Walls in an apartment - finishing materials, modern ideas and options (90 photos)

09/02/2020 Read in 7 minutes.
In our review, we will present modern ideas for design and wall decoration using the example of projects from the portfolio of the Fundament Group of Companies, whose specialists are engaged in interior design and turnkey renovation of apartments and houses. Here you will see wall designs in classic, modern, as well as Art Deco and loft styles, and get acquainted with the latest design techniques for wall decoration.

Water based paints

Most often, water-based paints are used to paint walls. They have a quick-drying effect, are odorless, and are easy to apply with any tool. By adding color pigment to the diluted consistency of white acrylic or emulsion paint, you can achieve any shade.

You can paint the walls in your apartment not only in a single color; any creative ideas can be turned into reality. A store or company that sells colors and paints has a computer tinting service. With its help, a specialist will select the shade you need.

An inexpensive type of water-soluble composition is water-based paint. Excellent adhesion, a small number of layers to form an even paintable wall makes them popular among buyers.

You should know that this type of paint is not used in wet rooms and it will not withstand mechanical stress.

Silicone paints based on aqueous polymer dispersions are more expensive than water-based paints due to their strength characteristics. Such coatings are durable and not afraid of moisture.

Acrylic paints based on aqueous polymer dispersions have low hiding power, but are also durable. They can be applied in “damp” areas.

To give a relief to the surface, textured paints with different fillers are used. The result of the pattern texture depends on the tool used to apply the composition.

New minimalism

The minimalism style knows no eras or fashions: we always come to it because the desire to get rid of unnecessary things is not just a way of furnishing, but a lifestyle.

For this reason, the new minimalism that will be trending in 2021 is not a simple and ascetic style, but one warmed by the palette of the comfort zone, balanced and designed to create an oasis of well-being and calm, especially when merging with other styles such as feng shui , Higge or Shabby Chic, which are aimed specifically at a person’s well-being, starting with the objects with which he surrounds himself.

Silicate paints

Used in rooms with high humidity (kitchens, baths). They are durable, resistant, protect surfaces from fungi and mold.

The disadvantages of the application are the following: the release of evaporation during painting; it is necessary to use a respirator; poor adhesion to surfaces that have previously been painted.

Recycled wood or used boards

In addition to laminate, you can use old boards for the same purposes. Beaten by time, covered with several layers of paint, with traces of rusty nails - a material with history! But they need to be brought into appropriate form. To prevent porous wood from collecting dust, cover the boards with a matte varnish.

The board perfectly masks uneven walls and complements the interior with natural materials.

Both laminate and boards need to be used in very measured doses, not on all 4 walls. The interior looks most harmonious when only one or two sides are decorated in this way.

Old boards have an interesting decorative effect

Frame cladding allows you not only to hide uneven walls, but also to save on electrical wiring. To replace wires in apartments, you need to trench the walls. This work is dirty and expensive, and when covering the frame, you can run wires in the cable channel between the wall and the finishing coating.

Using wallpaper for decoration

Traditional and simple finishing method. The advantages of using wallpaper as decoration are the following: huge selection, easy to choose based on cost, quality, appearance, there is no need to resort to the help of specialists for pasting, you can do it yourself.

• Gray living room: unusual ideas for combining shades + 200 photos of beautiful design
• Small living room: features of planning and zoning. Photo of a beautiful design in a modern style
• Beige living room: ideas for combination and proper combination. TOP 100 photos of the best living room design options

Wallpaper is classified into paper, vinyl, textile, non-woven, washable, photo wallpaper. The most popular are paper and vinyl. These types do not require much effort when gluing; they will require wallpaper adhesive to apply to the surface.

Principles of budget finishing

To renovate rooms, large investments are not necessary; even a family with a modest budget can make their own, interesting decoration of interior walls. There are many beautiful, high-quality finishing materials at affordable prices on the construction market.

Recommendations from experts on carrying out economical repairs will help apartment owners aesthetically decorate the design of an apartment or house. Their advice will be useful to anyone who is doing a simple restoration or renovation with minimal investment, but does not want to lose the beauty of the rooms.

• Draw up a repair plan and estimate, choosing the available options. Purchasing finishing and auxiliary materials is an important stage of repair. Focus on technical, environmental, properties of building materials, their picturesqueness. Select installation method.
• Refuse to update additional space: loggias, balconies, storage rooms.
• Do the dismantling yourself, this is important for secondary housing, when moving partitions.
• Do not start complex designs on wall planes, do not make niches or partitions.
• When buying wallpaper, choose vinyl options without a pattern; in this case, you can avoid the costs of combining patterns and trimming, plastering the walls; you will only need to putty the areas, joints, and corners.
• Shop for building materials in large chain stores.

Wallpaper with liquid composition

This finishing material “liquid wallpaper” has no resemblance to wallpaper. It is a mixture of plaster, which, when diluted with water, forms a liquid composition that can give any texture and relief to surfaces.

If the drawing did not work out the first time, the defects can be eliminated by easy dismantling and the application process can be repeated.

Modern flooring

When choosing finishing materials for flooring, you should take into account the purpose of the rooms of the apartment or house. For example, wooden flooring looks especially authentic in the kitchen, but it requires special care there. It is also necessary to pay attention to the fact that some synthetic materials can cause allergies in people living in the house.

Significant indicators include the appearance of the material, its moisture resistance, as well as the base on which the material will be installed.

Unusual types of tiles

For a long time, tiles have been the leader among floor coverings for bathrooms and kitchens; however, this is a rather “conservative” material that is difficult to improve. Only relatively recently have such variations of the usual surfaces appeared, such as volumetric, liquid and pebble tiles.

The volumetric tile has bizarre shapes: it is concave on one edge and convex on the other. Such tiles look especially impressive on the wall, giving the room a stylish and status look. It should be noted that installation of the material is complicated and therefore an expensive service.

Liquid tiles allow you to create a unique room design: they change color and image under mechanical influences. Liquid tiles are laid mainly on the floor - there their properties can be fully revealed.

Pebble tiles are used to decorate bathroom walls. It consists of many stones glued to a tile base.

Floor array

High-quality flooring is made from solid wood. This material replaces parquet. Production is simplified by the fact that technological processes such as sanding and varnishing are carried out in the factory. The solid board is laid in the same way as parquet - by gluing it to the base.

Artistic parquet

Modern technologies have also affected the production of parquet. Thus, artistic parquet is an expensive floor covering made from various types of wood. To create a pattern, panel parquet is used or decorative elements are combined with strips of piece parquet.

Marmoleum

An innovative flooring material is improved linoleum. This is an environmentally friendly coating made from natural raw materials.

Marmoleum does not warp or fade, has good thermal insulation properties, is non-toxic, and can withstand heavy loads without loss of performance.

Due to its low cost, this material will soon be able to replace the usual laminate.

Innovative finishing materials that have emerged fit harmoniously into any interior. The advantages of such materials are obvious: safety for the health of those living in the house, environmental friendliness, high wear resistance, original appearance. Innovative materials are expensive, but these costs are worth it.

Photo wallpaper

Another way to create a “modern” style for the walls in an apartment is photo wallpaper. This unique style of decoration, due to its brightness, will transform the room and visually increase the space.

An unusual and expensive finishing method. Creative people will be able to realize fantasies and ideas in this way. With the help of decorative plaster, relief is achieved on walls of varying depths. With the help of cutters, reliefs are trimmed and given various shapes.

The beauty of the walls in the apartment is created using a plaster mixture consisting of sand, cement, lime with the addition of fillers. You can find plaster mixtures in the store in separate or ready-made form. In the first case, you will need to knead all the ingredients in a bucket.

• 
  Small bedroom: ideas for planning, zoning and creating a cozy design (135 photos of new products)

• Gray bedroom: photos of beautiful design, combination options, new items, recommendations from the pros
• Beige curtains in the interior - more than 150 photos of new curtain designs for 2021. Rules for the perfect beige color combination

Plaster can be mosaic or textured. With the help of such technologies, various stylish panels are created. A special tool is used to work with decorative plaster.

Facing

Some interior design styles involve covering the walls with ceramic tiles or mosaics not only in the kitchen and bathroom, but also in other rooms. Several materials are used for these purposes.

• Natural stone is rare, but quite popular for fragmentary finishing in the fireplace area, doorways or on an accent wall.
• Artificial stone is a ready-made gypsum imitation, stylized as stone of various types, used not only in accent areas, but also as the main finishing material for walls, if not in the whole house, then in some rooms.
• Homemade imitation is the simplest and cheapest, and therefore a popular finish among private owners, attractive due to its accessibility and relative ease of work. Brickwork on the wall is imitated using gypsum plaster applied to the surface either through a stencil or over “seams” of masking tape. The relief is created using various available means, it can be a spatula with fingers, or a dry brush. After removing the tape or stencil and drying the “brick”, the surface is painted in one or more tones. Some also seal the seams for greater authenticity, but this is not for everyone and makes sense when the tiles are thick. Imitation of masonry is done in corridors, halls, and living rooms, and some even decorate bedrooms this way.

You can also try making an imitation using polymer molds, but this is much more expensive, but the result is practically indistinguishable from expensive collections of famous brands.

Decorative rock

It is an expensive facing material. Beautifully laid stone will add originality to your home. Stone cladding can be artificial or natural.

Not everyone can afford to buy natural stone. The variety of types of artificial stone is not inferior to natural stone. In stores you can find a large assortment of stones, and choose according to color and preference.

The choice of stone for finishing should be carefully thought out, and the design of the future room or corridor should be created in advance. This finishing in its final form can give the room a visual “heaviness” and “narrowing”.

Natural materials and organic design

The return to an intimate and natural dimension is also reflected in the materials that will be fashionable for the home interior in 2021.

• Cotton, linen and wool are some of the fabrics that can be used to create a comfortable, warm and light environment.
• The slogan will be layering: a bedspread with tassels, blankets and pillows decorating the bed, soft blankets in shades lying on the sofa.

The choice of materials, preferably recycled or bio-based materials, is also important.

Cladding walls with clapboard

This type of cladding is a popular method these days.

• Design of a four-room apartment - stylish projects and the best renovation ideas (115 photos)

• Socketless sewerage: what is it, pipe parameters

• Apartment 60 sq. m.: modern ideas on how to decorate an apartment. 80 photos of the best options

Simple installation, a pleasant final appearance, additional sound insulation of the walls in the apartment, long service life, the use of environmentally friendly materials, the ability to level the walls without additional work - all these are the advantages of covering walls with wooden lining. This lining is made from different types of wood, which are quite expensive in cost.

An inexpensive and modern wall finishing material includes PVC panels. Fastening of such panels to uneven surfaces is carried out with the installation of a frame. Plastic panels can be used in rooms with high humidity.

Another budget option for cladding using MDF panels. The advantages of MDF lining are similar to wooden lining. The installation principles of the two types are similar.

You should not decorate walls with MDF panels in moisture-resistant rooms. There are laminated, veneered, and painted wood lining types.

Stretch ceiling

A stretch ceiling is a polyvinyl chloride film stretched tightly over a mounted frame. Additionally, it is equipped with lighting fixtures of various shapes and configurations.

A stretch ceiling consists of several elements:

• PVC fabric;
• Lighting;
• Frame;
• Decorative baguettes and plugs.

Stretch ceilings have different appearances depending on the chosen material: some resemble a mirror-polished surface, others resemble a plastered surface.

The following types of tensile structures are used:

• With varnish texture: most popular due to its shiny surface, which well reflects light and interior elements of the room;
• With a matte texture: the complete opposite of the previous type - the surface completely absorbs light; used primarily in government agencies;
• Satin texture: combines a varnish coating and a grained surface, the room gets soft diffused light and beautiful tints;
• Perforated texture: when the light is turned off, it imitates a starry night sky.

Manufacturers are constantly offering new types of textures and many shades of stretch ceilings.

Photo of the walls in the apartment

Did you like the article? Share

+1

Linkrust

The material was invented in the late 70s in England. It is interesting that the “father” of lincrust, Frederick Walton, also invented linoleum.

Initially, the material was used to decorate the walls of royal chambers and castles of court aristocrats. Raw materials have one unique quality - they only become stronger over time.

Linkrust is produced in rolls, like regular wallpaper. Along with its strength, it is distinguished by its extraordinary plasticity and perfectly “holds” the relief.

Ceramic tile

Finishing material with a long service life. It is actively used to decorate kitchens and bathrooms. The advantages of the material include:

• Environmental friendliness;
• Resistance to fading, abrasion;
• Hygiene;
• Moisture resistance;
• Ease of care;
• A large assortment allows you to choose tiles of the appropriate size, shape, with different surface textures, imitating natural stones and other finishing materials;
• Biological resistance;
• Long service life exceeding half a century.

The disadvantages include the difficulty of finishing the walls with your own hands, as well as the need for periodic restoration of the seams between the laid elements.

What shades are suitable for different rooms

The choice of color largely determines the atmosphere of the room. White is used as a neutral background, as well as blurry tones of a pastel palette and diluted colors of the spectrum.

The milky tone is suitable as a base for warm colors. Crystal white plain wallpaper for walls favorably sets off the cool colors in interior design. It is not advisable to mix these shades, otherwise a warmer milky or creamy one will look like “old wallpaper” with a yellowish tint.

Light beige is a universal basis for most design solutions. Plain and colored wallpapers in all shades of beige and brown go perfectly with furniture, laminate flooring and interior doors made of imitation wood of any type. The combination of beige, caramel and brown is the ideal trio for creating a comfortable atmosphere in rooms where people can relax or have confidential conversations.

Blurred blue color is more suitable for visually expanding the space of small rooms. If the walls and ceiling are covered with identical rolls of plain wallpaper without a pattern, this will create an “open sky” effect. An ideal option for those who suffer from a “phobia” of closed spaces.

Many people reject the color green as a basis for original design solutions. Today, the trend is pleasant shades of natural greenery, with which you can benefit the interior of different rooms:

• anise or yellow-green - a pleasant warm shade, plain wallpaper is suitable for a dining room-living room, studio apartment or children's room;
• green apple color is an excellent option for the kitchen, bathroom and hallway;
• the noble mint tone will perfectly fit into the decor of a bedroom or living room;
• olive is a traditional choice for a hallway or kitchen-dining room in a Provencal style.
• the lush herbal tone is suitable for a teenager’s room or the bedroom of people who work for a long time in front of a monitor - its beneficial effect on the optic nerve has been proven.

Among the best plain wallpapers for a woman's bedroom, pink and lilac variations are often mentioned. The pink tone is more active, but washed out tones evoke calmness, for example, if it is a shade of tea rose. Floral tones are suitable not only for secluded women's apartments; pale lilac is suitable for decorating an office or one-room apartment.

Black, red and blue should not be chosen for the bedroom, unless it was dictated by the design concept. Even if this is your favorite color in clothing, you need to be careful when choosing plain wallpaper for rooms where there is a gentle atmosphere of peace and tranquility.

Considering such wallpaper as inserts or cladding on an accent wall, you can achieve the desired effect. Good examples are in our photo selection.

3D panels

One of the most current options for wall decoration. Modern wall decoration with 3D panels involves the use of one of five material options:

• gypsum;
• glass;
• MDF;
• bamboo;
• polyurethane.

MDF

A special feature of panels made from this material is their complete environmental safety for human health. At the same time, they are quite heavy and this fact should be taken into account when deciding to decorate a room with MDF panels with a 3D effect. In some cases, preliminary work to strengthen the walls will be required.

Plaster

This is a construction-concrete mixture that is used to level and decoratively transform walls. Plaster is divided into cement and gypsum, the basis of which is cement, glass, silicone and acrylic in different concentrations. These components insulate and level the walls, provide good sound insulation, and resistance to microbial, fungal and other damage.

The plaster protects the walls from temperature changes and moisture, and its service life exceeds 15 years. Regular plaster is used for the basic rough finishing of bare walls, and decorative plaster is used for finishing before painting, wallpapering or tiling.

Usually the plaster covering is laid in several layers

apartment at auction How to buy inexpensively

Vintage brick

A stylish, effective, but rather expensive type of finishing is vintage brick. At the same time, there is both artificially aged material and real old brick from disassembled masonry.

An important point: working with this material requires good professional skills. In addition, it is very heavy, be sure to take this into account when choosing a finish.

Mosaic

Mosaic tiles are a favorite in bathrooms and kitchens. It is made from a wide range of materials: for example, from natural stone, which gives the product special strength and durability, or from ceramics, glass, wood, and metal. The raw materials, of course, greatly influence the type of mosaic, its service life, as well as which styles and rooms it will suit best. The most common mosaic is on a ceramic base. It is used in bathrooms, washrooms, and also in kitchens - for example, in the work surface area.

The merits of mosaic coating include, firstly, the possibility of use in niches, on ledges, and uneven surfaces. Secondly, the variety of structure and color allows you to create scenes from mosaic tiles: monochrome and colorful walls, patterned and in the form of paintings. Add to this the fact that mosaic adheres perfectly to any surface - concrete, plastered, wooden. But every finishing product has its drawbacks, and with mosaics this comes at a price. However, it is justified, because we are talking about an exclusive product that is made from natural materials and lasts 15 years or more.

Glass

Most often, such products are used when decorating kitchen premises.

An apron made of a glass panel can add a special charm to any most ordinary room.

Panels made of tempered glass can be placed at both the stove and the sink. Splashes of oil and water, high temperatures are not scary for them. The fact that they are cleaned with any detergent is also very important for housewives. The only “requirement” for 3D glass panels is that hygiene products should not contain abrasive materials that can scratch their surface.

Bamboo

One hundred percent natural material. The panels have the following undoubted advantages:

• a light weight;
• elasticity;
• flexibility;
• plastic;
• absolutely environmentally friendly.