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Best Types of Accent Walls For Your Home
When I was thinking of the look I wanted for Joshua’s room the first thing that I thought about was color, which lead me to paint, which ultimately lead me to thinking about what would be the best type of accent wall.
I’m not sure if it is just a ‘me’ thing or if it is true for everyone, but I really feel like just about anything I do is a real life version of ‘If You Give A Mouse of Cookie’. If you want to redo a room, then you need a color palate. If you have a color palate, then you need paint. If you need paint, then you need an accent wall. Definitely, if I were Laura Numeroff and trying to think of my next book for the series, it would definitely involve a mouse trying to decorate. Does anyone else relate to this?
Anyway. Accent walls.
Why do you need an accent wall?
Accent walls are super important in designing your space. Actually, an accent in general is! You want your eyes to be drawn in and have a focal point when you walk into a room. Sometimes, when there are so many things to look at, your eyes and brain don’t know what to process first and it can be overwhelming. Having a focal point (or in this case an accent wall) has you immediately drawn to one particular area, with the rest of the room flowing.
Accent walls can also make your room appear larger or the ceilings taller. Look at this photo from a master bath designed by the amazing Nate Berkus. What do you look at first? That ceiling! And immediately after your eyes are drawn to the back room with the same color painted on those doors. Not only does it elongate the room and draws your eyes vertically, but it also ties the whole room together.
If you are working in an open concept space it can also really help define your space.
If your room already has a focal point (such as a fireplace) defining the area around it can really help this feature pop! If your room doesn’t have a focal point (like in Joshua’s bedroom), adding a bit of an accent wall can help give a boring space some texture and depth.
Accent Wall Cons
You can’t have some amazing yes’s without having a few no’s right? I’m a huge fan of accent walls … 98% of the time. However, there are a few no’s in my book.
- You need to be sure you pick the right wall – with the right accent. (I feel like this will end up getting a whole post on it’s own later!) If you aren’t featuring an architectural focal point (like the fireplace above) and instead are trying to create a focal point, then think about what you are going to add to the space decor wise. A focal point is an area that should be focused on right? For bedrooms, you often see accent walls behind the bed. Typically, people have headboards with a texture or design element as well as bedding in a particular pattern or color. The accent wall behind can really help to highlight those and frame your bed. Think of it as this. With an accent wall, it is the star of the show. But a show can’t be great with just a star if it has bad supporting cast members. You need both to really have a great show. (Or room.)
- It can be too much. There is definitely a thing of too much. Too many cooks in the kitchen? Same goes for your decor. There can also be such a thing as too many accents! A friend of mine bought a house a few months ago and called me for help. It was open concept flowing from kitchen to informal dining room to living room. On the other side of the kitchen was also a formal dining room. The owners before had created accent walls in each the formal living room, informal dining room and the living room. They were well done, but there were so many of them. You walked in and your eyes didn’t know where to go. While accent walls are great for defining space, they can also make a space look choppy. Add on top of that color flow and it just was too much. Losing an accent wall, honestly gained an even bigger impact!
- They can date your space. This one is really a matter of preference. Trends come and go, but if you love something, you shouldn’t feel pressured to get rid of it because it’s not the current hot commodity! (Plus, trends -almost- always come back! Mid-century anyone?)
Best Accent Walls (And Tutorials!)
So, what are your choices when it comes to accent walls? Honestly, there are so many options! It’s all about picking the best accent walls for your home, your style and your space. Here are a few amazing accent wall looks, all with tutorials for you to follow. Be sure when you are looking at the photos also look how they are styled and if you are unsure of what wall to pick, these are all great examples of picking the right one for the space!
Modern Geometric Accent Wall
I am so in love with this space from Within The Grove! This is definitely a bit trendy, but the clean lines and freshness of this look I think will keep this room well loved for years to come! Like I said above, less is more, and with the super interesting pattern, this wall makes such a statement! I love that it also really allows the textures from the crib, the rug and that cute foot stool really shine. Plus, that color is everything.
Another modern approach is this slat wall from Simply Aligned Home. I’m absolutely obsessed with moody paint colors and wood so this is all of my dreams come true. Our house before we moved was a 1954 mid-century ranch that hadn’t been touched since, well, 1954. (Our bathtub was even teal still!) A slat wall was on my list for our dining room before Dustin got transferred so until then, I’ll live vicariously through Nicole and her boy’s room. (If you visit her site you will see that she actually carried the slats all across the wall, but even just a section like this can make a huge statement!)
There are several ways to implement board and batten in your home. This photo and tutorial are from Lolly Jane (one of my favorite blogs by the way) and is similar to what I plan on adding to Joshua’s room. This particular design is a bit like an optical illusion. Naturally, your eyes would mark the horizontal board as being the middle section of the room, thus making it appear taller.
This board and batten pattern is from Thrifty Decor Chick and also checks all of the boxes for me! (Especially that paint color!) I love how it just draws your eyes upwards! Another huge plus for me with board and batten accent walls is that I feel like they are a classic design. This will look classy regardless of the trends!
Brick can be an amazing accent. No brick? You can add faux bricks! There are tons of even peel and stick, textured wallpapers to give you that brick look and feel. Zoe from Crafted By The Hunts stepped it up about 12 notches with her German Shmear effect on a faux brick panel. For me to love brick, it definitely has to be done right and in the right space. This my friends, is done right! The texture gives this space amazing dimension that it was missing before.
Um hello, perfection! WOW! This is stunning. Shiplap is typically associated with modern farmhouse vibes but A House We Built totally has modernized it in this look! I don’t even know what else to say about it, except, holy cow, this is gorgeous.
To be an accent wall or not to be…that is the question. I’m including this tutorial for Picture Mouldings from Crafted By The Hunts, because I think this one depends on how you style it! Like the board and batten, this classic style screams elegance.
You don’t have to add wood or molding to your walls to create an accent wall. In fact, paint is a great way to implement super trendy designs without having to spend a lot of time or money. Plus, they are easy to transition to the next idea that you have later down the road. This dalmatian paint is done with a stencil (or if desired you could freehand it!) This fun pop definitely will capture your attention.
Murals are a fun way to add art and color to a room. This rainbow mural from Mr. Kate is stunning and really encompasses the fun and brightness in this room!
Want something a little more classic and a bit less trendy with just a coat of paint? You can always just paint one wall a different color. Generally, I like a high contrasting paint for an accent like this. The gallery wall that Liz from Within The Grove created on the wall really help to make this a showstopper!
And finally, wallpaper. Wallpaper has made a huge comeback. You can pick up gorgeous wallpapers that are made to peel and stick for easy applying/removing from even Amazon! The colors, patterns and styles are endless and they offer a great way to add an accent even for renters. One idea is to add a wallpaper accent to a half wall like Bower Power did here for a beautiful pop in a hall or entryway.
Or you can wallpaper an entire wall like this absolutely stunning nursery.
While there are certainly other accent walls out there, this is my list of favorite 10 best types of accent walls! I hope you found some inspiration from the list! And if you create or have a fun wall, let me know on Instagram! I’m always on there looking at dreamy spaces!