4 Decorative Concrete Wall Ideas to Try on Your Next Project

Architects, interior designers, and even avid DIY-ers now have it easy. Or perhaps easier is the correct term. No matter.

The point is, now more than ever, you can give your imagination free rein when creating bespoke interiors. 

The possibilities are virtually limitless when you can effortlessly realize your vision through the clever use of decorative concrete coatings. Just a swipe here and there, and you get a textured or highly finished surface that looks just the way you envisioned it in your head.

Here are a few interesting ideas you can try on your next interior concrete wall design project. 

• The Chalkboard Wall

Turn an entire wall or a portion of it into something decorative but functional with the ultra-hard finish, scratch-resistant wall coating, Chalkboard.

This is perfect for a toddler’s room. Instead of wincing at the thought of your toddler messing up the paint in his room, why not give him a blank, writeable, erasable canvas instead? Give him a pack of dust-free colored chalk and watch him transform the bare space into a magical world filled with his imagination.

A chalkboard wall would make an excellent backdrop for study nooks and tables, providing a handy surface for writing math formulas, motivational quotes, and little reminder notes. Another possible domestic application is in the kitchen as a wall for reminders, recipes, and family art.

In commercial spaces, the chalkboard wall would make a great decorative but functional wall in casual restaurants and cafés. Tech companies, particularly their engineering departments, should love all that free space for doodling and collaborating. Universities, too, should appreciate having low-maintenance writeable, erasable surfaces for the use of their students.

Note: Instead of the chalkboard wall, you can modify this idea and create all sorts of functional but decorative walls.

There is a decorative finishing paint, Markerboard, that can turn any wall into a whiteboard wall, which is useful in all the ways the chalkboard wall is.

The coating Magnet Board can turn any wall into a magnetic wall. This is great for the wall beside the kitchen counter. How about the space beside the door, where you can conveniently leave your keys? It should also be great for dormitory walls and quite useful in conference rooms, especially those mainly used for strategy meetings.

Finally, the coating Digiboard will turn any wall into a projection screen for movie and game nights. Great for homes, offices, and commercial spaces, too. 

• The Fluorescent Accent

An entire fluorescent wall may be too much, but a fluorescent accent should make a loud enough statement. So, bring your neon dreams to life with the fluorescent decorative coating, Fluo, available in seven shades of bright, exceptionally light-fast colors.

Use a fluorescent wall coating to paint a neon mural for your focus wall. You can use focused lighting to illuminate your artwork at night, adding another dimension to your interior design. Or you can create a shallow alcove for a painting you love, then paint the bordering wall a light neon color to make the space pop and “shine a light” on your favorite artwork.

Fluorescent wall coatings also make a great focus wall in small, pocket-size bathrooms. Paint the wall behind the toilet or the sink or the shower a fluorescent yellow-green. Fluorescent paint brightens small spaces. It would be best to use the fluorescent finish on the wall with a window or where natural light could illuminate it.

Kids’ rooms can use a splash of well-applied neon colors. Fluorescent paint can add a dash of pizzaz to what could otherwise be drab spaces in kitchens, dining rooms, and living areas. Use a fluorescent coating to highlight symmetrical, geometrical patterns or create interesting asymmetrical contrasts.

Fluorescent coating also makes sense in public spaces. Use it to draw the eyes to important areas. Visually divide a vast, open space into smaller, manageable areas through the clever use of fluorescent wall paint.

The selective application of neon can elevate a boutique hotel’s vibe into something more energetic, dynamic, and playful. 

• The Concrete Finish

There’s just something about bare cement walls. If only you could leave your concrete wall unpainted and unfinished, you wouldn’t have to do anything else. But that’s just inviting disaster, of course.

You need to waterproof, treat, and prime concrete walls to ensure they would be as impermeable and resistant to damage as possible. But after doing all that work, you can regain that bare concrete look by using a decorative concrete coating like Neocement.

A decorative cement finish would fit right in at high-ceiling, tall-wall spaces. Imagine exposed gray steel beams and cool gray cement walls. They’d provide a beautiful decorative touch to living rooms, bedrooms, kitchens, family rooms, and anywhere you think could use a bit of industrial chic.

A decorative cement finish should also shine in modern, contemporary spaces. Imagine monolithic blocks of concrete that seem haphazardly placed on top of each other. The interior and exterior wall paint could be in bare concrete finish to evoke a monastic and austere feel. Decorative rugs, extravagantly luxuriant furnishings, thoughtful splashes of colors, and carefully framed views, should then make a great contrast to the bare and cold gray walls.

Decorative cement finishes are especially suited to high-traffic areas like department stores, boutiques, museums, and cafés. They make an incredible backdrop for stencils, company logos, and other artwork. 

• The 3D Wall

You can achieve a 3D effect quickly and efficiently by applying a sculpting putty-like 3D Roche, a paste-based filler like Terre de Lune, or a resin-rich paste-like Toile Tissee.

Use a filler to create three-dimensional decorative elements on walls. You can carve, scrape, and abrade it as you like to create interestingly etched and chiseled designs.

After priming and preparing your finished 3D surface, you can finish your wall by applying a coat of your choice of decorative wall coating. You can gild your carved flowers with liquid metal paint, use a color-changing finish for visual interest, or give it a real rusted effect. You can achieve all that and more with the right decorative paint.

The 3D wall makes an excellent focus wall in any living space. Create a 3D wall in your living room, dining room, or bedroom. Hotels should also appreciate a 3D wall’s decorative value in hotel lobbies and dining areas. 

The Possibilities Are Endless

The various decorative coatings available for concrete walls provide you with a vast canvas to explore your design aesthetic. So, feel free to experiment with both functional and decorative wall finishes to create bespoke wall designs. 

AUTHOR BIO

Ralph El Eid is the Business Development Manager at COLORTEK – Wall & Floor Fashion. EQUIPAINT is the franchise owner of COLORTEK in Dubai (U.A.E.) and Doha (Qatar); an international paints manufacturer specializing in the widest range of decorative paints and seamless concrete & resin flooring, with a unique showroom concept, and thus an ideal destination for homeowners, consultants, architects, interior designers and paint applicators.