Creating A Stunning Accent Wall Has Never Been Easier With A Clever DIY

Tired of staring at a bare, boring wall in your living room, bedroom, or even bathroom? Or maybe you'd like to shine the spotlight on a noteworthy feature in your home, like a fireplace, a quirky slanted wall, or a floor-to-ceiling bookshelf? Turn it into an accent wall. While there are a ton of ways to create an accent wall, paint remains the most cost-efficient and accessible material for highlighting a wall. With the addition of some wood accents, you'd be surprised at how a coat or two of paint can yield an intriguing and striking effect while adding value to a space.

Behr Paint's 2025 color of the year, Rumors, was Instagram user @carissareeseee's weapon of choice for turning a drab white wall into a sumptuous burgundy accent wall. Armed with a can of paint, several pieces of wooden strips, and a brad nailer, she added a neat geometric twist by attaching evenly spaced vertical wooden strips at alternating heights — all for under $60. Using leftover lumber from a previous project is a great way to cut costs, or pick up any style of trim, molding, or ½-inch-by-2-inch wood in 4-foot lengths from your local home improvement store. 

For this particular project, @carissareeseee utilized an entire wall, which gave her enough space to add in clever decorative accents that ended up making a big difference. But you can definitely use this DIY on a smaller-sized wall — scale down on the decorative elements to keep it proportional. The fun part of this project is that you can completely customize the placements, colors, shapes, and patterns of the wood strips to achieve your desired effect.

Once you've determined which wall you want to work on, protect its adjacent surfaces from paint splatter by framing its sides with painter's tape. Then choose the perfect color for your accent wall. Prime and paint the wall, following these tips from professionals on how to paint a wall with a roller. Repeat the process on the wooden strips, and leave them to fully dry. Using the same color on the wooden strips as the wall gives it a subtle texture, or opt for contrasting colors for a bold statement.

To create the vertical pattern, measure the length of your wall and determine how many wooden strips you need for them to be evenly spaced. If you have a 9-foot ceiling, measure and mark 12½ inches from the ceiling. This is where you will position the top of the upper wooden strips. Then measure 12½ inches from the floor to mark the bottom position of the lower wooden strips. Secure the wooden strips with a brad nailer, alternating between lining them up with the top and bottom markings. Hide the nail heads with a swipe of paint as a finishing touch. 

There are plenty of creative avenues to explore in this project. You could arrange wood strips horizontally instead of vertically to create the impression of a wider wall. If you're planning to highlight your television or artwork on the accent wall, mount wooden strips in a box pattern around it. For a wainscoting look, you can attach precut 3D panels, like the Art3d three-piece molding set that adheres to the wall with glue, for a hassle-free installation.