An accent wall can add excitement to any room. Accent walls are generally painted in a deeper, bolder color than a room’s walls and ceiling. This design technique can bring some definition to an otherwise featureless room, or it can enhance a focal point already present in a room, such as a fireplace or bay window.

Uniquely Yours

Although going with a darker color is the “norm”. This is an opportunity for you to express your own taste and personality. It is quite common for us to adjust a particular color on the job site making the color uniquely yours.

Feeling and personality

Accent walls suggest a particular feeling and personality. A vibrant bright wall might energize a room, while a softer shade might create a sense of tranquility. If you want to define a separate space within a room – a reading area, for example, or a sunny area – an accent wall can do the trick.

Basic color theory

Warm colors—orange, yellow, and red—tend to pull the wall towards the eye, which makes a space appear smaller.

If you decide to use a warm color on your accent wall, consider using a wall that can handle being foreshortened. A good place to use a warm accent wall is in a long, narrow room — by painting an end wall it will create a more balanced space.

Cool colors—green, blue, and purple—tend to pull the wall away from the eye, which makes a small room appear larger.

By using a cool color on an end wall or side wall in a room, you can make a small room appear larger, or make a skinny room appear wider.

An accent wall can make a large room feel cozier, or a small room more expansive. There are many reasons to create an accent wall, but the process isn’t quite as simple as it seems. Choosing the right wall is Important, as is selecting the right color. Painting an accent wall is the kind of project that provides a lot of return for little investment – as long as you do your homework.

Find a wall that stands out

Many people believe that the first wall you see when you enter a room is the best one to accent. The best accent wall is the wall that stands out in the room. It’s the wall you are drawn to when you enter the room. If you are unable to determine which wall stands out in your room, ask a friend or family member to walk into the room and let you know which wall seems to draw their attention.

Accent walls are often without doors or windows but I have found that the right color can also make a unique wall even more attractive. For example a wall with a fireplace in the middle of it can be perfectly framed with a bold color that reflects upon your decor. Accent walls are an area of decorating that blend perfectly with experimentation. There really are no hard rules in my opinion just general guidelines. Be bold and express yourself.

It is best to choose a wall that may already be a focal point, if one exists, like a fireplace wall. Accenting a wall in a room that already has a focal point can create confusion and weaken the aesthetics of the room. You don’t want two walls in a single room competing for the eye’s attention.

Inspiration

An accent wall’s color is meant to stand out from the remaining walls. There’s no reason, however, that the two colors can’t be related. A common practice is to paint the accent wall the same color as the primary walls, but two or three shades darker. A room’s existing furnishings may provide inspiration; throw pillows or drapes often suggest an accent color.