» 5 Unorthodox Ways To Decorate a Wall | DESIGN SHRINE | Your Source for Interior, Web and Style Design

Staying in the same house for too long can sometimes cause a quandary. You can stand and stare blankly at the same bland walls for weeks, wondering what to do with them and still the answer wouldn't appear. Most people have a hard time figuring out what to do with their walls, because their thoughts are limited to just normal paint and pictures. But there actually exist alternatives.

Unorthodox ones.

Granted, using maps as wallcovering is the last thing on our minds. But I think we all need to just relax a little and have fun sometimes. Whoever said a room must look like a six star presidential suite? Giving a room character is much more important. If the maps tear or start to look boring in a few weeks time, just take them down - it doesn't really hurt. The same goes for Post-It notes which are widely available at all good departmental stores.

For those who still think painting and hanging pictures are the best solutions to go (we know some of you will need much more coaxing), try thinking slightly out of the box. Instead of your matte emulsions, what about chalkboard paint on one wall? A wall you can scribble or doodle on? It's good - though not necessarily so clean - fun for everyone in the family.

On the other hand, short of filling a wall with photos of your family, what about hanging just the frames - in different sizes and shapes - alone? Or just the photos without any frames? I assure you the effect is totally unexpected. In a good way, I mean.

And not forgetting all plant-lovers, there's an equally impressive way to integrate your favorite plants onto the wall, if you like it that way. Shock the guests with a 'floating plant'. Make them go wow.