How to choose the perfect and best color for accent walls

Accent walls are a fun and easy way to add a decorative touch to a room and draw attention to unique design features or decor that you want to highlight.  

If you’re redecorating and want to add an accent wall to a room in your home or office, this post will give you all you need to get started. We’ll explain how to choose the best wall to use as an accent, what paint color combinations look best, and give you some stylish accent wall ideas. 

Which wall should be the accent wall?

There’s no hard and fast rule when it comes to how to choose an accent wall, but general guidelines suggest that your accent wall should be the first wall you see when you enter a room. 

Accent walls also look great around fireplaces, bookshelves, and large bed frames. It’s best to avoid any walls that have windows or odd shapes to them because those features will likely be distracting – in a bad way.  

If your room is long and skinny, you’ll probably want to use the farthest short wall rather than one of the longer walls, so you keep the room feeling balanced. However, an accent color on a longer wall can make a room feel longer. 

For trickier-shaped rooms, many decorators paint accent ceilings, leaving wall colors a neutral color. This is a fun and trendy option if you want to draw the eye upward and create some unusual visual interest. 

Accent wall color combinations 

When choosing an accent wall color, you should consider what decor you already have in the room. It will be easier to match a paint color to furniture you already own and plan to keep in the room than trying to find furniture to match the accent wall color. 

Don’t be afraid to choose a bold color or unique pattern as long as it matches or compliments the rest of your decor. In fact, you can use color theory techniques to find the best color for your accent wall. (link to blog post from last week about color combos) If your heart is set on a monochromatic color scheme, you can use the same hue on the rest of your walls, but one or two shades darker. 

Ideally, the other walls in your room should be a light or medium shade. Accent walls against pure white walls can make it hard to pull off a bold accent wall because of the high contrast. 

You can also consider what other colors you have around your home. Accent walls are a great way to help make different rooms in your home or office appear more cohesive by bringing in colors from other areas into the room. 

Some common accent wall color combinations include: 

Blue and beige or blue and cream

Hunter green and red brick

Bright pink and green

Yellow and gray or yellow and black and white

Mint and charcoal black or mint and gray

Blue and green

Yellow and blue

Black and white

Top living room accent wall ideas

Look around your living room and see what you’ve already got. Walls with fireplaces or build-in shelving can serve as a great accent wall by drawing more attention to those beautiful design features. If you don’t have a fireplace or shelving, consider the wall behind the TV or sofa. 

You’ll likely want to avoid using walls where there are windows and doorways because it can make the room feel smaller – unobstructed walls with symmetrical features typically work best. 

Top bedroom accent wall ideas

Most bedroom accent walls will be behind the bed – the main focal point.  One easy way to choose a color is by looking at the fabric on your bedspread and using one of those colors for your accent wall. If you can, bring a fabric sample to a paint store to easily match the colors. 

Can you paint two accent walls? 

Typically, you’ll want to avoid overdoing it on the accent walls. One accent wall should be enough to create visual interest in a room. If you let the accent color spill over onto another, wall it will look like less of a unique focal point. 

Spectra Painting Contractors is based in the greater Boston area. Our experienced professionals are happy to assist you on your next accent wall project. Visit our website where you can learn more about our services and read more blog posts about painting and home improvement.