How to Paint an Accent Wall

Choose the colors. You’ll need to choose a color that’s bold and stands out. You won’t want a powder blue when the rest of your walls are already tan. This one should stand out and leave an impression on your guests.

Remove all wall decorations and outlet covers. You’ll want to put these in another room so they don’t get any paint on them. You’ll need as much room as possible to move around in, so put any wall decorations in another room. If you have any posters up, gently remove them as well, and scrape off any remaining tape on the wall. You don’t want to paint over anything that will show through the paint or change the texture of the wall.Paint an Accent Wall Step 2Bullet1.jpg Remove any nails or screws that were leftover from your decorations. Painting over these nails or screws will look tacky and less professional.Paint an Accent Wall Step 2Bullet2.jpg

Cover the outline of the wall and the doors with tape. This will keep you from getting it on the borders. Make sure every part of the outlining walls are covered and that the tape is secured on strongly enough so that it won’t come off when you’re painting.

Cover the floor with sheets, paper, or blankets. You want to find items that are thick so that when any paint hits the floor covering, it won’t go through to the floor. Use anything old or already used so you won’t mind when it gets paint on it. Secure it to the wall as much as you can with masking tape. Although this is hard to do with certain types of sheets, do what you can to at least hold your floor covering down. Once you’ve outlined the whole wall with masking tape, it’s time to start painting.

Open the paint can with a screwdriver and stir the paint until it’s mixed. Use the wooden stick provided to you by the home improvement store to stir the paint; or, you can use a piece of clean scrap wood.

Pour a fair amount of the paint in the roller pan and begin by painting the outlines of the walls with a smaller brush. Use the roller brush for covering the large surfaces. Don’t be afraid to go over some parts twice if the paint doesn’t go on the wall all of the way. Take your time and don’t rush. Put music on to help the process, and to keep it fun. Use a wet rag to wipe off any paint that accidentally gets on the ceiling, surrounding walls, or floor. Keep this rag wet throughout your painting process and rinse it out if it gets too much paint on it.

Allow three hours of drying time before adding your second coat. Take a break by making dinner, going to the movies, or getting other errands and chores done. Be sure to keep the windows open and put a ceiling fan on a low setting to help the speed up the drying process. Make sure it’s not a windy day, or that your fan isn’t on a high setting; this is important to prevent the floor covering or any loose items from flying away or sticking to the wall.

After the first coat is dry, apply the second one. Do all of the previous steps and turn a light on to see that every part of the wall has an even amount of paint. Once the second coat is completely dry, remove all of the tape. Pull it off downward, instead of upward and be slow in this process. Look for any spots that you may need to touch up with the small brush and clean up any spots that you got on the walls.

It’s now time to redecorate. Screw the outlet covers back in and put the nails back in the holes they were originally in. If you later find any spots that you missed, it’s OK to make minor touch-ups without reapplying the floor coverings.