Accent walls are a quick and easy way to add color to a room. If you are one of the many homeowners who are afraid of color, introducing a contrasting color to a single wall isn’t as scary!

How to decide?

• Choose a hue from a painting or fabric in the room as your accent color.
• Go bold and bright
• Look at the color wheel. Go with opposites or complementary colors.
• For a more subtle contrast, pick a darker or lighter shade of the same paint on the rest of the walls.
• Bright white or black can be great contrasting colors.
• Be totally unexpected. Try orange, fuchsia, lime green. After all, it’s only paint!

Which Wall?

• Choose a focal wall: fireplace wall, window wall or wall with the bed.
  
• Paint the wall behind a dramatic, bold piece of art.
• Try painting the inside (back) of a built-in bookcase.
• Paint the short wall at the end of a hall. Add a mirror and a fun table.
• Still not ready  for the family room? Create a contrasting wall in a bedroom. playroom or guest bath.
• Spotlight an interesting architectural element.
• Paint a door!
• Instead of ignoring odd spaces, highlight them with paint: sofit in the kitchen, beams, awkward bump-out walls.
• Emphasis the ceiling or window/door trim
• Outline the window trim,door frame, fireplace, art or mirror (see below).

A bold color makes a dramatic painting stand-out!

Amber Road~Cronulla Residence, Sydney, Australia. From Est Magazine

 A dark charcoal wall adds intimacy to an all white room. Keeps it from feeling too stark and cold.

Bright pink in a teen’s room sets off the white shelves.

The color might be neutral, but the contrast between window trim and ceiling beams is very dramatic.

HGTV Dream Home 2014

Instead of a focal wall, “frame” the mirror in a small bath.

Do you have an accent wall in your house?

We recently returned from a vacation/buying trip to France. One of the stops was the charming city of Dijon. (Yes, it’s where the mustard originated from). Although only an hour and a half south of Paris by high-speed train, the difference between the two cities is remarkable. Dijon is more relaxed with fewer tourists. We practically had the city to ourselves.

I took almost a thousand pictures (don’t you love digital cameras?). Many of the architecture of the buildings and houses. I especially love doors and windows. Here are a few of my Dijon favorites.

Lovely door with an art nouveau look. 

Old, old door knocker. 

Great door with a giant stone entablature. 

Basic door in the guard station. 

Beautiful door leading in the Duc’s Palace. Unfortunately, we couldn’t go in. Can’t you see yourself walking down those steps in a fabulous ballgown?

Huge stone archway over a wood door leading into a courtyard.

Which one is your favorite?

There should always be an unexpected element in every design. After all, if you take it too seriously, you end up with a boring design. No one wants that. Panajachel Ceiling Lamp by Iris Design Studio

Check out the 3 golden birds perching on the top edge of this lamp shade. This room is still sophisticated but in a playful way.

From Holly Becker’s decor8 blog

Amsterdam’s Desiree Groenendal loves black and white interiors. She painted an old armoire black and used chalk to scribble verse. What a fun idea.

Eclectic Suburban from Hudson Interior Design

Here’s a homeowner who loves color and books. Instead of setting up his library in the usual way (alphabetically? subject?) the designer created a rainbow wall. The poufs add texture and pattern. You can’t help but smile.

Stacy Garcia’s Poppy Wallpaper

Another room that will put a smile on your face. Poppy wallpaper in teal. Are you brave enough?

I had a great time at Goodwill’s Amazing Wedding Event. There were so many bargain bridal gowns (brand-new, never-worn samples). Where can you get a $1000 dress for $149? I created 8 table setting ideas and themes using only items I found at Goodwill. Amazing!!

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A special thanks to all who attended our Amazing Weddings event on Saturday, April 26th at our Goodwill Store & Donation Center in Wauwatosa! The event was a smashing success and we hope to have more like it to come. Below is a peek at some of the fabulous brides and dresses that made this day extra special. We’d also like to give added thanks to our very own Home Interior Expert, Merri Cvetan for offering her tips on how to create the perfect wedding on a “thrifty” budget. Click here for more information on this event and see more tips and videos from Merri Cvetan.

Like most kitchens, mine doesn’t have enough cabinets. We knew there wouldn’t space for more than one upper cupboard when we remodeled. A couple of windows and natural light won out over more storage. But I did have dead space next to the refrigerator and found the perfect size cabinet at a flea market.

Since it already had layers of old paint I just added more! The pale yellow on the interior was a little boring so I pulled out  old French grammar books and tore out the pages. (Sacrilegious I know, but the result was worth it!)

I laid out the pages on a table, overlapping and making sure the best sections were prominent. Then I coated the back of the cabinet with Mod Podge and added les leҫons. Finally, I topped it off with another coat of the decoupage solution.

Once it was dry, the glass shelves went back in and so did my collection of antique and vintage pitchers and tea pots. It doesn’t really give me any more storage, but the corner sure looks charming!