What are feature walls?

What are feature walls?

There is a significant investment involved in building or renovating your dream home, & based on your importance, you will choose to spend more in a certain area, either interior or exterior. Some would choose to invest more in the architecture, as in how the house will look from the outside, while others will choose to focus more on the interior design of the house. Whether you choose to focus more on the exterior architecture or the interior design of your dream home, you can be sure that you come across the term “feature walls” or “statement walls”. Today, let’s focus on what a feature wall is, & whether having a feature wall is something that would be of interest to you when you’re building or renovating your dream home.

A feature wall, also known as a statement wall, is used usually when the rest of the room or the area chosen to be renovated is more of a neutral colour tone or theme. You can choose to decorate a single wall using several different options, from wallpaper to natural stone, or other textured material, which creates a “feature”. The best advantage in creating a feature wall is that you can create a theme for your home without having to decorate the whole room or area, & you can do this as a separate renovation. You could also consider a feature wall when you’re buying new furniture, to complement the look of your dream home. Your feature wall will be personalized for your choice, whether you decide to decorate it with wallpaper, natural stone or other textured material, & it’ll help you to stand apart by giving the room/area a distinct personality. The best part about a feature wall is that you needn’t have it only as an interior design – you can even have it as part of the exterior, especially as a façade. A feature façade will certainly give the theme of your home & separate it among the other houses on the street.

Where would a feature wall go?

When trying to figure out where best a feature wall would go, it’s important to consider the below:

1. Location – The feature wall should be the first thing that the eye rests on when anyone enters the room, so selecting a random wall for the feature wall would be a mistake. When someone enters the room, what’s the first thing that they would notice, except the feature wall? That’s where you need to have your feature wall set up. E.g.: if it’s a media room, then the point of focus would be the TV, so the wall that the TV is set up on would be the best choice as a feature wall.

2. Seamless appearance – Make sure that the wall chosen as the feature wall doesn’t have a doorway or window, which would give a broken-up appearance. Also, a feature wall shouldn’t be kept near a wall with another theme going on, since the feature wall should be the main focal point which doesn’t confuse the viewer.

3. Space for the feature wall – The feature wall should be in a room or area that is not too crowded, or where the room is too small. If a feature wall is done in an area that is small or with too much going on, it can give a feeling of being too cluttered to the viewer. As an interior design purpose, a feature wall can be better suited for a hallway where you’re welcoming guests.

What options are available for a feature wall?

There are many options to do a feature wall, starting from wallpaper to the more versatile options including wood cladding, brick cladding, stone cladding, & flexible stone veneers. Let’s have a look at each of these claddings & wallpaper.

1. Wallpaper on a feature wall:
Well, wallpaper can be environmentally friendly, with a number of different colours & patterns to select from. Replacing the wallpaper can be relatively easier too. However, wallpaper is also difficult to clean, & may not be able to endure long term exposure, resulting in colour fading with time. Also, wallpaper is one of the more common options among claddings on a feature wall, where a feature wall is supposed to stand out & be unique.

2. Stone cladding on a feature wall:
Stone cladding is another option to have on your feature wall, with a great resilience to extreme elements & weather. Stone is also fire resistant, durable & easy to maintain. However, stone claddings come at a rather large cost, & installation too can be expensive. If damaged, it is difficult to repair, while bacteria or fungal growth on stone is a very likely possibility.

3. Wood cladding on a feature wall:
Wood cladding has a good aesthetic appeal & high insulation property. It also is extremely impact resistant with low thermal conductivity. However, one of the main issues with using wood cladding is that there is poor dimensional stability, since it can expand & contract as the seasons change from one to another. Also, using wood leaves a negative impact on the environment. If not treated properly, wood is also more prone to rot & decay.

4. Brick cladding on a feature wall:
Bricks are another popularly used wall cladding, same as wallpaper. Bricks are thermally efficient, easily recycled & reused, while also being moderately durable. However, there is an environmental impact of using brick, since bricks are baked in kilns, which need a considerable level of energy. Not to mention cement used to bind the bricks contribute approximately 5% to the global carbon dioxide emission. Apart from the negative environmental impact, installation cannot be done on your own, is expensive, & if damaged, cost of repairing can also be high.

So, looking at each of these options, there are issues that negate the advantages heavily, so what then is the best option? Why not look elsewhere? Say, why not consider flexible stone veneers?

Why are flexible stone veneers the jack of all trades to use in a feature wall?

Flexible stone veneers are sustainably extracted with minimum carbon footprint from 100% natural metaphoric stone. The stone surface is both water & heat-resistant, while offering great durability & flexibility being 1 kilo & between 1.5 mm to 2.0 mm thick. Versatility is a keyword when discussing flexible stone veneers, since it can be used for both interior & exterior architectural projects, & it can go on top of any substrate, from tiles to glass, wood, cement, render or brick! Once a good sealant has been applied, it can technically last a lifetime with regular aftercare. Installation is also extremely simple, & you can do it on your own if you have a few simple tools at home like an angle grinder & glue nails. Flexible stone veneers bring the advantages of stone cladding such as great durability & water resistance, without the environment impact, high price tag & difficulty in installation. Flexible stone veneers also bring the aesthetic appeal & impact resistance of wood cladding without the environment impact & the possibility of rot & decay. The only advantage that wallpaper has over flexible stone veneers is the lesser price tag, but it comes at the cost of sacrificing durability, endurance & aesthetic appeal. Brick cladding, while a very good choice, again brings the negative impact to the environment to the table, while you cannot do a brick cladding on your own, so there’s more expenses involved. Overall, flexible stone veneers bring most of the combined advantages of many cladding options, with minimum negative impact, so it’s the perfect choice for a feature wall!

Conclusion

While there are many options available to do a feature wall, flexible stone veneers offer most of the advantages of the alternatives without the negatives of using those alternatives. Flexible stone veneers have been used famously all across Europe for a considerable time, & is now revolutionizing the Australian construction industry as well. Why not consider flexible stone veneers to upgrade your dream home’s feature wall! After all, you do deserve the best!