At this point, Amanda Holden is more the face of interior design than she is a TV and radio presenter and talent show judge – her dining room makeover standing as our latest obsession. Adorned in statement wallpaper panelling daringly extending to the ceiling, Amanda's grandiose dining room scheme is the textbook definition of loud luxury.
Considering dining rooms are integral to the hosting season, from full-blown dinner parties or intimate soirees, it pays to ensure they deliver quite the impression. While some favour more neutral dining room colour schemes, you can count on the likes of Amanda Holden to always take it a step up. Not only is she acing the rising anti-quiet luxury look, but she's also pioneering an emerging wallpaper trend that designers predict will be big in 2024. What is it, you ask? Cinematic ceiling murals.
'Adding a dramatic look by choosing a bold wallpaper and taking it around the room and up on a ceiling is the best way to embrace a maximalist, decadent look which is perfect for a dining room,' begins Ann Marie Cousins, interior designer and founder of AMC Design. Considering Amanda's celebrity status, there truly is no other design feature that quite gives the wow factor as this bold design approach, creating an impact like no other.
Designer Avalana Simpson of Avalana Designs predicts that this is a dining room wallpaper idea that will command attention this year. 'This year we've seen a rise in ceilings becoming the 5th wall,' she notes. 'You can either paint your ceiling to match your wall colour or consider a bold colour to make it pop. Or, lovers of maximalism and loud luxury can instead add a show-stopping ceiling mural to encourage people to look up and feel fully immersed.'
Of course, Amanda Holden has never shied away from declaring her love for the bolder things in life – something we learned from her daughter's bedroom makeover, where she nailed the risky task of clashing patterns – so her championing the rise of the ceiling mural is nothing out of the ordinary.
Not only does using the same wallpaper on both walls and the ceiling create an enveloping and immersive atmosphere but when done correctly, can help make a small dining room look bigger, too.
'By extending the same wallpaper to the ceiling, the visual boundaries between the two are blurred giving the impression of a larger room, which creates a harmonious design that serves as a cohesive backdrop for furnishings and decor,' explains Chelsea Clark, head of brand at Lust Home.
Chelsea adds that choosing bright and bold patterns helps draw your eyes upwards, creating the illusion of higher ceilings and taller walls. Darker wallpaper, on the other hand, helps to add drama and intrigue to a space. She explains that this creates a cocooning effect, which when paired with matching walls, is a great way to add depth to a room and make accessories pop.
How to implement your own 'ceiling mural'
'The way this space works with the wallpapered ceiling and the walls is because the panels break up the paper. If the walls were top to bottom wallpapered with a matching ceiling, we'd have a very different space,' explains Sahar Saffari, senior designer at Hi-Spec Design. That being said, her biggest tip for creating your own ceiling mural is to ensure it's not overkill and implement balance.
In terms of choosing the right ceiling mural for you, Avalana suggests carefully choosing wallpaper that utilises materials ideal for ceilings. Each of Avalana's custom murals, for example, is printed using UV gel inks that ensure the design stays vivid for up to 80 years. They're easily removable too, making them ideal if you're renting.
Better yet, simply opting to go custom will alleviate a lot of pressure in nailing the look right off the bat. 'This process allows you to alter colours, change the design layout to suit your space and perhaps most importantly in terms of using them on your ceiling. It also allows for ceiling roses and other lighting elements that are existing to be factored in.'
In addition, to avoid the wallpaper taking over and drowning a room completely, Ann Marie Cousins urges you to consider employing the design within wall panelling the same way Amanda has, breaking up the room with plain colours which complement the pattern on your chosen wallpaper.
'Having a wallpaper which has a metallic pattern and using lighting and accessories which pick up those metallics is the best way to ensure a cohesive scheme,' assures Ann Marie. Amanda's makeover cleverly layers dining room lighting ideas through the likes of LED spotlights, a dramatic oversized pendant light, and wall sconces.
As a result, the interior designer remarks that 'Amanda Holden has guaranteed that the room feels rich and welcoming, even on the darkest evenings', complementing the daring wallpapered look, allowing it to dominate the dining area.
