Accent Walls 101
Accent walls are a great way to add a little punch to your home! They narrow the visitor’s focus and states what the room is all about in single glance.
What is an Accent Wall?
First things first, an accent wall is a wall that is different from the other walls in a room.
Wikipedia’s definition of an accent wall:
An accent wall (a.k.a. “feature wall”) is a wall whose design differs from the design of the other walls in the room. The accent wall’s color can simply be a different shade of the color of the other walls, or have a completely different design in terms of the color and material.….As their name implies, accent walls are typically intended to break up the pattern created by the other walls, especially when the walls are painted a single flat tone.
Should You Use an Accent Wall?
Accent walls, if used correctly, are equal parts home decoration and visual trickery and can solve a few different decor dilemmas. If you have any of the below issues you may want to consider using an accent wall, especially if you have small rooms or rooms with low ceilings:
- If you need to disguise an unwanted feature in a space.
- If you want to put an item on display, such as a piece of furniture, artwork, or family photos.
- If you need to pull your color palette together or add some pizazz to your space.
- If you need to make your ceilings appear higher (see below).
Manufactured homes are notorious for having lower ceilings so an accent wall is a smart addition.
Make Ceilings Appear Higher with Accent Walls
Smart accent walls can create an illusion that tricks the visitor’s eye. A wall that is covered in a single texture or color draws a visitor’s attention and leads the eye in a continuous bottom-to-top sweep.
This upward movement tricks the brain, making a low ceiling appear higher.
Solid colors or vertical patterns are the best ways to pull the eye up:
What the Pro’s Say About Accent Walls
Accent walls are a popular topic of discussion with professional interior designers. Some pros love the idea of an accent wall, as long as it is done right. Others, not so much.
The biggest argument against accent walls is that they are too safe, that bold color should be used on all the walls instead of just one. That’s a good point – if you love a color you should consider painting the entire room with it! Bright and bold is fun and can really transform a space.
Maria Killam, a Certified True Color Expert, has a ‘test’ on her blog to see if you need an accent wall with questions such as:
“Do you love wallpaper or stripes? If you love it but don’t want to commit to an entire room, the focal point wall is a great place for it!”
Kristie Barnett wrote an article titled ‘Please Do It Right, or Don’t Do It At All – The Accent Wall‘ stressing the importance of using an accent wall properly. She states:
I’m certainly not against having an accent wall, but you need to think about why you want one. Sometimes I think people are too scared to paint the entire room the color they really love. So they paint some wimpy neutral, then paint one wall the color they really wanted.
Popular Accent Wall Coverings
You can use just about anything as an accent wall covering. Paint and wallpaper are the most affordable and easy to obtain methods to cover an accent wall. Wall decals, stone, and wood are also popular.
Paint
Paint is the most affordable way to create an accent wall. You can go with a solid color or get creative and paint a pattern or scene.
Pro blogger and popular home decorator, Kenze of Interiors By Kenz, gave her exercise room a colorful accent wall with paint:
Apartment Therapy shared an amazingly simple, yet amazingly awesome, mountains wall mural:
This Herringbone Pattern Accent Wall found on HomeTalk is a great way to create an accent wall. It has a vertical pattern that takes the eye upward too so it would be great for a room with a low ceiling:
Get complete instruction for this pattern here.
Wallpaper
There are endless wallpapers to choose for an accent wall. You just have to find the one you like best (which is almost impossible because there are just so many). Here’s a great spilled ink wallpaper that could add a little oomph to your room:
Decals
If painting or wallpaper doesn’t work you can always go with decals. They are also ideal for renters that cannot alter or paint walls.
Wall stickers are a quick and easy to remove option for an accent wall. Here are a couple of ideas from the blog Decoist:
Faux Stone
Chantel shared her gorgeous double wide manufactured home with us last year. She used stone to create an accent wall/backsplash in her kitchen:
See the rest of Chantel’s gorgeous double wide here!
This stone accent wall is small but makes a huge impact:
Get step-by-step instructions to Create a Faux Stone Accent at The Family Handyman.
Wood
10 Signs Wood Accent Walls Are The Next Hot Home Decor Trend has some great examples of using wood as an accent wall covering:
Rebecca Caridad Facteau and her husband live in a mobile home in Boulder, CO. They added a wood pallet accent wall in their bedroom:
See the rest of this awesome mobile home here!
Judy and Michael Gutierrez live in a 12′ x 16′ 1968 International Newport mobile home with an addition and used shiplap to create an accent wall in their living room:
See the rest of this mobile home remodel here!
Natural textures such as wood and stone are always popular for accent walls but the recent modern industrial vintage style has added a new favorite: metal.
We’ve all seen the shiny silver corrugated metal panels used to cover walls.
Christine’s Corrugated Metal Accent Wall
A good accent wall pulls your attention directly to it and away from the rest of the room. It puts the wall accented front and center – taking attention away from the other parts of a room.
Christine Blystone transformed an unused bedroom into a unique sitting room in her 1997 Commodore manufactured home and the accent wall she used is creative and unique
She took a popular wall covering idea and turned it inside out – or outside in!
Instead of using expensive drywall or wood paneling, Christine used metal roofing. Green corrugated metal roofing!
First, the Blystone’s installed a beautiful arch window to give the room a prominent focal point:
Christine had tried painting the walls before but that didn’t go over real well. After pricing paneling, and finding it to be so expensive, she decided to get creative.
The Blystone’s had just built a horse barn and used the green metal on it. With a couple of unused sheets left over she thought why not?
The metal was easy to install since the panels were easy to handle at 3 feet wide and they can be cut to any length you need. All they had to do was cut the panels to size and screw them onto the walls. She didn’t even have to buy the screws, when you buy the metal you get screws that match!
Viola! The Blystone’s have a unique new sitting room!
Christine states that she and her husband chose their manufactured home because it was an affordable option for a family just starting out. They purchased the home first, paid it off, and then purchased their own land. They moved the single wide onto their private property about three years ago.
Her advice to anyone thinking about buying a mobile home would be to spend the extra money and upgrade the construction. Smart upgrades include a higher pitched roof, better insulation, and framing.
Summary: Using Accent Walls in Your Mobile Home
Accent walls are a great way to solve a multitude of decorating dilemmas.
An accent wall can put a beloved item on display or make an unwanted element disappear. It can add pizazz and color to your space and help make a room appear larger.
Accent walls are an easy and affordable way to transform your home!
Thanks so much for reading Mobile Home Living!
Do you have a creative accent wall in your home? We’d love to add it!
