top of page

Boom! Accent Walls!

Hey Guys! I hope you had a great weekend and a fun Valentine's Day, whatever you did. Ours wasn't too romantical, I made heart shaped red velvet cinnamon rolls, (which the boys loved) and then we basically tossed presents at each other and were lazy the rest of the day. It was pretty perfect really.

Today I want to talk about different means of employing accent walls in your home. There are umpteen options out there, but I am going to touch on a different popular treatments.

So the first and generally most simple option is to use a contrasting paint color to accent a wall in the space. Be it the headboard wall in the bedroom, the entertainment system wall in the living room or a stair wall. It all depends on the space.

Aside from doing a bolder, contrasting paint color, you can opt for a little functionality in your accent wall and use chalkboard paint. There are several brands you can purchase in the classic colors, or there are ways to make your own chalkboard paint if you want something brighter. Stepping into the more decorative feature wall world but still with simply paint, you can do an ombre treatment or a mural even. There really are just buckets (get it? paint buckets. I'm here all week, folks) of options available and the limit is simply your imagination.

Bridging off of the more involved, creative aspect of using paint in an ombre pattern, you can step into the world of stencils or taping off patterns as a fun accent wall option.

Again, there are eleventy thousand options and ideas on pinterest and anywhere for different tape patterns. It just depends on far you want to go with it. The first pattern I am showing here is a simple, and very popular herringbone. Here, the pattern was applied with tape, painted over, let dry, then the tape was removed. If you click through the link, the blogger shared their process for creating this particular pattern. Another option, instead of painting over all the tape, is to paint inside of shapes you make with the tape, getting something along the lines of the second image shown, with the triangle pattern on the wall. This allows you to incorporate more colors and complexity. You can also use this method to create faux artwork on the walls, as shown in the last image. They simply taped off the perimeter of where the accent paint would go and then created the sunburst pattern within. This is another simple accent you can do, that will make your wall a focal point, but differentiate from many of the other taped off patterns.

Another simple step away from using paint and tape, but without too much commitment, is a paint pen drawn accent wall.

(Via: 1. Herringbone : 2. Gold Floral : 3. Freehand Lines)

I do highly advise that if you are doing a hand drawn wall, that you use a paint pen vs a traditional sharpie marker. You will get much better quality in your lines, it will fade less, just all around a better choice, so please, just do it. That being said, this method of accenting can be fairly simple and requires little commitment. Again it all just comes down to how far you want to take it. I love the simplicity of the first pattern I am showing, it is so clean and a simple graphic that it would make an impact in the space without being too over the top. The gold paint on black in the floral pattern is a much more bold and stunning effect with this method. You could play around with the color combination here too, you aren't stuck with black and gold. Nearly any deep color would contrast well with the metallic. Lastly here, the freehand lines shown are so fun and whimsical and simple. This pattern gives you the benefit of disguising any errors you may make, because it is meant to be imperfect.

Wallpaper is the next step. The previous two options are trying to achieve the look of wallpaper without the commitment. If you know you want paper, go for it. There are so many options and when done well, wallpaper is a really fun and beautiful accent option.

Wood on the walls is growing in popularity and there are a few really great faux wood wallpaper options on the market. I love the way it was done on the fireplace in the image shown above. It makes a great statement but remains clean and simple. There are some really fun faux frame wallpaper options available, but I really love this coloring paper. How much fun is that?! You would have to be willing to keep the artwork around or to swap your paper out, but in the interrim, what a fun statement. Marble such a classic material and is popping up in all sorts of products lately and I couldn't be happier. I really love this marble wallpaper shown. Again, there are loads of other options for wallpaper, it really just depends on what you are going for in your space.

As I said up there, wood accent walls are growing in popularity, but are a bit more of a commitment than even wallpaper is. If you know you want it though, you can't go wrong, it's a gorgesous statement.

Now, there are eleventy million DIY wood pallet accent wall options out there, and I have to caution you on them. If you are using pallets as your wood source, please be careful and know where they are coming from. Pallets are treated to be in extreme weather conditions so they often have lots of chemicals in them that are not safe for indoor use, as they will off-gas into your home. I would highly suggest that you either clean and seal the wood well, or find a reclaimed wood source for your indoor projects. You can also find tutorials on how to distress new wood yourself to acheive the same look. That being said, a wood accent wall adds a lot of warmth and texture to your space and when done well, and safely, is just gorgeous. The second image I am showing is a vinyl, self-adhesive prodcut that can simply be stuck onto your wall, should you not want to go the true wood route. This route is much more simple to install and much less labor intensive.

Well, those were the main accent options I wanted to cover today, but there are several other options on the market for accent walls that are really popular as well.

(Via: 1. Stone Accent : 2. Tile Accent : 3. Frame Accent)

Stone is probably easily one of the most popular accent options out there right now, and for good reason. There are lots of patterns, colors and combinations available. It adds really great texture and depth to your space. Tile, duh. That is an accent material that has been around for quite some time and isn't going anywhere too soon. Again, loads of options here, it just depends on the look you are going for. Gallery walls are another accent that has grown substantially in popularity in the last couple of years. The beauty of these, is that aside from the time it takes to assemble them, they are relatively low commitment. Super easy to take down, switch out and swap around. Not to mention the endless optoins here as well.

As I said, there are umpteen ideas out there to do any of these and other accent walls. The point is, they are fun to play around with and to express yourself in your home. So if you have been thinking about it, but are holding back, just go for it. Maybe start small with paint, see how it feels and work yourself up to the big one you have been thinking about. It's fun and you can hardly go wrong!

Later Gaters!

- D

bottom of page