Cheap Ways To Cover Walls

See cheap ways to cover walls including different methods such as curtains, peel and stick wallpaper, print fabrics, wall panels, mirrors and other DIY decorative ideas.
The decorative elements bring the room together by incorporating wall treatments would not only look great, but they can also be a cheap yet stylish way of hiding unsightly eyesores on your walls such as holes, dings, and scratches.

Walls are a very important part of your home’s interior and exterior, therefore most homeowners prefer to keep their walls always looking beautiful. 

Try to add bold colors to your walls or take on a neutral monochromatic color scheme for your wall decor and incorporate bolder choices of furniture. Remember that colors or ornamental treatments you add to your walls can assist unify the elements in a room.

Any materials you integrate on your walls will set the foundational style of your space, and so covering your walls with the right wall treatment is so important. The following wall-covering ideas including texture-effect wallpapers and three-dimensional materials will change the look of the room.

Curtains

Curtains will work equally well as one way to cover walls to hide up unpleasant wall finish or dangling wires.  This kind of wall cover does not have to be limited to just covering most types of windows, they are often the most affordable option for a wall treatment.

Curtains can be used in many rooms, they can create a focal point since they offer additional design features such as headboards, or room dividers, and even as a decorative wall treatment.  

It can also be used to hide any flaws on walls offering a sense of depth, by giving your space a more sophisticated and opulent look. Hanging curtains on the wall can also give the appearance of towering ceilings.

Peel And Stick Wallpaper

Peel and stick wallpaper are probably one of the easiest and simple ways to cover up some ugly walls. 

There are also a lot of epic peel and stick wallpapers in the market nowadays that can clearly make a bold statement along with showing fantastical scenes, pretty patterns, or creative design concepts.

Like decals, peel and stick wallpaper can be removed with no damage to the wall.  

Since peel and stick wallpaper comes on a roll, it is a popular design choice for covering large areas because it can be installed in generous sections of the wall.

Print Fabric

The next best and cheap way to cover bad walls is to incorporate print fabrics. By adding color to the walls using print fabrics, it can allow you to get a little creative with fabric.  

We suggest mixing starch with water to attach the fabric to the wall for an on-the-spot wallpaper or paint effect. Make sure you measure your wall carefully to get the right amount of fabric and add a bit more than you need because starch can cause some shrinkage. 

When you want to change your wall covering, simply pull the fabric off the wall and wash off the starch with a sponge and warm water. As for the print fabric material, the easiest way to make a fabric wall cover is to use 100% cotton cloth since it works well with starch.

Another tip for using print fabric to cover a wall, instead of covering the entire wall try to just add interesting focal pieces this way. 

For example, cut your fabric into interesting shapes such as a tree, flowers, butterfly, your child’s favorite animal, or even a child’s name for their room. 

Wall Panels

Wall paneling isn’t just decorative but can also serve a functional purpose since it can save you time on patching holes or cover any wall damage.  

Impact-resistant wall panels will protect your wall from scratches, dents, and other wall indentations.  It is also easier to clean or replace a section of paneling than it is to repair drywall and it can be installed over rough or uneven surfaces.

There are also flexible design choices to cover your walls with elegant paneling such as reclaimed wood that offers a rustic look and is great for creating an accent wall. Wainscoting, on the other hand, adds character to the bottom half of the wall.  

Wallpaper Panels

Using wallpaper panels as artwork for a wall cover can help you bring some patterns and design features into a room. You can use regular, pasted, and peel-and-stick wallpapers these can all work for this project. 

In choosing an interesting pattern you love; we recommend looking for a large-scale pattern that doesn’t repeat within your frame size. Keep in mind that it would be best that the wallpaper pattern is without an obvious repeat, in order to look more like art décor. 

Create panels by purchasing long frames, wherein you can frame your choice of wallpaper.  

You may opt for using the same wallpaper in all frames, or you can use your creativity and find different wallpaper to frame individually; just make sure that all wallpapers should have one element that incorporates them, such as similar color and design idea. 

This concept of wall covering will provide a fresh look to your boring old walls and provide your decor with a sense of sophistication, luxury, and modern feel. If you are still deciding between wallpaper vs paint check out this page.

Mirrors

Seeing that bad wall every day is really a sight for sore eyes, there is another cheap and quick fix for that.  

Try using different types of mirrors – if you have a large mirror and lean them up against the wall to make a statement piece to fill up that ugly wall space. If you have a few framed mirrors, you can try to create a collage of mirrors on the wall. 

This will also be a great decorative piece and these mirrors can help bring light into the room and give it a larger feel.  Mirrors offer a particularly stylish way to cover a wall and at the same time make the room look classy and can give elegance to an entire room.

Foam Boards

Foam boards are one of the most flexible ways to cover a wall since it creates a new surface for the wall on which you may provide any kind of cover on the foam boars that you want on your wall.  

You may either install foam boards as separate panels, putting up one board at a time or connect them together as a whole and cover them with any kind of material such as wallpaper, fabric, decoupage art, or pictures.  

If you opt to install foam boards as one large piece, make sure that the foam is slightly bigger than the area it covers.  Using tacks to secure foam boards will help in the tight fixing of the foam boards to the wall.

Art Prints & Photography

Another option to cover walls is to have a wall gallery of art prints or photographs.  You can hang a collage of your favorite pictures that tell a story about who you are and what you love.  

To have unity in hanging the photos, try arranging them in a brick-look pattern and make sure all the photos are printed at the same size and arranged in defined rows. 

A postcard collection is also a great way to create an awesome mural wall covering and showcase your great memories from your travels and family trips.

For large, bare walls, you can also use large pieces of artwork and hang them in a way that makes an otherwise boring wall look a lot more interesting. Read more about how high to hang pictures here.

Decorative Wall Coverings

If you are fond of collecting weird oddities and unique items, all that collecting will come to noble use by displaying your eccentric knick-knacks on the wall for a real statement.  

Or try something original and unique by considering creating your own piece of art with painting on canvases in a variety of sizes and try using different art materials and paint mediums.  

You could also opt to use a set of mixed media paintings that incorporate souvenirs from different occasions or places you have traveled.  

Or experiment with putting up posters of your favorite bands, movies, or art exhibits.  There are endless possibilities, using decorative wall coverings that will help you create something original that reflects your own unique personality.

Privacy Screens

Folding privacy screens are versatile pieces of furniture that can be used as wall cover décor.  You may use a Shoji screen, it’s somewhat transparent design when incorporated with a lamp behind it will create an illuminating romantic feel and add drama to the room.

A bold eye-catching privacy screen when placed against a neutral wall offers a striking accent piece in the room. Adding photographs, or paintings to plain privacy screens that create a gallery effect will present an interesting wall cover. 

This way you can also avoid having to attach photos and paintings to the wall which can be a problem, especially for renters. 

Or you can also opt to use a stencil to paint a design onto the screen to add color and texture to your wall cover without the commitment of it being permanently attached to the wall.  You can move the screen around the room or anywhere in the house.

Tapestry Wall Hanging

Does a Bohemian design style fit well with you?  Hanging tapestry is one way of adapting the chic bohemian decor, as most tapestries have a modern, quirky art style to them.  

Stylish beach blankets, printed curtains and artistic tapestry can go up on the wall for a bohemian look that can help warm up the room you will love.

Opting to use a tapestry wall cover, you don’t have to go for a full-on fabric wall.  You can use a variety of different methods to hang it, try using drapery rods, Velcro strips, coat hangers, and curtain poles. 

A patterned fabric could provide a new and fresh look to hide any unattractive flaws or defects on your walls. It would also give your room a warm and inviting feel. 

Your old sheets and blankets that may be converted into wall hanging tapestry or another great idea are to use tie-dye fabrics.  This is one of the simplest and cheapest ways to cover up your walls and make something elegant for your homes.  Hanging tapestry to cover your wall will warm up your space.

Hanging Rugs

Rugs can also be displayed as what you would do with a tapestry in a room.  Hanging rugs is also a great idea to use not only to cover walls but to hang it on the wall as various types of headboards.  

It is not as complicated and labor-intensive as using wallpaper panels or deciding to use wallpapers. Hanging rugs is also a fantastic way to repurpose an old rug and give it a new purpose and it adds warmth and personality to the room.

Wall Decals

Wall decals have become increasingly popular to use as a wall cover, not only are they quite inexpensive, but they are also very easy to put up and can completely transform a boring wall.  

Vinyl decals can be a bit pricier than some other options already presented, but they are long-lasting.  Vinyl wall decals can be applied with no lasting damage to the wall, and they are super-easy to remove from walls, wall decals are a good option for renters as well.  

These wall decals are the new way to add elegance to walls and they come in a variety of designs that can be stuck on the wall, peel them off when you’re done, and replaced as many times as desired with no harm done to the wall on which they are applied.  

Whiteboards

Using whiteboards as a wall cover is a great idea in a kids’ room or a play area, and even in your home office.  

It can be a creativity booster, which will encourage your children to get schoolwork done; especially when they practically cover a whole wall.  It can also help with organization and an awesome planning tool for your office room.

Hanging whiteboards in a room can serve as research walls, inspiration boards, message boards, calendars, and ideation walls, not just as an artful surface.  

It also enhances the thinking process of family members where they can physically place sources of inspiration and work in progress that everyone can see.

Cork Panels

Cork panels provide an easy-to-fic wall covering which is highly decorative, warm to the touch, functional, and adds insulation against noise. 

Cork panels are a functional self-stick wall cover with a soft and earthy look that can be used as an inspiration board and are better than your regular old bulletin board. 

Natural cork tiles are eye-catching wall décor that is eco-friendly and are a renewable resource because the bark is merely “trimmed” and allowed to grow back.

Paint

Among the effective and cheap ways to cover walls is to apply paint on them. Your imagination is the only limit to what you can do with painting your walls. 

Pick paints that hide imperfections, first and choose the right techniques to use such as color-washing, rubbing, glazing, and sponging.  These are just some painting techniques that can be used to make any imperfections seem like a part of the paint job.

Stick with a flat finish, always. Glossy paints reveal uneven spots and imperfections. Dark colors also absorb, rather than reflect, light. 

As a result, any flaws are less noticeable. However, keep in mind that you don’t select anything too dark since dark colors tend to make spaces seem small, cramped, and overwhelming. 

Finding a color that is appropriate to your design scheme is key to a good interior design. See more related content in our article about geometric accent wall ideas on this page.