Wallpaper - Smear Ink

Our Smear Ink wallpaper, created in collaboration with Kim Huang, brings an expressive and layered abstract surface to the wall. The design features horizontal, textured strokes that suggest thick oil paint worked across canvas, with deep steel blue, slate, and lighter icy blue tones creating a rich sense of depth and movement. Glazes, ridges, and distressed markings give the pattern a moody, wabi-sabi-inspired character that balances raw surface detail with calm visual structure. As with all our wall murals, it is made-to-measure to your exact wall dimensions and printed on PVC-free paper with a subtle surface texture.

In the room

We see Smear Ink working especially well in a study or home office, where its cool steel blue tones and horizontal movement create a focused, grounded atmosphere behind a desk or shelving. In a living room, it functions naturally across a main feature wall, such as behind a low sofa or media unit, where the continuous horizontal rhythm has space to expand across the width of the room. The dense visual texture also suits quieter reading corners and alcoves, where the layered brushwork can be appreciated up close.

Styling it

The cool, painterly quality of this wallpaper pairs beautifully with contemporary and wabi-sabi interiors. We suggest combining it with clean-lined furniture in darker stained wood or matte black finishes to complement the deeper steel tones in the motif. To soften the cool palette, bring in textured textiles such as open-weave throws, boucle upholstery, or natural linen in warm off-white, which balance the tactile look of the painted surface without competing with its intricate markings.

Colour combinations

The pattern centres around a palette of deep steel blue, muted slate, and soft icy highlights. When choosing paint for adjacent walls, skirting, or doors, soft chalky whites and pale mineral greys allow the wallpaper to remain the clear focal point. For a more enveloping, atmospheric look, consider wrapping surrounding woodwork or adjacent walls in matching dark steel blue or charcoal tones.

About our wallpaper

At Wallism, our wallpapers are made-to-measure based on your specific wall dimensions, which helps reduce unnecessary excess material compared with standard rolls. Every design is produced on PVC-free paper with a subtle physical structure, and our mural wallpapers are designed to be straightforward to hang in both modern and period homes.