Accent walls were all the rage in the early 2000s. It was a quick, easy and inexpensive way to give a room a pop of color. But so many rooms with accent walls just looked unfinished or like an obvious attempt to be trendy. This should never be the case.
But just because so many accent walls failed, does not mean that accent walls are not a useful and impressive style.
Useful. Impressive. That is what an accent wall should be.
What does useful and impressive mean?
There should be a reason you chose to accent a wall. The very word accent means to give emphasis. Think about it in linguistics terms; we put an accent on a syllable that gets emphasized.
Apply that to the accent wall technique. You should never say “I want an accent wall.” Rather, it should be “I want to accent this feature/space/purpose”
Hear the difference?
Now look at the difference.
Here is an example of “I want an accent wall” featured in Design By Numbers
And here is a picture of “I want to accent this feature” designed by The House that Social Media Built
This accent wall draws the eye to a point in the room. It also makes the fireplace stand out. There is a clear purpose for this wall. (This picture is also inspiring in me to write a blog about awesome ceilings!)
Another great place for an accent wall is with built-in features, like hutches or bookshelves, like this design by Decor It Darling.
Or they show off a unique shape of the room like these two pictures from Walls By Design and Digs Digs, respectively.
Like most fads, accent walls got watered down by the DIY house decorators; thus, they got a bad name.
But a professional painter or designer can help you use the accent wall to make a statement, to draw your guests’ eyes to the beauty of your home and to create a vibe you want for a room.