Impressive, statement-making, wow-worthy accent wall ideas bring instant character and one-of-a-kind style to your home. Featuring wood, wallpaper, paint, tile, and more, these focal points deliver color, creativity, and quite a powerful decorating punch to the bedroom, living room, kitchen, bathroom, and beyond.
So let’s talk about how to make that one special wall talk. If there’s a bold paint color you’ve been wanting to try but it just feels a bit too much for the whole room, accent wall ideas with paint are perhaps the easiest (and quickest) way to create a color-forward moment. To layer in pattern, consider covering a single wall in wallpaper. (Removable peel-and-stick wallpaper is a nice option for the commitment-shy!) Reclaimed wood is a favorite for its sustainability, patina, and undeniable farmhouse style—all which makes it the perfect material for country-inspired wood accent wall ideas. Both raw and painted wood show up in shiplap accent wall ideas and wood ceiling ideas, too.
So say bye-bye to bare and boring walls with these and other creative examples (built-in shelving, gallery walls, graphic tile...). Whether you’re looking to add a splash in the living room or spruce up your bedroom decor, these creative DIY accent wall ideas will breathe new life to tired walls.
Here are more ideas to add loads of character to your home:
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1
Bring the Outdoors In
We can’t decide which is more charming—the lattice detail or the handmade paper flowers climbing this bedroom wall. What’s more, the deep shade of green—on both the lattice-clad wall and the iron bed—reinforces the garden-forward design and anchors the room of neutral furnishings. For a more graphic look, try painting the wall a lighter shade than the lattice to let the lattice pattern really pop.
Get the Look:
Wall Paint Color: Basil by Sherwin Williams
RELATED: These rooms prove green is the prettiest color.
2
Go With Graphic Tile
The kitchen in this Virginia mountain cottage is packed with patina and charm, starting with the graphic tile backsplash accent wall. The browns and golds on a creamy white background pair beautifully with the copper venthood cover and deep pigments of the emerald green Hallman stove and 27-drawer indigo workbench-turned-cabinetry that was discovered at a Maryland barn sale. The handsome vintage runner pulls the entire galley kitchen.
RELATED: This Virginia mountain cottage looks like it’s from a storybook.
3
Slice Wood to Create “Stacked Firewood” Look
Look to natural materials to give your cabin a statement-making first impression. At first glance, this rustic bathroom wall appears to be covered in wallpaper, but a closer look reveals it's actually made of 2-inch-thick wood slices glued and nailed to a plywood backing to mimic the look of stacked firewood. The angled ceiling gives this space even more visual punch.
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4
Add Floral Wallpaper in a Kitchen
Let's face it, wallpapering this entire galley kitchen in this black-and-white pattern would have felt like, well, too much. However, a single accent wall feels totally in balance with the white ceiling, cabinets, and subway tile. Other pretty touches include the brass lighting and hardware, handsome butcher block countertops, vintage runner, and framed artwork.
RELATED: More striking ways to decorate your kitchen with wallpaper.
5
Build In Shelves for Displaying Collections
Built-in shelves make for a pretty and practical accent wall. Here, the homeowner painted the shelves a bright creamy white with a subtle pale blue on the walls behind. But can we take a moment for this expert shelf styling? A tight color palette of green, aqua, red, and yellow makes for a delightfully curated collection of vintage books, toys, games, and other found objects.
RELATED: The Best Bookshelving Ideas to Style Your Collections
6
Install the Ultimate Gallery Wall
Homeowner Shawn Lang amassed a collection of antique silhouettes for nearly four years to cover his stairwell wall for the ultimate staircase gallery wall idea. Regardless of scuffs, scratches, or overall condition, each silhouette lovingly remains in its existing frame. What a wow moment for this gorgeous farmhouse!
RELATED: Tour more of this postcard-perfect Catskills farmhouse.
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7
Create Your Own Stencil Design
When your favorite wallpaper is sold out, or for those moments when you just can’t seem to find exactly what you want, try your hand at creating your own stencil. This girl’s bedroom example highlights the unusual architectural detail, mimicking the same look as a patterned wallcovering. Here, the homeowner Natalie Hamm started with custom gold paint, then layered on an overscale floral pattern in white. There on tons of online tutorials for how to make your own stencils. For starters, you'll need basic crafting supplies, like transparent plastic sheeting, a cutting mat, a sharp craft knife, painter's tape, and a design.
RELATED: See inside the rest of this Mississippi farmhouse.
8
Paint a Bright Accent Wall
In this primary bedroom, a deep green accent wall is home to a reclaimed transom window found on an antiquing excursion, framed mirrors and art, and a folk art shelf that's perfect for a bouquet of flowers. The stately wood bed is centered on the wall, making it a focal point of the space. Leaving the walls and ceiling a crisp white keeps the space from feeling cavernous.
RELATED: Our Favorite Green Paint Colors That’ll Liven Up Any Room
9
Glue Vintage Book Pages to a Wall
We are just obsessed with this DIY idea! Instead of standard wallpaper, take vintage book pages and layer them on your wall with wallpaper glue. The ones shown here are from vintage bird-watching manuals and maritime books, a nod to the home’s waterside location. “It took about a day to install,” says homeowner Ted Kennedy Watson. “We just love it. It’s weathered incredibly well.”
RELATED: See more of this home on the water that was made for lazy summers.
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10
Hang Mirrors
Outfitting an accent wall with mirrors is a great way to make a small room feel larger. Here, Adirondack-style and tramp art frames neatly hang above handsome forest green wainscoting. We love a collage of collected mirrors from flea markets or tag sales as a budget-friendly way to decorate an accent wall. One pro tip: Keep the color of the frames consistent for a cohesive, intentional look.
11
Cover It In Fabric
For this luxurious-feeling mountain retreat bedroom, designer Brian Patrick Flynn created a “headboard” by upholstering the entire back wall with handsome forest green-and-navy plaid wool fabric. He then applied brass nailheads for a sophisticated, finished look.
12
Paint on a Wall Calendar
Keep everyone in the loop with a clever painted wall calendar. To get the cleanest edges, we used 1/2-inch-wide painter’s tape to create a 35-square grid to desired size, as well as a horizontal rectangle up top for the month and days of the week and a vertical rectangle on the far right for shopping lists and other doodles. Paint the calendar with acrylic chalkboard paint. Once dry, remove tape, and touch up any rough edges. Tie a length of twine around a piece of chalk, knot the end, and hang on wall with a pushpin or screw hook.
Get the Look:
Calendar Paint Color: Power Gray Interior Chalk Decorative Paint by Behr
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13
Clad a Bedroom Wall in Salvaged Wood
This Texas farmhouse bedroom is packed with vintage charm, starting with the wonderfully rustic accent wall behind the bed that is covered in beadboard salvaged from other parts of the rescued structure. We especially love the mix of shades from old chippy paint, from green to mustard to cream, and how the vintage pull-down chart and the double wedding ring quilt from the homeowner’s grandmother feel perfectly at home in this space.
RELATED: Tour more of this charming farmhouse that the homeowners bought on Faceboook Marketplace!
14
Swathe a Sloped Ceiling in a Bold Design
While beautifully decorated bathrooms might conjure up images of airy and spa-like escapes, this cottage’s primary bath leans in the opposite direction on the style compass. Working in tandem with the rich dark brown paint color, a graphic woodland wallpaper embraces the awkward ceiling slope.
Get the Look:
Wallpaper: Forêt Noire by Nathalie Lété
Wall Paint Color: Pine Cone Brown by Benjamin Moore
RELATED: The Best Brown Paint Colors That’ll Cozy Up Any Room
15
Embrace Odd Corners With Paint and Wallpaper
At Country Living, it’s no secret we are partial to older homes. But they certainly come with their quirks (we like to call them charms!), like the angled wall in this kids’ bedroom. When you don’t know what to do with an odd space, sometimes it’s best to just call attention to it. Here, this homeowner added a bit of floral wallpaper to the corner wall and a coat of pretty blue paint to the fireplace mantel to create a darling focal point.
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16
Cover the Ceiling in Wallpaper
Don’t forget about the fifth wall—your ceiling! All too often, ceilings are white and boring (there, we said it). But the ceiling is another opportunity to express your personal taste and design style with a pretty paint color or shiplap (a Country Living favorite!). Here, this living room’s ceiling is covered in a subtle, cloud-like wallpaper pattern. We suggest enlisting the help of a professional to pull off this decorating endeavor.
17
Map Out a Cool Kids Accent Wall
Thanks to a pair of colorful dry-erase maps, this happy kids' bedroom is truly other-worldly. Displayed behind a brightly painted chartreuse bed dressed in a watery blue comforter, this genius idea is both decorative and interactive. Kids can actually write on the walls(!), marking future travel destinations and doodling to their heart's content. Books and toys are corralled on shelves and in baskets.
18
Line the Back Wall With Wallpaper
This tiny nook behind a door was completely underutilized. Now turned into a charming desk area (genius!), it’s a useful space the whole family can enjoy. And it’s adorable too, thanks to sweet woodland creature wallpaper backing crisp white shelves that hold everything from art supplies to books to fabric scraps. A baby-blue vintage folding chair nestles in perfectly.
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19
Line a Wall in Corrugated Metal
For an instant dose of industrial modern farmhouse appeal, line a wall in corrugated metal. In this bedroom tucked under the eaves, the mix of wood and metal keeps the space feeling rustic, while the striped and buffalo check bedding lends a sophisticated softness. Typically used on exteriors, corrugated metal is low-cost, light-weight, and easy to install.
20
Put Up Pine Shiplap
Because the original section of this tiny Texas bungalow had been built out of pine, builder Clay Duckworth sought out similar-looking pine for the floors and shiplap walls in the bedroom of the addition. He left the walls raw and added an oil finish to the floors. “We wanted to preserve that old patina,” Clay says.
Get the Look:
Trim Paint Color: Lehigh Green by Benjamin Moore
RELATED: See more of the amazing transformation of this tiny Texas bungalow.
Amy Mitchell
Managing Editor
Amy Mitchell is the managing editor at Country Living and VERANDA. She writes about a wide range of topics, including homes and lifestyle content.
