Why paint an accent wall when you could hang an awesome wallpaper wall mural?

Accent walls are a wonderful way to break up the white and beige paint that covers most of the walls in your home.

Wallpaper wall murals are a great way to create that accent wall. They not only add color, but add depth and texture and reflect your personality.

They go by many names, including focal walls and feature walls, but accent walls started trending more than a decade ago and most interior design gurus contend that they’re here to stay. In an article in ELLE DECOR, top designer Alison Davin even suggest that clients look beyond paint. “There are so many ways you can approach this trend, including “painting and papering,” according to Davin. But different textural options exist as well, such as exposed brick and wood paneling. There’s also removable wallpaper for renters or people afraid to commit.”

For apartment and house renters, that’s a great point to be made about removable wallpaper. Not only are materials like QuikStik™ and QuikStik PLUS™ removable, but they’re also reusable. You can easily take them down and reinstall them in your new home. And you needn’t worry about getting your security deposit back because it took the landlord 5 gallons of paint to cover that red wall you always wanted! 🙂

A wall mural with a deep field of view will expand your space without having to knock out a wall.

In that very same article, stylist Mariella Cruzado advises that,

“They’re great for small spaces. Accent walls are an ideal way to fake space in cramped quarters, especially when done in a deep hue.”

At Magic Murals, we couldn’t agree more… we just don’t think a deep hue is going to accomplish the kind of depth you want. It is, after all, just a two-dimensional dark wall. Go a step further, we advise. In fact, go several steps further… all the way out to the end of the pier, to the end of the horizon, all the way out into space if you want. When you create an accent wall with a mural that has a lot of depth to it, you’ll truly feel like you’ve added another room or even knocked out a wall.

One of the other great things about creating an accent wall with a wall mural rather than paint, of course, is that you can bring your personality and passions right into your home. So much more unique than a flat (pick your accent color) wall, right?

If you’re into surfing, bring the beach and waves inside. If you’re in the country but miss the city, put your favorite skyline across the wall. In the city but miss the country? Do the opposite and give yourself a forest, lake, mountain or farm scene. Can’t wait to get to the vineyards of Tuscany again? Bring those rolling Italian hills into your all American ranch home.

What color to choose?

Aside from your passion, you’ll also want to consider what particular accent color you want to choose for your wall. Kimberly Sayers Bartosch over at the spruce has some great advice for when you should go with warm versus cool colors. On color theory, Kimberly suggests,

“Warm colors—orange, yellow, and red—tend to pull the wall towards the eye, which makes a space appear smaller,” and “Cool colors—green, blue, and purple—tend to pull the wall away from the eye, which makes a small bedroom appear larger. By using a cool color on an end wall or side wall in a bedroom, you can make a small room appear larger, or make a skinny room appear wider.”

You might be thinking that color theory makes sense when painting, but how does it relate to choosing a mural?  Photographic murals are made up of so many different colors, after all.

Well… yes and no. And both answers lead us to believe that an accent wall created with a wall mural is far superior to one created with paint or even traditional repeating-pattern wallpaper.

Let’s say you want a blue wall. A perfect solution would be an image of the ocean (particularly the Caribbean) or the sky. Both types of images will give you a primarily blue wall, but with multiple shades and hues of blue and with added depth and texture. Perhaps you’re into green? Images of forests and grassy fields will give you plenty of green. A close up, macro-photography mural of a plant or banana leaf will bring in the green but with a modern art flair. It’s amazing how artistic Mother Nature is.

For those who want an accent wall that doesn’t add a burst of color (maybe you like the all-white look or all of the other walls are already painted a pretty color), there are a multitude of images in which white is the primary feature. Snow-covered hills, a glacier, a polar bear in the Arctic, or one of our most popular murals: birch trees.

And, finally, wall murals are the perfect way to bring in numerous colors and create an accent wall that really pops and matches every accessory in your room. Sunsets, rainbows, quaint European villages with multi-colored doors and buildings. Browse around and see what color combinations strike your fancy.

What furniture to place in front?

In that same article, Kimberly also gives some great advice on furniture placement and how much or how little you should put up against that accent wall. She writes, “If the wall is (too) covered, then you will lose its dramatic impact. Finally, make sure not to leave an accent wall too bare, or you’ll have too much of a “pop” and the room will feel unbalanced.”

For those reasons, most people tend to create an accent wall behind their bed (wall murals make awesome headboards without taking up any valuable floor space) or their couch. But… and there’s always a but… we’ve also seen some of our customers do a great job by leaving their accent wall completely free of any furniture. One large wall with a scene that extends out to the horizon provides the dramatic effect of making it appear as if there were no wall at all. Talk about spacious living!