Adding Pizzazz to Your Home with Accent Walls

Adding Pizzazz to Your Home with Accent Walls

By Guest Blogger, Stephanie Platt

I am a sucker for old houses, there is just something about walking into a home that is unique and has lots of character. When my husband and I went searching for a house I really wanted to choose one that oozed character, but they were either out of my price range or needed way to much work for us. So we ended up settling for a builder’s grade duplex that needed some work.  I wanted to punch up the character and charm without going overboard on the budget.  Accent walls are a great way to introduce some character into your home. 

An accent wall, or feature wall, is a wall whose design differs from the design of the other walls in the room. The accent wall's color can simply be a different shade of the color of the other walls, or have a completely different design in terms of the color and material. Accent walls are a great way to break up large spaces or to highlight an area of interest, such as a fireplace or a nook. By using color or different materials you can create an accent wall and most treatments are relatively easy for any do-it-yourselfer.

Paint: Paint is the easiest and cheapest way to add interest to a space.  By choosing an accent wall you can go bold and use darker, richer colors. You can also do patterns and stencil with paint.  In the picture you can see they used and arabesque pattern in the same grey color, but to create contrast the background is done in flat paint and the pattern is done in a semi-gloss or gloss finish. This creates a look that is more subtle but still interesting.

Wallpaper: I think that wall paper has gotten a bad rap over the years.  Wallpaper can give you the opportunity to add not only color to a wall but pattern as well. If you are not daring enough to wall paper the whole wall you can section off your wall with trim.  In the picture the wallpaper used is really bold, but contained within the trim it almost looks like art work.

Stacked Stone/Brick (see picture above): Both of these will add instant interest and character to any space. You can get a wide range of styles, ranging from modern to rustic.  You really want to choose a product/color that works with your design aesthetic.  Do-it-yourself places sell these in faux and veneer styles that are easy to install, light weight and budget friendly. 

Wood (see picture above): Wood walls have been growing in popularity over the last couple of years.  There are some many different wood wall styles that it would take another entire blog post to describe them.  My favorite by far is the ship lap treatment. This construction style was typically used in barns, sheds and other out buildings.  It gives a rustic, homey feel. You can stain them or paint them, white is the most popular but adding color really brings out the texture.