Essential Tips Before Creating Your Accent Wall

Essential Tips Before Creating Your Accent Wall

What Are Accent Walls?

If you’re reading this, then you’ve likely scrolled through Pinterest already and found a beautiful, aesthetically pleasing bedroom with an accent wall – which is a wall in a room that differs from the others, either in colour or texture. Here at Hone, you could say we're accent wall obsessed.

Accent walls have the potential to change the entire vibe of a room – perhaps it’s adding a little pop of colour, or mixing in a pattern to make a space more inviting. Whichever route you take, accent walls will transform your room.

Are Accent Walls Beginner-Friendly?

Absolutely, accent walls are beginner-friendly. While they do demand time and effort, much like any DIY endeavour, they are well within reach for anyone willing to give it a try. We have personally learned from numerous trial-and-error experiences how to create accent walls efficiently, safely, and with price in mind.

How Much Time Will It Take?

How long the wall takes really depends on your personal pace and the type of accent wall you're looking to achieve. However, we'd recommend setting aside about 3-5 days; that way, you have ample time without rushing.

Can I Build a Wall Without Prior Power Tool Experience?

Power tools have a reputation for being intimidating and difficult to use; however, most of the tools required to build an accent wall can be easily and safely learned. Before embarking on our first project, we shared the same apprehensions. However, after embracing educational resources from other DIY enthusiasts, we gained confidence and discovered that most tools aren’t as scary as they seem . We've even made beginner-friendly how-to videos you can find in our guides and on Instagram

How to Choose the Right Accent Wall Style

  • Evaluate The Space: What do you currently love about the room, and what is potentially lacking for you. Get curious with yourself, even take notes!
  • Accent Wall Placement: Explore where to place your accent wall for maximum visual impact. We recommend choosing a wall that you can see directly when you walk into the space, or a wall that you can see if you’re standing at the door. Show off your hard work! 
  • Type of Wall: There are many types of accent walls: wallpaper, textured, painted board and batten, wood slats, and these are just a few examples. Before you choose your preferred type, we recommend deciding on the overall style direction of the room first. Once you've established the room's style, consider which accent wall style best complements it. For example, if your room leans more towards Mid-Century Modern, a wood slatted accent wall would be a fitting choice.
  • The 60-30-10 Rule: 60% for the main colour, 30% for the secondary colour, and 10% for the accent colour. This beginner-friendly principle applies to accent walls as well. If you're not familiar, the 60% represents the primary colour focus for the room, such as large furniture or the dominant colour for most of the walls. The 30% pertains to the secondary colour, in this case, the accent wall, and the remaining 10% refers to small accents like throw pillows or lamps. Although not necessary, this concept can be valuable for maintaining proportions and balance in your design.

Photo By: Signed Samantha

I'm Interested in Building an Accent Wall, but I'm Worried It's Just a Trend. Is It a Lasting Design Choice?

We hear you; trend hopping can be, well, exhausting, to say the least. The pressure to make your home perfect overnight is daunting and expensive. We live by the theory that if you love it, you should do it, regardless of whether it's trendy or not. Trends aren’t necessarily a bad thing, as long as your intention is right. An accent wall is a great place to start – it requires thought and commitment, with the added bonus of feeling accomplished if you take the DIY route, which leaves less space for design regret. 

You'll always hear us say here that we're beginners for beginners, which means that we've taken the ego out of design and building and replaced it with collaboration and community. We're with you along your design journey. DM us with any questions or concerns you might have, and be sure to tag us in your projects @homewithhone on Instagram so we can follow along!

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