30 Accent Wall Ideas for Small Living Room

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If you are searching for accent wall ideas for small living room, we have 30 great options to share with you!

An accent wall can be just the ticket to making a big statement in a small space. But you can go way beyond painting a wall a bold color to add visual interest to a room.

You can use different textures, wallpaper, art installments, or even design around a killer fireplace to make an eye-catching feature wall.

Check out these 30 ideas for different accent walls for a great way to inspire your design spirit.

Dark Accent Wall Ideas for Small Living Room

Consider a dark accent wall if you’re looking for a dramatic focal point in your living room, dining room, or primary bedroom.

Moody and dark colors on a living room accent wall are the perfect way to highlight your pops of color.

1. Add A 3D Effect In One Color

Placing wood trim in various patterns on your wall and painting everything one color offers textural interest.

Michael Gross opts for varying lengths of vertical wood strips, but you can also create geometric shapes or any other patterns you desire.

2. Black and White Photo Gallery

Paint your accent wall all black or deep navy and use it as the ideal backdrop for a black-and-white gallery wall.

Decorating Life uses white matting in all the pictures to deliver extra contrast and a cohesive look.

3. Metallic Wall Decals

These metallic wall decals from Amazon make it super simple to add a feature wall to any space.

Make sure to choose wall stickers contrasting to your wall color to really pop.

4. Geometric Wall Panels

Installing these wall panel cutouts from Amazon instantly creates a showstopper on any wall.

Geometric patterns and shapes are popular ways to add visual interest to your space.

5. Black Shiplap

If you want to combine vintage and modern looks, take a cue from Vintage Revivals. Black shiplap gives this classic wood feature wall a more contemporary vibe.

We’ve been considering doing a black accent wall in our master bedroom and the home office. A statement wall will be a great opportunity for us to decorate with a pop of color.

Don’t be afraid of trying black walls in small spaces! They are some of our favorite accent wall ideas!

Brick Accent Wall Ideas

Brick walls are more versatile than you might think. They can work in a more modern, industrial room, rustic design, or even a shabby chic space. It all depends on how you style them.

1. Embrace Exposed Brick

If you’re lucky to have natural exposed brick in your room, embrace it and let it shine. You can whitewash it if it’s darker and you want a lighter feel.

2. 3D Brick Tiles

To get the look of brick, try some easy-to-apply brick tiles, like these from Amazon. They’re 3D, so when they all come together, they give the illusion of a natural brick wall.

3. Use a Stencil for A Brick Look

If you want to create a brick accent wall on the cheap, use paint. Stencils Lab makes it easy with its ready-made brick stencils. Then you can paint any color bricks you choose.

4. Peel and Stick Wallpaper

Amazon has tons of peel-and-stick wallpaper options, including different brick styles. It’s a fun and simple way to add the look of brick to your room, and it won’t mess up your walls.

This, for sure, is an easy way to add style to your living space!

5. Brick Paneling

You’ve heard of wood paneling; well, you can also get brick paneling. These brick veneer sheets come in large panels that make it easy to cover a wall in no time.

You can find them on Amazon, at Home Depot and other home improvement stores.

Stone Accent Wall Ideas

Similar to a natural brick wall, a natural stone wall can create a stunning feature in your living room. But not many homes come with a stone wall.

You can always build one, but you could also go for the look in other ways. Plus, there are many stone varieties, so you get some versatile design options.

1. Textured Wallpaper

You can use textured wallpaper that looks like stone to get the look you’re after like you can for a brick facade. You can find it and many different styles and color variations.

2. Natural Stone Tiles

If you love the idea of natural stone, you can come really close with natural stone tiles, like these from Amazon.

Other design and tile stores will also have tons of options. These tiles often feature a 3D effect, textures, beveled edges, and more, so you end up with a great natural stone wall.

3. Realistic Stone Mural

Use a photorealistic mural to mimic the look of stone.

You can find them at many home stores, online, or even have a professional custom create one. They go on like wallpaper, or you can hire an artist to paint a mural directly onto the wall.

4. Modern Stone TV Backdrop

Rooms often have a default accent wall thanks to a huge flat-screen TV. If this is you, don’t fight it and make the TV wall your accent wall. Otherwise, you’ll end up with two competing features.

Consider a white, cream stone, or marble tile accent wall to pop against the black TV. Then, design around it using a symmetrical layout of shelving, artwork, or a particular pattern on the wall.

5. Stone Fireplace

Another automatic focal point in a living room is often the fireplace. Again, don’t try to compete with these architectural features and make them part of your accent wall.

For example, you can give a fireplace an instant facelift with a stone mural like this one from Macy’s.

Wallpaper Accent Wall Ideas

Wallpaper is coming back, especially now that there are so many wall-friendly peel-and-stick options.

This isn’t your grandma’s wallpaper; you’ll find bold patterns, bright colors, quirky designs, and more. If you can’t put wallpaper up, you can still get the look.

1. Big and Bold

You can’t miss this colorful wallpaper Modern Home Decor House of Hipsters displays in their entryway.

The bold wallpaper stands out against the all-white walls, and notice they included the door so they wouldn’t break up the statement.

2. Go Abstract

This wavy-lined wallpaper (ok, maybe those would be called arches, not waves) puts metallic gold against deep navy. It makes a huge statement on a living room wall. Add solid wainscoting (navy blue) along the bottom half of the room for a balance.

3. Framed Wallpaper Wall

Here’s an idea for an accent wall on a budget.

If you can’t get wallpaper for the whole wall, put up one large section. Then, add trim around it like Shining on Design to create this framed wallpaper accent.

An alternative would be to frame large wallpaper swatches and hang the frames.

4. Wallpaper Insets

Hand Treated Home painted their wall a dramatic color, then hung multiple large sections of wallpaper. After everything was dry, they trimmed out around the sections and painted the trim to match the wall. The result is stunning.

5. Faux Sharpie Wallpaper

Yes, you read that correctly. Hawthorne and Main uses a basic Sharpie to create a stylish and quirky wallpaper look. You can use different colors and plan out any design or image you can dream up.

Your entire wall will make a bold statement. Consider this a great option to incorporate wall art on your now empty walls.

Bold Color Accent Walls

Painting a wall a bold color that stands out against the rest is a classic accent wall move. But you can do it in different ways.

Typically, an accent wall is at least a couple of shades darker than the other walls in the room. The bigger the contrast, the bolder the statement.

There are many bold paint colors to help you take your design to the next level!

1. Hunter Green Accent Wall

Three Birds Renovations uses a beautiful green on their accent wall. It pops against the white, and the single black-and-white photo adds to the look instead of distracting from it.

There are lots of hunter green wallpaper options on Amazon, too!

2. Make Waves

A Beautiful Mess wanted to add a dash of fun to their space with this wavy-painted design. They taped off the shape and painted several colors. The design continues onto the adjacent wall, creating one big accent in the space.

3. Purple Ombré Wall

Purple is a great color for an accent wall, especially in deeper shades.

The example I found on pinterest (below) takes it a step further by adding an ombré effect.

4. Rosy Pink

Amy Krane Color Consulting showcases a pretty pink wall that stays sophisticated. It pairs well with the other design elements in the room, and the single piece of art keeps things from getting too busy.

5. Golden Sun

Yellow sparks joy and happiness, as seen in this fun paint application from Clare Paint. A large golden arch adds the perfect wow factor.

Now, let’s look at our final examples of accent wall ideas for small living room design.

More Accent Wall Ideas for Small Living Room

If you’re working in a small space, you might feel like you have limited design choices. But that couldn’t be further from the truth.

It’s all about working with the entire room instead of against it, embracing options that can help add the illusion of more space.

1. Mirror Collection

Mirrors can help a room feel larger because they bounce light around the space.

Vintage Pickin’ uses a variety of mirrors to create a gallery on their accent wall. Make sure the mirrors have something in common to keep the look intentional.

2. Add Stripes with Tape

If you’re working in a small room with an equally small budget, try a roll of vinyl tape. Homey Oh My uses black tape to add diagonal stripes against a white wall.

3. Use Wall Stickers

Even a small wall can make a significant impact.

If you’re in a tiny apartment, you might have even more limits on what you can do in your space. For example, they might not let you paint or put holes in the wall.

If so, removable wall stickers like these from Amazon can help you add your personal touch without losing your deposit.

4. Highlight Built-Ins

Do you have built-ins already taking up wall space in your small room? Use them as your accent feature by painting or wallpapering the back panels, like Spoonflower.