Ombre walls are set to make a comeback as homeowners and designers alike explore ways to make spaces more interesting. 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
James Mellan-Matulewicz, Creative Director at design brand Bobbi Beck, shares 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.
Styling tips for choosing an ombre wall
“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.
Two hues blended together is a great way to integrate a coordinated colour scheme into a room in an interesting and unique way. The possibilities are endless with this so it’s just about choosing colours that compliment each other and work with the rest of the space.
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.
When it comes to the direction of the gradient, the most popular option is to have it vertical. It’s more common to have the darker shade on the bottom and the lighter shade on the top, but reversing this could offer something more interesting.
For something even more unique, you could have a horizontal ombre, with the colours blending from left to right or even a diagonal gradient. Vertical gradients can work well in rooms with low ceilings as it can help give the impression of extra height. Horizontal gradients help when you’re trying to encourage a sense of motion, like hallways, landings and walkways.
Finally, the last thing to consider is texture. While the focus for an ombre wall is colour, adding some texture or graphic detailing to the design can help take it to the next level.
You don’t need to stop there. You could achieve an ombre effect while integrating a more literal design into the space, like a gradient forest or mountain mural.
One of the most attractive things about ombre walls is their versatility. They can work in pretty much any spaces and can be adapted to multiple styles. Whether you’re a minimalist or maximalist, a colour-lover or a fan of neutrals, an ombre wall can be a great design solution that will add depth to your room.
All of Bobbi Beck’s ombre wallpapers are available worldwide at
About James Mellan-Matulewicz – james@bobbibeck.com
James is Creative Director and Designer at Bobbi Beck, a design and print studio specialising in sustainable luxury wallpaper. He has over 10 years leading multidisciplinary design and visual communication teams. For the past 8 years, he has been working in the interior design industry in creative director roles, overseeing design and interior styling for interiors products.
About Bobbi Beck
Bobbi Beck is a design and print studio specialising in sustainable luxury wallpaper. Its products are designed and made-to-order in its Cornwall-based studio and sold internationally. It is a design brand with a broad style. The team takes inspiration from a variety of sources, creating patterns and murals for a variety of tastes.
Underpinning this broad stylistic approach is an uncompromising focus on quality, sustainable materials. The brand’s paper is sourced from certified sustainable forests and contains no PVC. The inks that it prints with are water-based and non-toxic and its packaging is 100% plastic-free and fully recyclable.
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