If you’ve been considering the idea of adding an accent wall to a room or rooms in your home but aren’t quite sure where to begin, read on! The accent wall trend has taken hold of everyone from pro designers to everyday home owners, and for good reason. Choosing the right wall and the right color is going to be the difference between an awkward break in color décor and a brilliant improvement to a room’s ambiance.
The Wall
The best wall for your project is going to be the wall that stands out in the room – in other words, it’s the wall that your eyes are drawn to when you first enter. You want to make sure you don’t choose a wall that is going to be obscured by a bunch of furniture; on the other hand, you also don’t want to choose a wall that will be too bare. If a wall will be covered too much, it will lose its dramatic impact. Using a wall that will remain bare could make too much of a statement and make the entire room feel unbalanced.
The Color
Before you go out and buy paint in a color just because it’s your favorite, you’ll need to stop for a minute and really think about the color you want to paint an accent wall. You’ll need to consider the room’s exposure and some basic color theory before making a decision:
Warm colors – orange, red, and yellow – will pull toward the eye, making a room appear smaller. A warm color would be ideal for an end wall in a long, narrow bedroom, for example.
Cool colors – purple, blue, and green – will make a room appear larger because they “pull” the wall away from the eye. You could even paint a low ceiling a cool color to give the impression that a room’s ceiling is higher than it actually is.
Consider the visual temperature of the room. This is the psychological effect of the room’s natural light and the palette of colors you choose to pain an accent wall. Easy guidelines to remember are if a room faces north or east, you might opt for a warm hue. Southern or western-facing rooms might benefit from a cool color for the accent wall.
It’s a good idea, if you aren’t sure which wall to use for your accent wall trend project, to enlist the help of a friend or family member; have them enter the room and ask them which wall stands out to him or her. This is the wall you should use. You could even ask more than one person, if you want a handful of opinions to consider. Of course, while your helper is available, you can always ask him or her for an opinion about what color you should paint an accent wall, too!
Need more ideas or help for your accent wall project? Contact the pros at Freeland Painting for all your residential and commercial painting needs.
