Everything You Need to Know About Accent Walls

1. CHOOSE ONE SOLID WALL

Accent walls look best when there are no doors or windows. You may be tempted to frame a large window or french door with a fantastic view, but oftentimes this will only distract the eye.

2. ACCENT THE FARTHEST, SHORT WALL

In a really oblong room, the best wall to accentuate is the farthest short wall - the accent color will draw attention and make the wall appear closer to you, visually correcting the shape of the room. Painting the longest wall differently will only emphasize its length.

For this reason, accentuating shared walls (those common in open floor plans such as a wall that spans the kitchen and living room) is seldom a good idea. Not only will you have trouble deciding where to start and stop, you will also make the space look disproportionately elongated and unbalanced.

3. WORK WITH AN EXISTING FOCAL POINT

Do you have a focal point in the room already? If so, highlighting the existing point of interest would be better than creating a new one. For example, a fireplace would be considered a natural focal point present in the room so there is no need to create something different.

You can make it stand out more by painting the wall it's on a different color than the rest. That way you'll be working with it, not competing against it. Other "naturals" include the wall behind your bed's headboard or an important piece of furniture (usually your couch), the wall holding some dramatic artwork, a niche or other interesting architectural wall feature that already attracts attention.

5. NO FOCAL POINT? CREATE ONE.

When there is no natural focal point in the room, you can create one. Select the best wall for accent painting (keeping in mind the above suggestions), then look around - what do you want to showcase?

OTHER TIPS WORTH NOTING...

COMPETING ELEMENTS

Before painting an accent wall, make sure there is no competition from the other walls in the room. If any of the adjacent walls has some "Wow" or "in your face" element that already draws all of the attention (such as an oversized mirror, dramatic artwork or other bold wall decor), adding an accent wall next to it may easily create confusion and overwhelm the space - in that case, thread carefully. Remember that if something in the room is the star of the show, the other elements of the decor should play quieter, supporting roles (so don't force an accent wall in a room that doesn't lend itself to it - leave rule breaking to the pros).

COLOR ADVICE FOR ACCENT WALLS

Accents walls look most organic when they are darker than the other walls in the room - it's a classic look. A reversed color combination is possible (e.g. a light accent wall in a room painted a deeper color) but requires skill and a good eye for color and decorating, so beginners maybe better off sticking with the traditional color placement. The color of the accent wall should harmonize with the adjacent wall color. When in doubt, paint your statement wall the same color but 2 shades darker than the rest - it's always a foolproof look.

COMPLIMENTARY PAINT SELECTIONS

Make sure the accent wall is related to the existing decor. The best way to connect it is to repeat one of the colors already present in the room. Take a look at your throw pillows, artwork or other decorative pieces and use one of the colors for painting the accent wall. Just don't pick the dominant color in the decor for example (the color of your furniture upholstery and curtains), otherwise you'll end up with too much of the same thing and when everything is emphasized, nothing is emphasized.

CONTRASTING ACCENT WALLS

When choosing a paint color for the accent wall, consider the items that will be placed on its background. You need to ensure there is enough contrast, and that the colors will coordinate well - you don't want your furniture pieces, wall art and other decorations to clash with the wall colour, or blend in and disappear on the new colour background.

The above post was provided by Doris Duquette from ILiveHere Design in Sudbury, ON! Doris specializes in interior design, styling services, and custom window treatments.