Refresh Your Dining Room: The Best Paint Colors
Put simply, an accent or feature wall is a single wall of a room that has a different style than the other walls of the same room. They’ve been around in home design for a while, but Jennifer Guerin of JG Color Studios still notes that an accent wall “is a great way to add visual interest to a space and draw your eye to that area of the room.”
There’s no shortage of ways to use an accent wall to create a classic but unique focal point to your space.
Here are some tips to inspire you and help you get started. Whether you’re looking for a DIY accent wall, something budget-friendly, or a little more elaborate feature wall, you’ll find something below.
1. Get Creative With Paint
You don’t have to be an artist to create a great accent wall using paint. While one of the easiest ways to create a stunning accent wall is to choose a unique wall color for one of the walls in your room.
2. Embrace the Exposed Brick Look
There’s a reason exposed brick is such a coveted feature of an apartment or house - it makes for a super easy way to spruce up your home aesthetic. “If you love the industrial look for your home, exposed brick is a great option,” says Franklin. “If you don't already have exposed brick walls in your home, opt for brick veneers to ‘fake the look’ or work with a contractor to add an actual brick wall to the space.”
3. Shiplap Accent Wall
Adding a bit of texture to a space can be a very simple and effective way to switch up the look, which is exactly what shiplap does, like in this mudroom space. “Shiplap is classic and stylish,” says Emery. “Mix and match shiplap ones with some horizontal and some vertical for a cohesive flow throughout.”
4. Use Wallpaper
Don’t feel like painting but love the look of a little mural, pattern, or art piece on your accent wall? A wallpaper accent wall is an easy solution, and there are a ton of options to choose from. This approach works equally well in almost every room too — from dining rooms, bedrooms, home offices, living spaces, and more.
“For a maximalist and monochromatic feel without applying wallpaper to all four walls, select a color within your chosen wallpaper and paint the remaining walls with it,” says Rees. “Or to keep the space feeling minimal, opt for a smaller-scale, barely-there print for a sweet, subtle accent wall that won’t overwhelm the rest of the design.”
5. Vertical Wood Paneling
Like shiplap, wood paneling is another way to create an accent wall with texture. It’s great for when you want a minimal look, particularly for areas of your home like the bedroom. “We designed a vertical slat wall behind the bed frame in a primary bedroom,” says Howard. “It adds texture and warmth to the space in a modern, minimal way.” Creating a wood wall can be a fun home improvement challenge and something you can certainly do yourself with a bit of planning.
6. Make A Gallery Wall
You may find yourself with a lot of great art pieces or memorable family pictures, but none are big enough - size-wise or statement-wise - to take up an entire wall space. This is where the gallery wall comes in: create a collage or collection of smaller wall decor pieces on one wall to draw in the eye.
7. Standout With A Mural
Murals are perfect for creating a fun, imaginative, and bold accent wall. While you can put them anywhere in your home, they’re especially great for kids’ bedrooms or playrooms (you can dream and paint even bigger in those spaces!). If painting isn’t one of your strong points but you’d still like to DIY your wall, take a look for a stencil you can use.
8. Add Unique Shelving
Taking advantage of shelving can help spice up a wall in a couple of ways: first, the shelving itself adds texture, depth, and geometry to a space. Second, the objects on the shelves - from books to photos to keepsakes - can serve a dual purpose as decor and wall art.
9. Use Tiles
Tiles are fantastic for turning an otherwise boring space, like a bathroom or kitchen backsplash, into an eye-catching feature of your home. Look to add color and texture to your shower, for example, by using unique patterns and arrangements of tile.
10. Create Contrasts
The key thing to keep in mind about accent walls is that they only work if they’re unique to the rest of the space. Painting one wall of an all-white room black is one easy example.
“The key with an accent wall is to stand out by creating some contrast with the rest of the room.,” says Mellan-Matulewics. “This could be done through different colors, patterns, texture,s or a mix of all three. With a wide variety of wallpaper available today, the almost endless possibilities with what can be created.“
11. Wainscotting Moulding
Boost the aesthetic of a plain white wall simply by adding texture and shape through molding. “The wainscoting moulding wall is quick and easy,” says Emery. “This unique moulding is gorgeous and makes a big statement! Customize it to work for any wall.”
12. Large Art
Don’t want to add an accent to the wall itself? Opt for a large piece of art that takes up a good section of one wall in your space. It’ll draw the eye without the planning or labor needed to achieve some other accent wall looks.
13. Board and Batten
Much like wainscoting moulding, board and batten can use shapes and texture to spruce up a plain wall. Emery says, “I love the creativity that goes into a board and batten accent wall. Classic board and batten is made of rectangular boxes. You can also do vertical board and batten,square board and batten or a partial board and batten wall.”
14. Build A Panelled Wall
Looking to a simple bedroom idea? Use paneling to create an accent wall without having to put in too much renovation legwork (or money!) Wall panels work great in areas like the bedroom, where a wood accent wall can also double as a unique headboard.
