3 Ways to Create an Impactful Accent Wall

If you’re familiar with my style, then you know I love a good accent wall. You can find one in nearly every room in my home! My love for accent walls originated several years when shopping model homes. I noticed a consistent theme within most of the rooms they designed had some type of accent or feature wall as the focal point of the room. To me, it’s what really makes the difference between just a pretty space and a WOW space. So today I’m sharing 3 different ways to create a ‘WOW factor’ accent wall in any space!

1. Wallpapered or Stenciled Accent Wall

My friend Haneen over at HaneensHaven is the Queen of stenciling. Her home is full of beautifully stenciled accent walls and I love her bold style! Check out her living room below. She has a dark brown drama filled paint on all the walls, and then used a lighter brown to create the stencil effect. (She has an entire blog post dedicated to the sources of all the stencils used in her home if you’re interested in any of the sources!) Didn’t it turn out awesome? The plus side? If you ever get tired of it, you can just paint right on top and start over!
As for wallpaper options, I’m sure you’re familiar with my family room quatrefoil accent wall. (You can find the tutorial post here.) I purchased this wallpaper from Lowe’s and I love the neutral color of it and of course the pattern. This wall definitely makes a statement in my home and I don’t see it going away any time soon!
And last but not least is my closet. A small space, but a very FUN space that reflects my style so perfectly. Nobody really sees my closet (except me, of course) so I wanted to make this as girly and glam as possible. Something my husband wouldn’t approve of in any other room in the house 🙂 What a statement it makes, though!

2. Painted Accent Walls

Bree over at ZdesignAtHome has one of the most perfect guest rooms I’ve ever laid my eyes on! Her guest room is a beautiful combination of neutrals, teal and navy. She makes the bedding, and art POP by painting the wall behind the bed a deep navy blue, while keeping the other 3 walls a very light neutral. Isn’t it just gorgeous? Such an easy, and inexpensive way to really add some drama to this room!
Want to talk about a GRAND entrance? Megan of HoneyWereHome has exactly that! Just check out her entryway below and the beautiful grand staircase you see immediately upon entering her beautiful home. She painted these awesome gray and white stripes on the curved stair wall to really highlight the architectural detail here. (Read her full blog post here.) These are sure to grab your attention when you enter and again, an inexpensive, easy way to highlight this beautiful space!

3. Molding Accent Walls

This is hands down my favorite type of accent wall. I haven’t stopped doing molding projects in my home since we moved in 3 years ago. I absolutely love the interest, detail, and uniqueness these projects add to any space. The first example below is my husband’s office. I wasn’t crazy about the window being right in the middle of this wall, but I didn’t let it stop me and created an awesome Paneled Wall around it anyway. (Find the full tutorial here.) This entire wall cost under $100 in supplies, and is totally worth every penny!
Another type of molded accent wall can be found in my master bedroom. When I first made this wall (tutorial seen here) the wall color, molding color, and inside the box molding, were all different paint colors. It really added a lot of drama and made the molding stand out. But my style changes frequently and it wasn’t too long before I fell in love with monochromatic molded walls and decided to paint the entire room, (including the molding) all one color. And that’s how it is today and I absolutely love it. (Here’s a tutorial documenting the change from multicolored to monochromatic.)
And last, but certainly not least, is my most recent molding project found in my ‘work in progress’ nursery. This is my rendition of shiplap, which is all the rage nowadays. (My DIY Shiplap tutorial here.) As I mentioned with my master bedroom, I loved keeping all the walls the same color, including the shiplap. This project was super easy and cost under $70 for everything! What’s not to love? And this wall will grow with my little man and be great for a little boy’s room, or teen’s room!