The 7 Best Spots to Paint an Accent or Feature Wall -

WHICH WALL SHOULD BE AN ACCENT WALL?

Accent walls are a great way to add personality to your room. However, it’s easy to mess things up – putting the wrong color in the wrong spot. While you might be tempted to throw a feature wall on any wall that strikes your fancy, there should be some method to the madness.

FEATURE WALL IDEAS GONE BAD

on the wrong wall
on too many walls in a single room or overdone in multiple rooms
has the wrong paint finish (too shiny)
in the bathroom (with a few exceptions, most loos don’t suit an accent wall)
doesn’t relate to anything in the room

Kitchen cabinets painted warm soft white, Gauntlet Gray accent wall, Sherwin Williams, wood floor, stainless appliances.

So, let’s check out the most popular accent and feature wall ideas to see if you can squeeze one (or more) into your floor plan and color palette!

1. FIREPLACE OR TV WALL

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When painting around a fireplace, this can be the area above it or the walls on either side of it. As for a TV wall, it would be the ENTIRE WALL around it. You won’t often find the feature wall color on the walls beside AND above the fireplace – only when the drywall is one continuous piece rather than having a bump-out above the fireplace.

Sherwin Williams Natural Tan, living room wood beams, vaulted ceiling, fireplace, beige sectional, dark wood floors. Kylie M Interiors Edesign, online paint colour consulting

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The above photo shows how only the BUMP-OUT is painted the feature color, and the walls on either side stay the main color.

This next room has a corner fireplace, so the owner wanted to blend in the black hole of her TV with a blue-black accent wall…

Benjamin Moore Baby Seal black paint color on accent wall behind tv, white tile on fireplace, other walls Gray Owl. Kylie M Interiors

2. HEADBOARD WALL IN A BEDROOM

The headboard wall is usually the main one you first see when you walk into a room; you usually walk UP to it. It’s rarely the closet/door wall and isn’t the window wall very often (contrary to a few of my photos). Also, it’s not ideal if you have to walk into the room and turn around to see the headboard/feature wall, but again, a particular layout might dictate otherwise!

Benjamin Moore Blue Nova in guest bedroom on shiplap accent wall with white linens and white oak. Best bright medium toned shade of blue. Kylie m

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If you’re nervous about adding color to your home, a bedroom is a great place to take a little (or big) risk with a more colorful accent wall.

3. THE BACK WALL IN YOUR HALLWAY

Hallways are often long and boring. While a skookum dark paint color won’t brighten a dark hallway, it will add personality and depth!

Hallway update with laminate wood look flooring, Benjamin Moore Gray feature wall, Sherwin Williams Creamy and door to bathroom. Kylie M INteriors E-design

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4. ACCENT THE MAIN WALL IN YOUR LIVING OR FAMILY ROOM

The main wall is usually the wall on which the longest piece of furniture is. However, some living rooms have alternative accent walls depending on windows/fireplaces/TV stands/etc.

Before, this living room didn’t have tons of interest or depth…

BEFORE fireplace wall in living room with builtins

After making an entire accent wall from the fireplace and built-ins, this family room gives this family room a more custom, personalized look…

familyroom or living room, fireplace with flush built-in shelves, moldings, all painted the same color Sherwin Williams Urbane Bronze with Egret White walls

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5. ACCENT PART OF YOUR ARCHITECTURE

What’s unique can vary depending on the home and the layout. In fact, some features are better left the same color as the main walls. However, others crave a little color and definition.

Kitchen wood cabinets, Sherwin Williams White Duck, wood beams, feature similiar to Mindful Gray. Kylie M Interiors Edesign, diy blogger

This next home office has a foundation wall around the perimeter. It isn’t going anywhere, and painting it all the same color was a bit boring. Instead, we opted for a high-contrast look with black upper walls and warm white lower walls…

Home office, feature wall Sherwin Williams Tricorn Black with Benjamin Moore Cloud White. E-design and colour consulting services

6. THE MAIN BACK WALL IN YOUR DINING ROOM

Dining rooms can be great places to add color, either on all walls or one feature wall. This often works best when the remaining dining room walls are painted the same color as the adjoining rooms, so the palette doesn’t get too busy.