How to Design a Wall

Bed as a focal wall.

Designing a wall usually refers to transforming a wall into a design feature or focal point in a room. Often these walls are called accent walls and usually they highlight a built-in important item, like a fireplace or wall of windows, or they call attention to the way the decor is organized through the placement of art, lighting, textiles, color, textures, faux treatments or built-ins. Creating a designed wall can be challenging, but the end result is often greatly rewarding.

Difficulty:

Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Tape measure
• 1/4-inch graph paper
• Pencil
• Straight edge
• Contractor's ruler
• Samples
• Colors

1. Measure the wall you want to turn into an accent wall. Generally the wall opposite the entry to a room is a good candidate. If, however, a feature like a fireplace is awkwardly placed, the feature wall may need to shift to highlight and correct for the awkward placement. Transfer your measurements to 1/4-inch graph paper. Be sure to include all built-ins, doors, windows, niches, doorways or other features.

2. Draw the walls and doorways that connect to the proposed feature wall. Label the height of ceilings and the measurements of all objects and features close to the wall. Lightly mark the full perimeter of the room so you can visualize future furniture placement. Note: Furniture should face the focal wall.

3. Collect samples of textiles, floor surfaces, art, rugs and other materials that will be placed in the room. From this collection you should develop a palette of color for the room. This will often include neutrals for wall, drapery and background colors (large furniture), accent colors for pops of color, and complementary colors that work with both the accents and the background colors. Often your focal wall color is selected from this wider group of color.

4. Determine why this wall has been chosen to be a focal point and what features should be highlighted. By painting the majority of a room a soft blue and a focal wall a rich dark brown, the wall will forcibly draw the attention. White trim against brown and blue can look crisp and elegant. However, a large dark wall will make that side of the room feel more heavy and may need to be balanced by a large dark furniture piece opposite on the other side of the room.

5. Design a wall by finding a striking pattern to apply to the wall. This doesn't need to be in a strong color. The neutral wall color can be ramped up by applying the same color in a different finish, in a design. An alternating mat and gloss finish can make a wall look like wallpaper. Contemporary or modern design can support a strong pattern or technique such as bands of mahogany and steel to turn a long wall into a feature.

6. Balance the design so the feature wall adds the wow factor you may be looking for while still bringing the room together in a way that is cohesive. Think about visual weight, style and the use of neutrals to soften the wall. If a room is full of eye-popping art, color and visual features, the room will become fatiguing and the overuse of color or accents will turn into visual noise. Limit clutter to reduce visual noise.

7. Add natural elements to increase the feeling of comfort. Large green plants, moving water fountains, natural stone and wood all tend to reduce the sense of stress and quiet a room. A well-designed wall will showcase the features you want to highlight without taking over or dominating a room.

Tips & Warnings

• Try to select large art rather than smaller pieces. Edit the amount of stuff placed on or attached to a wall. Consider cycling your art throughout the year so that your feature wall never becomes visually dull for you or your guests.

References

• Shelter Pop: Create A Focal Point Wall
• Interior Design It Yourself: Interior Design Artwork
• Leyla's Room: Focal Points