Accent walls can anchor a room and direct the eye in an otherwise neutral space. While a pop of paint might be the standard accent, switching up textures and materials, such as tile, fabric and plants, or highlighting a hallway, bay window or column can make a big impression.
“It doesn’t always have to be the most dominant thing to be an incredibly important design element,” said Atlanta architect and interior designer Jeffrey Bruce Baker. “Look for the unusual space.”
Or consider melding function and form into one design. Eryn Houck of Bellwether Design Co. added a tile accent wall with a niche that holds shelves for spices in her Virginia-Highland home.
“I was thinking of creative solutions for storage, but also adding a visual element is always something I’m kind of after,” said Houck.
Here are three ways to make sure your accent wall wows.
Maintain balance
“You don’t do a tile accent wall and then also something else. Pick one area to be the focal point,” said Houck.
An accent wall can give your room a cozy vibe, but too much in too small of an area can throw your space off balance.
Baker said his company rarely does full focal walls, because it gets visually overwhelming and expensive.
“You need for any accent wall to have a really specific way that it starts and stops,” said Baker.
Jamie Diacou of Atlanta-based Jamie Diacou Interiors created an accent wall around a fireplace in a basement sitting room using pavers made from reclaimed bricks by Vintage Bricks in Atlanta. To balance the heaviness of the brick, Diacou limited the pavers to the immediate area around the fireplace and flanked the brick with floating wooden shelves.
“You’ve just got to be careful which wall you use to make sure the room stays balanced,” said Diacou. “It could be overpowering. It can make a room just feel unbalanced and creates a lot of weight if you do, especially, a material like brick or wood.”
Creating proper balance for an accent space hinges on the decor, the shape of the room and the location of its entrance.
“It’s going to be the first thing you look at when you walk into a room, so you just need to make sure that it works,” said Diacou.
Layer with texture
If you’re looking to make over a wall, introduce softer textures, such as fabric, or even plants. Baker installed a greenery wall in the Neolith Tiny House, which made stops in Atlanta on its national tour.
“We just wanted something that would add some sort of interest,” said Baker. “The rest of the surfaces in the house were a variety of porcelain, so we wanted something that would soften it and bring some greenery to the space.”
While he chose faux greenery to make the traveling showroom more feasible, homeowners can incorporate a living, usable element that functions as decor and a garden, he said. A change in texture, rather than color, can often make a visual statement while maintaining a soft, fresh feel within the space.
“For instance, if you are using white, pair with light whitewashed woods, white fabric or mother-of-pearl glass tile,” Baker said.
Personalize it
“Things having some personal significance or functionality is key to creating a good accent wall or focal point,” said Houck.
While a spice accent wall might work in any kitchen, it was particularly fitting for Houck and her husband, an avid cook who often tries new flavors.
“For us, it makes sense to have a place to display spices but also have them easily accessible,” she said. “For me, I love beautiful containers, so it was a good collaboration between both of our focuses — his on food and mine on aesthetics.”
Similarly, Diacou knew her clients wanted an Old World vibe in their basement, so she incorporated a brick fireplace and focal wall.
“Decoration and design is to make you smile, and I too often see clients taking an item too seriously,” said Baker. “I like to see design make you feel lighter, laugh and enjoy your space.”
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