I despise accent walls; a desperate attempt by the creatively bankrupt

Looks like a generic windows computer background.

That wall immediately conjures the scent of plug-in air fresheners

Such a bad taste era we’re in.

I love a strong opinion. I haven't given these walls much thought but I feel the same way now that you have made your case.

I feel exactly the opposite, I prefer it to regular paint or wallpaper because it gives the space an added dimension. Looks sleek and futuristic.

raci$t le$bian troll alert!!

Hmmmm I mean it’s kinda like anything in design, there are good and bad versions of it. Using an example like that and acting like every single wall that’s detailed is as bad as that is is bad faith.

I have nothing against feature walls per se, but I incline towards OP's views for this reason: it is noticeable that the kind of designer who favours this kind of wall knows absolutely nothing about art. It never occurs to them to make a room interesting by putting something truly interesting on the walls.

Or rather, "truly interesting" to them = "Live Laugh Love", or "a picture I made myself by sticking rope or twigs to the canvas and spraypainting it".

Is a lousy accent wall better than a wall of books bough in bulk and shelved by color?

I agree with you OP.

I dont hate them in general, but that is a particularly unattractive one. If thats supposed to be the "interesting" wall I'd hate to see the rest.

I agree with OP that the room should be interesting enough on its own that it doesnt need a feature/ accent wall. However I can see sense in doing just one wall if you have a really beautiful wallpaper you love but dont want to do the entire room in it because of cost, or because it will make the room too dark etc

I don't mind them. My bedroom has a gray on the wall where the bed is located and light gray/off white on the other walls. Tried painting the entire room a darker gray but it felt like I was in an institution.

It's okay OP, the accent walls don't like you either, so you're even.

This is a good example of an accent wall. I think OP chose the worst iteration.

Yes, some are better than others

R15 are you suggesting that’s nice? 😂

R15 = Instant migraine.

I live in a small 700sq ft house. If I put dark paint on the walls the rooms look suffocatingly tiny and sorta depressing. Light colors it is but they feel so cold and clinical in winter. I was thinking about an accent wall in a dark color. Best of both worlds type of thing but R14 is the only one that doesn't look terrible. When they are bad, they are really bad.

Too often it's the design choice for people with commitment issues.

We have a thread devoted to walls

Coming Up Next on

Stoned Renters Willing To Pile Bricks Against A Common Wall

“I want pierced Indian brick.”

R18, 700 square feet is actually a decent size for 1 or even 2 people. How about a large painting or print that has darker colors in it? Or a large, dark-ish area rug? Don't get a rug that's too dark, though. I had a black, oriental-type rug (purchased from a neighbor who was moving out). It always looked like it needed to be vacuumed.

R14 Sometimes an accent wall just screams Airbnb.

Too garish.

R7 I despise them. It's not bad faith to post a picture that illustrates my opinion.

Accent walls were in 20 years ago. Nobody with good taste has them anymore.

I like but tire of them quickly. They are acceptable as a temporary thing to look at

I think accent walls like this give cheaply reno’ed AirBnB vibes.

BUT I am all for people decorating however it makes them happy

Accent walls go hand in hand with that other bugbear, ¨a pop of color.¨

I thought accent walls were something from that Goya painting.

We have one.

But it's practical.

Accent walls are a Trading Spaces gimmick.

I have two friends who have moved three times in the last ten years. Each time, they have a huge conversation, almost a row, about their new accent wall color. Each time, it ends up a café-au-lait shade of beige.

In my bedroom I have a light grey mist color on three walls, and a red burgundy accent wall. A close friend tried to talk me out of opting for these colors, but once he saw it, he loved it.

My Splenda Walls

I love my espresso accent wall against my Ben Moore dry sage main colour.

Color is so subjective. So often, one girl's Tawny Mink is another's Diaper Surprise.

"Creatively bankrupt" is what I call pretentious queens who misuse semicolons.

R37

R37 How many sad faggot clichés can you string into one badly written post?

R39 = thinks a slur and an unnecessary accent make good prose.

My walls are all beige but I have one small wall in the living room I painted a light gray, it really breaks up the monotony of the all beige room. I don't give a shit whether anyone else likes it or not, I do. I hate painting and it is going to stay that way until I die.

Nothing says commitment to color like beige.

I think it's funny how so many of you have so many rules in design of things you simply cannot abide:

1. Accent walls 2. Stacked books 3. White walls 4. White floors 5. Minimalism 6. Maximalism

....when there are absolutely gorgeous and livable examples of interiors using these devices with much success.

[quote] My walls are all beige but I have one small wall in the living room I painted a light gray, it really breaks up the monotony of the all beige room. I don't give a shit whether anyone else likes it or not, I do. I hate painting and it is going to stay that way until I die.

By beige, I'm assuming it's a warm white, which I like.

Sounds nice, except that I would have gone with mid-value gray or dark gray. (Light gray just looks washed-out a lot of the time.)

No books that you don’t read, and no stacked art books. Especially not a wall of horizontally stacked art books.

Haha, R45 - those are very specific rules that you've laid out for us.

I don't have accent walls but I did do my main floor half and half black and white. It turned out better than I expected. The painters even were like, black? But it really looks good. Both colors are satin finish. The main floor is 700 square ft open plan with honey wood, black granite and grey slate tile.

I do endorse this kind of thing.

I suppose I despise some design features but mostly I despise the results created by people with no taste or talent. The grey trend for example. Hate it.

I don't have a problem with accent walls but I admire best the homes that showcase the owner's creativity, design talents, unique tastes, and originality. Inviting gardens and interior greenery, eclectic collections, art on walls, color, mixed textures and patterns, are what I appreciate most.

In my experience, even the homes of wealthy people often suck. As an avid estate-saler I've seen everything. One pet peeve is expensive furniture and collections paired with spotted carpets and fading prints in cheap frames. Mary!

Books are awfully decorative, don’t you think?

Wealthy people love sitting on lumpy old chesterfields and walking on tattered carpet.

I love that photo of Anne's living room. I'm sure someone went around and made sure there was nothing objectionable out in the open, but it does look lived-in.

I disagree OP. I love the example R14 has posted.

My friends have a house made up of quite small rooms. The odd thing is it looked TINY when empty, when I first saw it… but furnished it just seems cozy.

Anyway, they have one living room wall a golden mustard color (Valspar Ripe Pear) and the one opposite that a dark blue (Farrow & Ball Hague Blue.) On the white walls there’s lots of windows with green showing through, so the room already has jolts of color established as a rhythm. It looks really good.

^^Even by paint name standards those colors names are amazingly pretentious.

Ripe Pear?

Wrong OP - anything can be done poorly or done well.

Seconded, R57.

Shooting squirrels can be done well, but do you want to do it?

R40 Greg, stop it.

Fuck you OP

More is more, in my opinion. Why not a simple Otto Wagner für J&J Kohn, Wiener Werkstätte, with a gilded 18th chinoiserie bird cage, against a venetian mirrored and lacquered wall and two iconic Nagel prints?

R40 is a fucking pansy who is intimidated by those icky unamerican diacritical marks.

R5 Accent walls look futuristic?

More than accent walls, more than the way past prime taste for doing everything up in shades of Battleship Grey, those white plastic electric switches and receptacles against the dark grey accent wall are the bigger crime.

If a wall requires accents I prefer wainscoting and picture rails.

[quote]More than accent walls, more than the way past prime taste for doing everything up in shades of Battleship Grey, those white plastic electric switches and receptacles against the dark grey accent wall are the bigger crime.

Good point R65, thats why always go for ornate brass vintage style ones

^^ were those used on the set of THE GODFATHER??