Six Wall Finishes To Transform Your Home - Wood, Marble, Stone & More
When planning an interior design project, we often focus on colour and pattern, but tend to leave equally important elements such as finishes to the last minute. Offering a wide selection of stylish options for any room, the right finish can bring your home decor to life, making it a fashionable oasis in which to relax. In this blog, we’ll be exploring six topics you should consider that can easily maximise your home’s function and appeal.
Natural And Calming: Wood-Effect Finishes
For thousands of years, wood has been used by societies around the globe to build and furnish their homes. It reconnects us with the natural world, brings a sense of peace and calm while looking remarkably beautiful.
That said, real wood can be costly and difficult to maintain, especially in high moisture spaces or busy family rooms. Adding beauty and function in one affordable solution, wood-effect wall panels offer the same richness of texture and tone, with greater utility and easier installation.
Introducing vertical lines with wood-effect wall panels is extremely trendy. Slatted panels and reeded wall panels featuring organic wood finishes such as natural oak are a great choice, but so too are Silver Birch wood effect panels, which are suitable even around showers. With any wood-inspired panels, pair them with soft neutrals and plenty of plants for a truly calming retreat.
Naturewall’s top picks:
Timeless Luxury: Marble-Effect Finishes
Like wood, marble is rooted in our shared history. It has decorated the homes of the wealthy from ancient Rome to the Victorians, adding a cool, luxurious energy to a room. Where statues and columns may no longer be the “in thing”, marble finishes still have a role to play in contemporary interior design.
Offering an elegant, spa-like effect, marble-style finishes are a great way to enliven an otherwise plain space. Whether your aim is to cultivate a dramatic interior, or a calming sanctuary, marble offers the ideal foundation from which to develop your room’s aesthetic.
What’s more, marble effect panels are wipeable, waterproof, and easy to fit. They’re perfect for bathrooms and kitchens, but also great for living rooms and dining areas. For the bathroom, adding gold fixtures and fittings will add to the luxurious nature of the panels, especially when fitted around sinks and baths.
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Standing The Test Of Time: Stone-Effect Finishes
Stone adds a sense of permanence with its textural style creating a grounded, organic feel. While real stone is often prohibitively expensive, heavy, and difficult to use, stone-effect panels let you recreate that tactile, earthy feel but with none of the stress.
Ideal for quick transformations in high-use areas, panels with a stone finish are incredibly versatile. At Naturewall, our stone-effect panels are available in a diverse selection of colours from warm whites to dark greys, opening up worlds of design opportunities. Whether your space is furnished with neutrals, or pops of vibrant colour, there is a stone effect panel to enrich your style.
For best results, pair marble panels with floating linen fabrics, and oak or cork tones to create a grounded, organic interior.
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Contemporary Chic: Concrete-Effect Finishes
While our preceding styles have been on the traditional side of the interior spectrum, there are some at the cutting edge of modern design. Chief amongst them are the concrete finishes found in more urban, minimalist trends.
To enjoy a contemporary, industrial aesthetic without the cost, weight, or coldness of poured concrete, consider concrete-effect wall panels. These panels create the same sleek visual of concrete, but in a warmer, more homely way.
By adding a concrete-style finish to a room, you can easily introduce a textural backdrop that’s ideal for many of today’s fashionable mid-century interior design themes. To keep your decor on-trend, add black or dark metal fixtures and be sure to style the space in a minimalist way, letting each component part shine.
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Make The Right Choice: Gloss vs. Matt Finishes
While each finish we’ve explored provides plenty of food for thought, there remains the question of whether to go for a gloss or matt finish in a space.
Gloss finishes offer a shimmering, reflective quality that makes a space brighter and more dramatic. Conversely, matt finishes create a more subtle, soft and refined environment. As a result, gloss finishes are often used in rooms used for hosting friends and family, while softer matt finishes tend to be found in living rooms and home offices.
Before investing in your furnishings, it’s very important to take the time to consider the space’s function. Choosing gloss or matt panels will set the tone of the room - and will depend on whether you’re designing a luxurious statement wall or a calming, contemporary space. Our wall panels empower you to take control with both style and practicality so be sure to order samples from the website before you buy.
Naturewall’s top picks:
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Sivara panels (select gloss or matt finish)
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Elemence panels (select gloss or matt finish)
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Waterproof panels (matt finish)
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Paintable MDF panels (choose your own finish)
Do It Yourself: Paintable Panels
Each finish listed above offers a diverse array of styling options, but there is still room for those looking to add a particular finish we’ve not yet considered.
Luckily, there is a choice offering full customisation. From calm satin neutrals to bold glossy primary colours, the options are limitless with paintable MDF wall panels.
Panels inspired by real wood, stone and marble are readily available, and suitable for a wide selection of trends, but when it comes to customisability; few styles can beat the versatility of paintable MDF panels. Giving you a blank canvas to work form, they are perfect for both trend-led decorators and period property upgrades. The paintable Orac 3D Wall Panel collection also contains a wide range of primed wall coverings for those who want to go beyond the ordinary.
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Whether you’re looking for a ready-to-go wood or marble finish, or something completely customisable, there is an abundance of variety to consider. By taking time to think about the right finish when deciding your colours and patterns, you’ll be able to enjoy a more curated, thoughtful space than you might expect