Moody Walls

Dark, moody walls are very much in trend right now. You may be thinking about adding some color to your walls but are intimidated to add so much drama all at once. My advice is to paint one wall, or even just one part of a wall, to make a major impact on your space. People often get nervous about painting, but it’s such an easy and inexpensive thing to change out if you get tired of it, as opposed to a big investment like a sofa. Here are some examples of painting just one wall to make  big statement with little effort.

This is my “coffee corner” in our eating area off of the kitchen, connected to our living/dining room.  It is the only wall in the whole space that has  color, all the other walls  are painted white. I chose this shade of blue  because it echoes a painted blue cabinet in the dining room around the corner. I wanted the two spaces to feel connected. I feel like the wall adds a lot of character without being too dark. It’s cool greyish blue tones juxtapose perfectly with the gold-painted shelves and the tiny pops of coral red seen on the shelves.

Dark grey was used to paint just one wall behind this desk to create the feeling of a separate office space in a studio apartment. It may be a dark shade of grey, but what an inviting and intimate space that it creates. Keep the space bright and energetic by adding a pop of color like the gorgeous peach-toned chair and rug seen above.

Recently I have fallen in love with images of green velvet sofas, but I just couldn’t make that kind of color commitment in my own living room. One green wall, on the other hand, is something I could do. You can make a huge statement while keeping your furniture and accessories relatively neutral. Then when you’ve tired of green (or whatever color you choose) in a couple of years, you simply repaint that one wall. Easy. A much better investment than buying pricey furniture or lots of accessories in a color you may not love forever.

This is such a great example of how a tiny wall can have  major impact on your whole home. A lot of you may have never even considered using black paint on your walls. It’s so dark! But take a look at how the black wall makes the rest of the space so much brighter! Contrast is so important. The ethnic rug and all the wood warm up the cool black and white to keep the space feeling cozy.

Try to imagine the living room above with all white walls. Boring. By paining one wall dark grey the space suddenly becomes alive, inviting, sophisticated. Now cover up the bottom half of the picture with your hand. Cold, despite a little help from the fireplace. The white couch creates beautiful tension with the dark walls, but warm caramel and wood tones are necessary to create that feeling that you want to curl up on the sofa with that cat and stay a while.

I love this blue nook in a little boy’s room! Talk about a cozy, restful place for a little one to cuddle up at night. It is a great example of using paint to define a space. Just don’t forget to add the hot air balloon. A dash of red is the perfect compliment to the dark moody blue wall.

This last picture is more than just one wall, it’s the whole bedroom painted a greyish green. I love to paint the whole bedroom because it creates such a warm, cocoon-like atmosphere. Notice that all the furnishings are white, black and totally neutral. It looks gorgeous and bright in the daylight and will be cozy and intimate at night. But even if you don’t want to paint the whole room, this space would still look amazing if only the wall behind the bed were painted green and the rest of the walls were left white.

What do you think about moody walls?