Accent wall concepts – 12 easy design suggestions
Accent wall concepts not solely add colour and sample to an total scheme, however it’s an opportunity to create a sure temper, spark dialog and inject persona. All of us need a comfortable residence; one which fills us with pleasure as quickly as we step by means of the entrance door, a spot to really feel relaxed and at peace, to host our favourite individuals and a design scheme that evokes and invigorates.
If you happen to thought accent and have partitions had been over, then we’re right here to let you know they’re removed from. Accomplished appropriately, an accent wall may be as refined or as assertion as you please. Plus, it is a lot greater than a roll of wallpaper or contrasting paint concept. Actually, it may be no matter you need it to be – a wall of favourite art work, a pink ceiling, floor-to-ceiling bookcases, murals, a solution to zone an area and extra. It is a wall that makes your house that little bit happier.
We communicate to main designers who give away their high tips about creating an accent wall.
12 methods to deliver accent wall concepts to your scheme
1. Sample up above paneling
(Picture credit score: SEN Inventive)
We like wall paneling concepts and the way in which they work fantastically in each conventional nation manors and trendy flats. They’ll slot into most rooms, from interval hallways and tiny downstairs powder rooms to up to date dwelling rooms and retro eating rooms. What’s extra, they will make a superb accent wall – whether or not that is one huge wall with a secret door, or wainscoting that is up to date with accent wallpaper above. Paneling expertly merges the previous and new and provides an actual function to an area.
‘Accent partitions are a pop of colour or wallpaper on a part of a wall or one or two partitions in a room. They provide a possibility to make use of a cool sample or daring colour in a room with out overwhelming the house. They had been in style within the 90s and have come again into the design dialog,’ says inside designer Susie Novak, founding father of Susie Novak Interiors.
‘I really like this wallpaper however don’t wish to overdo it with sample so right here we added it above wainscoting and it actually sings and elevates the room. We needed a stupendous and soothing environment right here and needed to create a proper but additionally informal vibe!’ she provides.
‘It’s simple to make an accent wall – you should buy a pot of paint and simply paint one wall in a room. Select the wall that wants some life and is wanting type of dreary,’ she continues. ‘Professional tip: it doesn’t must be a brilliant or daring colour. Including a heat gray to 1 or two partitions can cozy up a room and you may depart the remainder of the house white, or like on this image, wallpaper above wainscoting or make a big rectangle of trim as a body and makes the wallpaper extra of an artwork piece fairly than protecting the entire wall.’
2. Make it private with artwork
(Picture credit score: Trevor Parker)
Artwork is a unbelievable solution to create an accent wall. Whether or not it is one favourite piece that you just need to take delight of place or an entire wall of non-public pictures, children’ drawings and reasonably priced artwork, art work provides persona and character and provides life to a lackluster wall. The mushy gray partitions of this Tribeca condominium are immediately lifted with these joyful items.
‘We needed to create an accent wall that was trendy and minimalist,’ says Ahmad AbouZanat, founding father of New York inside design studio PROJECT AZ. ‘The lounge has massive floor-to-ceiling home windows that herald loads of mild so our strategy was to distinction the darkish blue couch with brilliant colours and add extra textures as a substitute of print. The work had been commissioned to a younger artist and we requested for heavy brush strokes. We broke the composition into two with white frames to boost the minimalist look.’
‘Accent partitions are nearly at all times in demand. Every undertaking, nonetheless, requires a special strategy. Some may be simply paint (colour), wallpaper (sample, colour or texture) or lastly, the usage of art work to create accents which are each visually fascinating and extra private, particularly to the artwork fanatic clientele,’ he says.
3. Get artistic with colour
(Picture credit score: Mary Wadsworth)
After we consider accent partitions, we often consider daring, brilliant colour traits. A wall that is painted in a special colour to the remainder of the room. And it is easy to see why – it is a good way to jazz up an area, create a spotlight and it is reasonably priced. If you happen to change your thoughts, it is easy sufficient to color proper over it, even for these missing in DIY expertise.
‘As inside designers our problem is at all times to create a colour palette that’s thrilling and totally different, while honoring the bones of the house and being habitable for the homeowners,’ says Tiffany Duggan, inside designer and director of Studio Duggan.
Listed here are Tiffany’s high suggestions when selecting colour to create an accent wall:
‘Shade is vital to our temper and the way probably we’re to really feel related with our properties. If you happen to’re not sure, begin by taking a look at your wardrobe as we’re often higher at expressing ourselves with vogue selections than our properties. Is it a riot of colour and sample? You then’re most likely one thing of a maximalist! Maybe there’s a extra impartial base – denims, linen shirts and loafers with the odd brilliant jumper or purse? If that’s the case that is the way in which it’s best to strategy colour selections at residence.’
‘Have a look at how the sunshine falls and the way you need to really feel within the house. The place you could have pure mild in a room primarily used throughout the day, it is smart to embrace it, maintaining partitions contemporary and complementing them with pure textures and supplies. In a darker north-facing room, a small house, or one by which you’re more likely to spend the evenings in, don’t be afraid to go hotter/darker. Portray a small, chilly house in a brilliant white, doesn’t have the impact of creating it really feel bigger or brighter – just a bit unhappy. Inexperienced is sweet in a north-facing room (keep away from something with too gray an undertone), or mushy pink and nudes. Buttery yellows will make any room really feel sunny and comfortable and are making a comeback. In night rooms, go for atmospheric and stress-free jewel-box colours – darkish emerald inexperienced, aubergines, darkish pink or perhaps a sludgy lacquered brown.’
‘I often paint the cornice in the identical colour because the ceiling fairly than the partitions which ends up in a lighter, extra open really feel, however often if I need to create a cocooning, moody, really feel I flip this and select a deeper tone for each the partitions and cornice. This does have the impact of creating an area really feel smaller and extra intimate, however generally that is the correct transfer.’
‘If unsure, be daring! Purchasers infrequently remorse sturdy colour selections however I’m endlessly being requested the way to rectify and inject persona into fairly uninteresting characterless areas. Deal with the room at hand, what is going to or not it’s used for, and its measurement and peak. To create environment, go for extra intense contrasting shades, and for a calmer house, paint your skirtings, partitions, and home windows in the identical shade. This system can even create the phantasm of a bigger room if utilized in rooms with low ceilings. Lastly, think about paint colours alongside materials and, if potential, similtaneously adjoining rooms to make sure a way of cohesion.’
4. Create bespoke joinery
(Picture credit score: Maciek Platek)
‘An accent wall does not imply a wall has to have a special colour or shade, it may imply utilizing a special design or materials from the opposite partitions round it,’ says Katie Malik, founder and inventive director of Katie Malik Studio. ‘On this room, we centered on making a bespoke joinery design utilizing the identical colour as the opposite partitions within the room to present it a seamless, masculine mid-century feel and look.’
‘Accent partitions by no means exit of vogue, however it’s about utilizing design instruments to create the sudden outcomes,’ she provides. ‘On this house, we needed to create a darkish library really feel in mid-century trendy fashion, so as a substitute of utilizing the contrasting colour within the joinery design, we opted for a similar shade of darkish gray from the Benjamin Moore assortment which ensured the design fluidity.’
5. Play with sample
(Picture credit score: Michael Sinclair)
In search of rule-breaking design concepts? Create your personal sample with paint and the assistance of masking tape and a few imaginative and prescient! This burnt orange stripe painted throughout a horizontal part of the wall creates a placing and fantastically up to date accent and makes conventional paneling really feel trendy and funky. Mixed with tones and colours that go together with orange, the concept lets the colour turn into the star, with out overwhelming the house.
Stripes that go up and down make a room with low ceilings look taller and horizontal stripes give a smaller room a extra spacious really feel. The thinner the strips, the busier the sample, too.
Need to give super-crisp straight strains a go? Give your self time and persistence and begin by portray your base colour throughout your entire wall utilizing the lighter and flatter shade of the 2 colours you picked, advise the consultants at FrogTape. Let it dry. Work out your stripe spacing. Usually, four-12 inches is an efficient width. For vertical stripes, measure the width of the wall and for horizontal stripes, measure the peak of the wall.
Create your define and mark an “X” the place you need your strong stripes to be. Apply the correct tape product to your floor and place your tape on the skin of your pencil line so the paint will cowl up any markings. Burnish or seal the perimeters of the tape – run a plastic toll alongside the tape’s edge so paint can’t bleed by means of. Pull the tape off when the paint continues to be moist at a gradual, 45-degree angle backward towards the wall.
6. Attempt an accent materials
(Picture credit score: Claybrook)
Use a mixture of supplies and do not fall into that entice of considering that paint and wallpaper are your solely choices. You too can create accent partitions out of tile, stone, and reclaimed wooden.
This scheme cleverly makes use of tiles in an accent colour to assist divide an open-plan house, creating a comfy residence workplace nook. ‘Go for broke with schemes of punch and pizzazz and use ornament as the primary theme in your refurbishment,’ says Rob Whitaker, artistic director at tile model Claybrook. ‘Tiling a full wall isn’t solely practical for a lot of areas however creates an aesthetic palette-cleanser from extra patterned or ornamental schemes by utilizing one colour in a block, just like the Macaron wall tile pictured.’
‘Wooden plank was used as an accent materials in certainly one of our tasks to focus on circulation zones on the perimeter of the home,’ provides Thomas Barry, Principal at OPerA Studio Structure. Working with a room with no direct pure mild, the OPerA Studio workforce ‘performed up the cocoon facet of the house by bringing the wooden plank in to line it and framed the built-in lighting. The accent wooden wall and ceiling match the location completed flooring, so flooring planks had been pre-finished to match and put in. An inner, cozy house is become a set-piece by means of the wrapping of the accent materials.’
7. Use curves to create an accent wall
(Picture credit score: Anna Stathaki / Indie & Co)
‘For us, an accent or function wall needn’t be loud colours or wild sample,’ explains Caroline Sacreste, Co-founder, Indie & Co. ‘We like to deliver a room to life utilizing refined texture or curves. This may be achieved by utilizing supplies similar to mosaic or zellige tiles or a special plaster or limewash paint concepts. This brings curiosity and depth to an area with out being overbearing.’
8. Deal with woodwork
(Picture credit score: Mary Wadsworth)
Trim is a unbelievable solution to create an accent. ‘Unique woodwork and options similar to skirting, architraves, doorways and window frames look good highlighted – typically by going a shade darker than the wall colour,’ says Tiffany Duggan of Studio Duggan.
‘As a lounge colour concept, this works particularly effectively in bigger rooms whereas in smaller rooms, I typically use the identical paint colour on each partitions and woodwork to supply a calmer base that permits furnishings and materials to actually sing.’
9. Enhance your Zoom background
(Picture credit score: James Merrell)
Keep away from placing an accent wall in an already overcrowded room. When there may be an excessive amount of happening in an area, it may be complicated to the attention and create a way of chaos – except that is the look you are going for after all. A function wall must be a spotlight, so it wants room to breathe. Though the sample is busy on this scheme, the colours are the identical and the woodwork and ceiling are saved white, making certain the entire room is unified.
‘I really like accent partitions. Many occasions, shoppers need to do one thing daring and enjoyable, however are scared to commit and that is the place the accent wall comes into play,’ says Ruchi A Mohan, Founding father of DesignbyRUCHI. ‘It’s the point of interest within the room, a spot for the attention to get drawn to, a possible Zoom background, and it additionally reduces stress on the funds. It is a chance for creativity.’
10. Body your mattress
(Picture credit score: Jon Day)
Do not simply randomly choose a wall to focus on. The function wall must be used to focus on the room’s current point of interest. For example, the wall the place the hearth sits, and even the place the TV is, makes for an excellent function wall. The wall behind the headboard in a bed room can also be perfect.
Use an accent wall to create a body or headboard to your mattress, whether or not that is an all-over fairly floral print as a backdrop or one thing extra trendy, like a painted headboard which may change the look of your bed room concepts, giving it a brand new colour scheme and a brand new point of interest. Plan out your design first utilizing a pencil after which get portray. Bear in mind for those who go incorrect you’ll be able to at all times paint over it, so get artistic.
11. Paint the fifth wall
(Picture credit score: Anna Stathaki)
‘We love portray the ‘fifth wall’ whereby it provides one other dimension and playfulness to the room that is typically forgotten about,’ says Kate Clare, founding father of Loud Architects. ‘Darker colours deliver the room down while lighter ones and ones the identical colour because the wall make the room really feel taller. I like to choose up the colour of the partitions on the ceiling too, or if utilizing a wallpaper then select colours of that and paint the partitions.’
12. Attempt a mural
(Picture credit score: Anna Stathaki / Indie & Co)
‘To create a way of escapism on this calm and aware bed room, we commissioned an accent wall mural to be painted on the wall which picks up subtly on the opposite colours within the room,’ explains Caroline Sacreste, Co-founder, Indie & Co. ‘The panorama mural provides depth and a dream-like high quality to the room which helps help leisure and affords a spot of sanctuary throughout the residence.’
Chris McGovern, principal designer of McGovern Venture additionally provides that, ‘wallpaper murals are nice for a single accent wall or as a substitute for a wallpaper. I favor to make use of wallpaper murals the place there are few obstructions on the wall. It permits one to totally respect the subject material of the mural and minimizes waste. Conversely, a wallpaper with a a lot smaller repeat sample on a clean accent wall can generally really feel busy on a wall, particularly with no home windows or doorways.’
‘Choices vary at totally different value factors from firms similar to Insurgent Partitions which might digitally print to a buyer’s measurement and scale in a comparatively quick lead time to customized hand painted wall panels made to your house, most notably from Gracie Studios or de Gournay. Wherever your funds lies, think about that few items of artwork or wall decor are wanted on these partitions. When utilizing murals on a single wall, coordinating paint colours on different partitions, trim, and even doorways and in textiles and mushy items might help create a harmonious look.’
What’s the rule for accent partitions?
Usually it is best to comply with the 60-30-10 rule which is a basic decor rule that helps create a colour palette for an area. It states that 60% of the room must be the dominant colour, 30% must be the secondary colour, and 10% must be an accent colour. So when selecting an accent colour you may need one thing that is totally different from the 60% and 30% colours. A basic inside design trick to make sure an ideal colour scheme each time.
‘Utilizing two or three shades is a straightforward machine to divide the house and encourage the sense of one thing extra architectural in really feel, with out the necessity for costlier constructing work,’ says Rob Whitaker of Claybrook. The higher wall, typically in a lighter tone, may be utilized for hanging favourite artwork, key fobs or a coat rack. Utilizing a daring pop of colour can be an excellent solution to have a little bit of enjoyable together with your scheme.’
(Picture credit score: Anna Stathaki / Indie & Co)
Do accent partitions make room smaller?
In a small room, sure an accent wall could make it really feel even smaller, however usually, accent partitions could make rooms really feel bigger as a result of they add additional element, serving to to interrupt up the house and provides us extra to take a look at.
Making a room really feel small smaller or cozier is not at all times a foul factor, particularly if you wish to break up an open-plan house with room divider concepts. Use an accent wall to outline a dwelling house. In an open idea residence or multiple-use areas it may be difficult to outline areas, however an accent wall might help.
‘When utilizing wallpaper to accent a wall, making it work with the paint colour within the room is vital,’ says Caroline Sacreste, Co-founder, Indie & Co. ‘Right here, we selected Farrow & Ball Railings which works fantastically with the Home of Hackney wallpaper in order that the function wall isn’t too loud within the house and as a substitute blends completely with the darkish really feel of the room.’
