Adding An Accent Wall In a Room

When decorating a home there are elements that come into play that we tend to forget about. These decorative elements when added to any room in a home will make it feel more cohesive and make it look better. An accent wall is one of these elements.

When we hear the word accent wall, feature wall or focal wall, we tend to think only of one floor to ceiling “painted” wall in a room, but it can be created in a few different ways and since it is only one wall can be done in an afternoon.

DIY shiplap wood planked accent wall in hallway — **A short accent wall with horizontal panels that joins the kitchen, foyer and hallway**.

How to Create Impact in a Room With an Accent Wall

paint-in navy blue on-accent-wall-in-bedroom — **Satin wall paint on bed wall in guest room.**

Creating an accent wall is also one of the best ways to test a paint color you are too afraid to use to paint the whole room. It gives the room an instant focal point where there wasn’t one before.

Helpful Tip:

Paint is the easiest and most budget-friendly way to create an accent wall, but it is not the only way. You can also create an accent using wallpaper, fabric or wood with a larger budget and power tools.

Are Accent Walls Still in Style?

Accent walls will always be a part of decorating. What does go in and out of style is what you put on them. Colors and wallpaper patterns trends come and go, but the decorating element of accenting a wall to make a focal point is classic.

Open shelving in kitchen showing how you can add a pop of color using removable color backdrops that you can make. — **I made the** **changeable accent backdrops** **above using cardboard and gift wrap.**

An accent wall also doesn’t have to be a big focal wall. It can simply be the backsplash in your kitchen, the backdrop of open book shelves, or a wall in a powder room.

White IKEA Billy bookcase with black and white patterned fabric shelf background accents.

I made the backdrops on this bookcase using fabric.

Airstone fireplace in living room with glossy white trim and vertical panels to accent on either side — **Vertical Planking added to accent the fireplace wall in my living room**

An accent wall doesn’t need to be a bold color either. A subtle color or texture difference can bring the contents in a room together in a very pleasing way.

A pattern on wallpaper or a wall of vertical or horizontal paneling in the same color as the other walls in a room can make a difference to how a room looks and feels.

Blue grasscloth wallpaper used as a color accent on a wall in bedroom. — **Grasscloth wallpaper on the bed wall in my bedroom.**

When one wall or area in a room becomes a focal point, it automatically elevates the room into one that has had some thought put into it and will make the room appear to look “decorated”.

How to stencil a wall using an all over stencil

You can also use an allover stencil to create an accent wall anywhere in your home as I did in my foyer shown in the above photo.

Do you have a wall or walls in a room in your home that would work as an accent wall? I am sure you do.

Faux blooming branches in large planter behind a sofa

In my living room I created an accent corner by covering two short walls in the room with barnwood panels.

How Do You Choose an Accent Wall?

The most common wall to make an accent wall is on the wall you see as you first enter the room, but it is not the only wall to consider.

Foyer/Entry – The wall that is right across from your front door as you walk in the house.

Kitchen
On the backsplash
Wall behind open shelving
On a wall in the table and seating area

Living/Family Room
- The fireplace wall or the wall with a large focal point window.
- The wall a TV is mounted on.
- The long wall the sofa is on.
- The wall space between the built-in bookshelves.
- A wall niche.
- Small wall that adjoins two rooms.

Bath/Powder Room
- The wall the sink and toilet are on.
- Inside the mirror cabinet for a surprise pop of color every time you open the cabinet.

Bedroom
- The wall the bed is on.
- Backdrops behind any shelving.
- Large window wall.

Laundry Room
- The wall behind the washer and dryer.
- The space between the top of washer/dryer and wall mounted cabinets.

Where I Want to Add An Accent Wall

After getting the hardwood floor redone in my kitchen and living room, I am thinking about creating a bolder accent wall on the window wall behind my kitchen table and chairs. It is the far wall in this image. From this viewing point it looks the same as the others.

close up photo showing white textured wallpaper on a wall in a kitchen.

Up close though, you can see the wall has white textured wallpaper on it that you can see when you are in the kitchen, but not from the living room.

The wall is the perfect type of wall to add a pop of color since there are two stopping points – the kitchen cabinets on one side and a corner on the other side. I already have the chalkboard accent wall in the room, but I can make this wall be bolder with texture to make it stand out.

Where Can You Put an Accent Wall?

How about your house? Where is a good wall to add an accent wall? Look around for wall space in every room in your home, both big and small.

Try to imagine how it would look painted in a favorite color, wallpapered or fabric covered in a lively pattern, textured wood paneling added or even with an interior slat wall like this one.

You can have a decorated look in no time at all, even on a tiny budget using paint and a stencil to get an expensive wallpapered look.