With so many paint colour choices available these days, picking a bold, fun colour for a room in your home is very tempting. However, making a bold colour fit in with the rest of your room’s décor, can be overwhelming for the space. What is the solution? Use that colour as an accent wall. It seems that every second residential project we do includes painting an accent wall or two. Accent walls are becoming very popular and not just for homes. Businesses use them in reception areas boardrooms and exhibit rooms. Highlight walls are a brilliant colour solution to an otherwise plain colour scheme.
Do you have an outfit that instantly lifts your spirits when you wear it? What colour is it? It is likely that you like it because it has colour or colours that you particularly like. Use that colour to paint a wall and watch the magic continue. The colour in our home and surroundings can affect us the same way that the colour in our clothing can.
Before you decide on a wall that will be used as an accent wall, do consider the room’s dimensions, the exposure and educate yourself about some basic colour theories. We hope this blog will be your one stop guide in helping you decide which wall to highlight and it even includes some of our colour suggestions. Enjoy!
Find your Favourite Wall to Highlight
Ever walk into a room and feel drawn to particular wall? These walls seem to have a magical power of their own and stand out every time. This could be the wall at the head of your bed, your fireplace wall, or the wall behind your reading sofa. If you you have trouble deciding on one specific wall to highlight, get some help! Ask a friend or family member to walk with you into the room or your favourite special area. Ask them which wall captures their attention first. Repeat this exercise with as many people as you like, it should be easy to select the winning wall. This will be your accent wall.
Decorate wisely. After selecting the right wall put some thought into making it stand out. They are called highlight walls for a reason. Eliminate some of the clutter that may be in front of it.. Basic decorating principles dictate that the more clutter in a room, the less emphasis will be placed on walls. When people walk into a room, do you want your beautiful masterpiece to be hidden behind mammoth plants or armchairs? We didn’t think so! For a well-balanced design, place the furniture around it. The headboard should be against the accent wall, but make sure it’s not completely hidden. Big armoires, over decorated windows and mile long drapery should not obscure a beautiful accent wall. Hiding it is pointless and the it loses its dramatic impact.
Use warm hues. Colours always play tricks on our perception. Warm colours such as yellows, oranges and reds will make a wall appear closer and create the illusion of a smaller/ cozier space. If you are considering a warm colour for your accent wall, do not use it on a side wall. A side wall painted in yellow orange or red will make the room look smaller. Instead, a warm accent wall can be at the end of a narrow, long bedroom – a beautiful red or yellow on an end wall will make the room look more balanced in terms of size.
Painting with cool hues. Cooler colours have the opposite effect – they push walls away from the eye, making a space look larger. So, a blue/green/purple on an accent wall in a small bedroom will make it look larger. Consider painting a darker cool hue on a bedroom side wall to make it look expansive. Alternately, why not use the often neglected ceiling as the accent wall? A low ceiling painted in a cool shade will create depth and look higher than it really is.
Determine the visual feel of the room. In addition to the choice of warm or cool colours, do not forget to think about how your room appears visually. By this we mean, the amount of natural light it gets and how the paint colours you pick will work alongside the light. A colour consultant will take into account the following guidelines.
- West/South facing rooms: A room that looks to the west or south is typically warmer in both feel and appearance. A cool hue will tone down the visual temperature of the room.
- East/North facing rooms: A room that faces east or north will appear and feel cooler. Use a warm hue to add warmth to east or north facing bedrooms.
Benefits of Using an Accent Wall to Decorate a Room
The best part of an accent wall is the fact that it’s contained to one area it lets you have a little safe fun with colour.
Accent walls are bold and with a stunning palette of shades to choose from, decorating your home with one can be very tempting. Utilize a single bare wall, paint it a unique colour but make sure the colour you choose fits in with the room’s décor and doesn’t overwhelm the space. If you’ve ever wanted to try a bold or trendy colour, the accent wall is the place to do it.
One of the greatest benefits of accent walls is that they are a piece of art in themselves. They are the decoration – so you won’t have to worry about buying paintings or think of ways to fill up a big blank canvas! Since, you’re just going to use a bold colour on a wall or two, you can experiment more with the colour.
Another benefit of accent walls is that they are able to complement a pre-existing colour in a room. For instance, if you have a bright, beautiful rug or a striking piece of pottery with a bold colour, you can use that colour or a similar one for the accent wall. Not only does it instantly brighten up this wall, it also makes the colour stand out from wherever it is you originally pulled it from. This in turn creates a cohesive look in the room, making the entire interior space come together in a completely new way. Altogether, this will create a cohesive look and the entire interior space will get an instant makeover.
Accent Walls Help Solve Space Problems
For some a warm, inviting kitchen is one that has been painted in deep, dark coloured walls. In contrast, there are some of us that love cool blues in the bedroom. Colours play a very important role in how we view a space. Accent walls are a fun way to change the way you look at a room.
We already discussed warm and cool hues. Want to make a room seem more inviting? Pick a warm hue. A guest bedroom needs to be spruced up and made to look bigger? A cool colour is your best bet. Do you have a library that is too dark? Why not paint it a cool turquoise. It will come alive, feel ethereal and look much larger than it is.
In Conclusion
Accent walls are a fun way to completely transform any room of your home – and don’t be afraid to limit their use to the walls themselves; painting an accent ceiling is also a good choice for rooms that already have a lot going on with the walls themselves. The ceiling is the fifth and sometimes neglected wall.
Remember that the colour of an accent wall can be changed a lot more easily than the color of a whole room, so don’t feel you have to be super committed to whatever you choose. Have a little fun with the colour in this one spot, experiment with trendy colours, even get a little daring with the colours of your home.
So go ahead, find a spot, pick a wall and be daring with the colours. Don’t be afraid to step outside the box and try out a trendy new colour. What do you have to lose? It’s only paint.
Feeling encouraged? Let Ecopainting help you in choosing an accent colour. Contact us at 416-733-7767 and we’d be happy to show you examples of accent walls we have painted.
Latest blog update: May 28 2017.