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The colors you wear and surround yourself with can have a huge psychological impact, from the peaceful connotations of a sky blue to a more aggressive, bloody red. It’s no surprise many rental units get the so-called “landlord special” given white is a very neutral look in color theory. However, the three-color rule suggests you should seek a harmonious mix of colors for your walls to avoid any one hue losing its power. A dominant color over 60% of the wall space, a secondary over 30%, and a decorative accent over 10%. 

Choosing an accent wall can be as easy as putting up wallpaper next to clean walls, but you can also DIY a uniquely painted accent wall without breaking the bank by picking up a few shades of the same color and some appliers — brushes and rollers — of various sizes. This beginner-friendly DIY accent wall concept comes from TikTok user @ravenelysetv, who took to updating their garage workshop with a spread of makeup-like color swatches behind a tool board and some storage shelves. Compared to more elegant, dreamworthy accent wall ideas using pieces like glass panels, this design is simple and fun with lots of texture to catch your eye, not to mention easy to apply. 

Start with a clean, primed wall and your handful of gradient paint colors. From there, it’s as easy as brushing or rolling out messy fans of color in overlapping shades to create a unique mosaic. Put contrasting light and dark colors beside one another to create a more visually striking effect wherever possible. This way, visitors always have something to appreciate as they look over the wall.

While this DIY accent wall is as simple as applying big fans of paint all across the wall, there are plenty of ways for even the most novice interior designers to shake things up. The kinds of tools used can really affect how the project turns out. Consider using tiny pinstriping brushes to get smaller color marks in there, for example, or brushes with looser bristles which you can flick color from to add Jackson Pollock-esque drips and splashes. 

You’ve likely picked up some painter’s tape if you’re planning a big home design project and there are plenty of painter’s tape hacks you’ll want to know before getting in too deep. One fun idea might be to use that tape as an avenue for aesthetic design by laying lines of it all across the wall so your makeup DIY swatches have bold, clean lines demarcating space.

As mentioned, your color choices have a huge impact on the room’s overall mood. Rather than sticking to a similar range, consider how a gradient of different colors running up the accent wall can invoke certain imagery. Going from a yellowish-beige near the ground to some greens and then pinks, reds, and oranges might give visitors the impression of stepping onto a sunset desert island, for example. You can easily start to balloon the expected price of painting your home’s entire exterior as you get more complicated with your accent wall design, but that’s why this idea works so well. It’s inexpensive and easy for anyone to try.