Feature walls are ideal for grabbing attention and creating a focal point in any room, something that is specifically highly desired in homes that are otherwise very minimal. If you’ve been thinking about adding a feature wall to your office, bedroom, living room, or any other space within your home, keep reading.
Image courtesy of Decor Lovin
A common misconception is that creating a feature wall is very costly. In fact, you can do a DIY feature wall without breaking the bank – and because you are decorating just one wall, you can add a lot of style to a room without making it feel too busy and you don’t have to worry about spending tons of money on product and paint as you are simply adjusting one wall.
Image courtesy of Studio Mcgee
First things first, let’s examine the colour your room is painted, and what your overall home design look and feel is. Many designers are currently recommending utilizing the colour white within the home, and bringing in pops of colour via various accents (one example being a feature wall). As Studio Mcgee explains, there are currently specific shades of white that are very highly desired, the top 5 being Sherwin Williams Alabaster, Benjamin Moore Chantilly Lace, Benjamin Moore Swiss Coffee, Benjamin Moore Simply White, and Benjamin Moore White Dove. Now that we have the colour of your overall room in place (and for those of you not wanting to paint anything other than your feature wall, please ignore this step), let’s move onto brainstorming the colour of your actual feature wall!
As Ashley Knierim explains for The Spruce, “one of the most exciting aspects of an accent wall is the chance to use a bold, bright colour that you may be too shy to coat an entire room with. An accent or feature wall allows you to play with colours in your room without overpowering or overwhelming the space.” Here are some trending colours for feature walls, I’d highly recommend grabbing samples of these shades so you can compare your feature wall colour to the colour of the room you will be adding it to, in order to ensure you are happy with the combination before you fully commit! Sherwin-Williams Ripe Olive SW 6209, Farrow & Ball Off Black, Sherwin-Williams Searching Blue SW 6795, The Spruce Best Home Persimmon Orange SPR-01, Benjamin Moore Suntan Yellow 2155-50, Behr Kindling N200-6, Valspar Sweet Sixteen 1006-2A, Magnolia Webster Avenue, & Sherwin-Williams Belize SW 6945. Click here to visualize these colours.
Personally, I am deeply in love with Sherwin-Williams Ripe Olive SW 6209, as well as a shade that was not mentioned above which falls more within the tone of a deep emerald green. For my home I plan to create a feature wall in my office or bedroom and am contemplating doing a green or blue board and batten.
For those of you not wanting to go the route of painting a feature wall, there are also many options such as creating feature walls out of reclaimed wood, shiplap, wallpaper, brick, or even tile.
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From personal experience, Shiplap is one of the easier routes as you (depending on how large your wall is) can get your shiplap pieces cut to size, then bring them home and simply install.
Image courtesy of Metrie
The shiplap I used on my fireplace came primed and after it was secured in place all it needed was some putty to cover up the nails and a simple coat of paint to bring it all together. This is definitely an easier route than DIY board and batten, and you can paint your shiplap to whatever colour you’d like if you’re not wanting to keep it white.
Is there a certain type of feature wall that is calling your home? Comment below and let me know what your design ideas are, or if you have any suggestions on different feature walls that could make any room pop!