Painting an accent wall can take a room to the next level. It can add that pop of colour you need to transform a boring all-white or all-beige room into a spectacle. It’s also a simple and quick update that can provide a big impact. However, painting an accent wall isn’t as simple as just choosing a wall to paint. There are tips you should consider and mistakes you should avoid.
1. Find the Natural Focal Point of the Room
Which wall are you going to paint? You shouldn’t simply pick a wall without thought. Instead, try to determine which wall is the natural focal point of the room. If your painting your bedroom, this wall may be the one behind your headboard. If you’re painting your living room, it may be the wall with the fireplace.
2. Walls to Avoid
If there’s no natural focal point, there are some tips you can keep in mind. For example, you should choose to accentuate the shorten wall in an oblong room—longer walls can make you’re the room feel more cramped. And it’s a good idea to avoid walls with doors, windows, or more than one story. If you do choose to paint a wall of windows, keep in mind that painting dark colour can make the bright light from the windows too overwhelming due to the contrast.
3. Avoid Bold Colours
There aren’t necessarily right or wrong colours to use for an accent wall. You can use a bold colour, as long as you have accents in your décor that coordinate with the colour you choose. However, glossy, bright accent walls tend to be a trend that’s come and gone. Instead, you may want to consider using a darker neutral in a light neutral room, such as painting a brown accent wall in a beige room. However, do consider that accent walls look best when the colours of the adjoining walls are lighter, leading to a contrast that looks stark and modern.
4. Use Light Colours First and Go Darker As You See Fit
Unless you’re very sure of your colour choice, it’s good idea to choose a lighter colour to paint your accent wall to begin with. If, after a few months, you decide you do want to go darker or bolder, it’ll be easy to paint over the light colour. The same can’t be said if you quickly get sick and tired of the dark or bold colour.
5. Take Inspiration from the Room
If you’re not sure which colour to paint your accent wall, take inspiration from the room itself. Perhaps you have a beautiful, bold rug that you just love or a great duvet with a pop of colour that truly stands out. Choosing your colour this way can lead to a more cohesive space and help ensure your accent wall isn’t jarring.
Thinking outside the box? Consider painting stripes, using stencils, or even using a metallic paint to make a powerful style statement. The choice is yours.
6. Avoid Matching Too Closely to Your Décor
Taking inspiration from the room is a great tip, but you have to ensure you don’t get too matchy-matchy while doing so. For example, if you have an orange sofa in the room, don’t paint the accent wall orange. Instead, choose a color that’s in your accent pillows. You don’t want to match, but you do want your décor to pop with your colour choice.
7. Use Painter’s Tape
It’s always important to have sharp, clean lines in an interior painting project, but it’s especially important when you’re painting darker accent walls. The lines will be far more noticeable due to the difference in colours between the accent wall and the lighter adjacent walls and the ceiling. If in doubt, hire professional interior painters.
