Wall panelling has had quite the spotlight over the last few years, but there’s a new style making headway in our interiors, ombre walls.
Ombre walls create a visually exciting space without making the space feel overbearing, or cluttered. Just like the hairstyle that made a comeback, it’s now time for it to shine in our interiors, and there’s a lot to love about this graduated look.
Think it’s difficult to achieve? We spoke to the experts to see just how easy it is to replicate this on-trend look in your interiors.
What Are Ombre Walls?
Ombre walls, a technique where multiple shades or hues gradually fade into each other, can add depth, dimension, and a unique focal point to your living space, making them a popular choice for accent walls, bedrooms, living rooms, and other interior areas.
This technique is not to be confused with two tone painted walls which have a clear separation from colour and do not blend into one another.
How To Get The On-trend Ombre Wall Look
Achieving an ombre wall may feel daunting, as it requires a touch more patience and time than a standard painted wall does. Desperate to try this on-trend look, we spoke to some experts within interiors to see how easy it is to achieve a professional finish.
James Mellan-Matulewicz, Creative Director at design brand Bobbi Beck, shared his top tips when it comes to adding ombre to your walls.
“There are two ways to achieve an ombre wall; paint or wallpaper. Painting an ombre wall is not quite as tricky as most would think and can be a bit more fun than putting up wallpaper. However, it can be limiting from a design perspective as it’s very difficult to get smooth gradients and tricky to blend multiple colours. Paint is therefore recommended if you’re looking for a more rustic finish in a single hue.
Wallpaper on the other hand offers much greater variety when it comes to design. As the design is a non-repeat, you would be buying a mural, which are typically made custom to your wall size and sold by the square metre or square foot. However, murals are relatively simple to install and don’t differ too much from installing standard rolls of wallpaper. You could achieve an ombre effect while integrating a more literal design into the space, like a gradient forest or mountain mural”.
During the Dulux colour of the year 2024 launch, they revealed their colour Sweet Embrace incorporated into an ombre wall (or also known as a colour flow wall) look that was complemented by other colours in their range.
Dulux creative director Marianne Shillingford mentioned during the live reveal on Instagram that “the key to creating an ombre wall is to keeping it as one wall as a feature wall as it keeps it controllable”.
Dulux suggest that an ombre wall can be painted in 6 simple steps;
- Measure and mark
- Make a guidelines
- Start painting the top half of the wall
- Apply your second colour underneath
- Blend the colours with a criss-cross motion, work quickly with two brushes blending upwards and downwards for a smooth effect
- Paint and blend again
We would also recommend trying the technique out on some cardboard beforehand so you can get the motion and blending part down to a tee before taking it to your wall.
Styling Tips For Choosing An Ombre Wall
James shares that “There are three main things to think about when choosing an ombre wall design; colour, direction and texture. From a colour perspective, the options are almost endless, but the options can be broken down.
A simple starting point is a single hue, with a gradient from light to dark. This is good for more minimalist schemes where you don’t want too many colours, but want something more interesting than just block colours on the wall. The gradient from dark to light could be subtle or dramatic depending on your preference.
While most people think of one or two colours with ombre walls, there’s no reason you can’t go for even more colours. There will of course be a limit with how many colours would work well together, but if you’re looking for something more interesting, then why not go for a multicolour option”.
Whilst an ombre gradient is typically vertical in nature, you can play around with the direction and create a more unique, striking look with two gradients from left to right too.
James adds “Horizontal gradients help when you’re trying to encourage a sense of motion, like hallways, landings and walkways”.
Feeling inspired? Take a look at Bobbi Beck’s ombre wallpaper, available worldwide.
Ombre Wall Ideas To Try At Home
If you’re feeling brave and ready to don a paintbrush, here are some on-trend and super stylish ways to incorporate an ombre wall into your home.
Create A Cosy, Relaxing Nook
An opening or nook like this lends itself to an ombre effect, it creates an intentional focal feature yet keeps to a controlled area.
Blue is a great choice for a colour flow wall, start with a deeper shade to ground the look, pairing with a couple of different blue shades for a perfectly blended graduation of colour.
Blend Pinks & White For A Feminine Touch
This stunning graduation of colour shows that an ombre wall isn’t just for rustic inspired rooms.
Featuring soft tones of pink and white, this sets the perfect backdrop for a feature wall in a bedroom. Combine with cosy, boucle textures for a warm, boho feel.
Ground A Room With Grey
This simple ombre wall just uses two simple great shades for perfect graduation.
When blending the two colours try a mix of brushes and sponges for a rustic, perfectly imperfect look.
Create A Boho Feel With Graduated Hues of Blue
A dado rail is a great way to separate colour, and adding the bright white above the ombre wall helps to draw the eye up too.
Ground the bedroom with a deeper shade and work in one other colour upwards for a blended look.
Soft Tones of Orange & Blue
Ombre walls are a popular choice in bedrooms, but this is proof that they can be a powerful look in a bathroom too.
A more striking contrast of colours, this orange and blue look creates a really relaxing, restorative feel.
Ombre walls could be the new panelling, it’s a versatile option that allows you to work it into your colour scheme effortlessly. What do you think of the ombre wall trend? Let us know in the comments below!
Before You Go…
Looking for some more colour inspiration? If you have a more traditional interior, dado rail colour separation might be a better solution for your space.
