t forget to take a look at our detailed guide on how to decorate your walls without paint without going over your budget.
Meanwhile, for more ingenious ideas on how to cover your walls without paint and upgrade your home décor, stay connected to Zameen Blog – the most trusted lifestyle and property blog in Pakistan. As for your comments and feedback, feel free to send them our way by dropping an email on blog@zameen.com. Moreover, to stay updated about the latest home décor trends and developments in the real estate industry, subscribe to our newsletter on the right.
