There’s something about repainting the bedroom that heightened my sensitivity to accent walls.
“Well, duh,” you may be thinking. It wasn’t that obvious to me since I was mainly focused on finding a fresh color without making radical changes in the headboard or bedding. But having seen so many hideous painted, patterned or textured bedroom walls on TV decorating shows lately, it’s clear that creating a great one is far from easy.
The integrity of these five stunning examples shows how well an accent wall can work. None is merely a passive color or pattern. Each takes it to another level with an active design element that makes the bed and the wall work as a unit. No orphan headboards here.
Giant squares of wood veneer act like a modernistic wood frame for the nearly monochrome bed, rug and side tables [top].
Horizontal tent stripes blaze across the wall but notice the whimsical shift in the color above the headboard – as if it is reflected on the wall. Discreet night table accessories in red-orange and fuchsia help integrate the color scheme.
Vertical white panels behind the bed are set off by the curvilinear sconce in the style of French master Jean Royère. The taupe headboard almost seems incidental to the contrast between the hard wall and furniture surfaces and the soft fabrics on the bed and ceiling.
A white wall panel with a trio of built in candle niches floats over a coffee-colored wall. The effect has a Zen feel and the disquieting blankness of a movie screen.
The woven pattern in the tall, natural-fiber screen used behind the bed echoes the white carpet pattern as if it were an extension of the floor that had merely changed color in the natural light. A pair of black and white print textiles coordinate with the bed lampshades and play the headboard down.
It should come as no surprise that I love the stripey one. I especially love the creative touch of the color shift behind the bed. Thanks for posting these pics.